Summary

Dr. Dizon received his M.D./Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thesis project focused on understanding the functions of naturally-occurring self-reactive B cells and antibodies in murine models of autoimmune diabetes. He then completed an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at the University of Rochester.

Pursuing his scientific interest in understanding the contributions of B cells and antibodies to the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune diseases across the spectrum of life, Dr. Dizon then completed a combined rheumatology fellowship at NIAMS and Children’s National Hospital. He is currently a NIAMS Metzger Scholar in Translational Research continuing his training to become an independent physician-scientist.

Research Statement

Working in the lab of Dr. Susan Pierce, Dr. Dizon's research focuses on understanding the functions and regulation of autoreactive B cells in chronic infections (malaria), systemic autoimmunity (lupus), and long-lived immune responses elicited by vaccines (HPV vaccine). Autoreactive B cells are a component of the healthy immune system but are tightly regulated by a programmed state of hyporesponsiveness called anergy.

His research aims to understand how anergic  B cells are activated or "awakened" under certain conditions to participate in responses to pathogens and vaccines, but also how these B cells function abnormally in systemic autoimmune diseases such as lupus.

Scientific Publications

Atypical B cells in chronic infectious diseases and systemic autoimmunity: puzzles with many missing pieces.

Ambegaonkar AA, Holla P, Dizon BL, Sohn H, Pierce SK
Curr Opin Immunol.
2022 Aug;
77().
doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2022.102227
PMID: 35724448

The tangled web of autoreactive B cells in malaria immunity and autoimmune disease.

Dizon BLP, Pierce SK
Trends Parasitol.
2022 May;
38(5).
doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.01.005
PMID: 35120815

Shared transcriptional profiles of atypical B cells suggest common drivers of expansion and function in malaria, HIV, and autoimmunity.

Holla P, Dizon B, Ambegaonkar AA, Rogel N, Goldschmidt E, Boddapati AK, Sohn H, Sturdevant D, Austin JW, Kardava L, Yuesheng L, Liu P, Moir S, Pierce SK, Madi A
Sci Adv.
2021 May;
7(22).
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abg8384
PMID: 34039612

Systematic evaluation of nine monogenic autoinflammatory diseases reveals common and disease-specific correlations with allergy-associated features.

Schwartz DM, Kitakule MM, Dizon BL, Gutierrez-Huerta C, Blackstone SA, Burma AM, Son A, Deuitch N, Rosenzweig S, Komarow H, Stone DL, Jones A, Nehrebecky M, Hoffmann P, Romeo T, de Jesus AA, Alehashemi S, Garg M, Torreggiani S, Montealegre Sanchez GA, Honer K, Souto Adeva G, Barron KS, Aksentijevich I, Ombrello AK, Goldbach-Mansky R, Kastner DL, Milner JD, Frischmeyer-Guerrerio P
Ann Rheum Dis.
2021 Jun;
80(6).
doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-219137
PMID: 33619160

Lupus-like autoimmunity and increased interferon response in patients with STAT3-deficient hyper-IgE syndrome.

Goel RR, Nakabo S, Dizon BLP, Urban A, Waldman M, Howard L, Darnell D, Buhaya M, Carmona-Rivera C, Hasni S, Kaplan MJ, Freeman AF, Gupta S
J Allergy Clin Immunol.
2021 Feb;
147(2).
doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2020.07.024
PMID: 32768442

Childhood Sjögren syndrome: features of an international cohort and application of the 2016 ACR/EULAR classification criteria.

Basiaga ML, Stern SM, Mehta JJ, Edens C, Randell RL, Pomorska A, Irga-Jaworska N, Ibarra MF, Bracaglia C, Nicolai R, Susic G, Boneparth A, Srinivasalu H, Dizon B, Kamdar AA, Goldberg B, Knupp-Oliveira S, Antón J, Mosquera JM, Appenzeller S, O'Neil KM, Protopapas SA, Saad-Magalhães C, Akikusa JD, Thatayatikom A, Cha S, Nieto-González JC, Lo MS, Treemarcki EB, Yokogawa N, Lieberman SM, Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance and the International Childhood Sjögren Syndrome Workgroup
Rheumatology (Oxford).
2021 Jul 1;
60(7).
doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa757
PMID: 33280020

Neonatal Exposure to Commensal-Bacteria-Derived Antigens Directs Polysaccharide-Specific B-1 B Cell Repertoire Development.

New JS, Dizon BLP, Fucile CF, Rosenberg AF, Kearney JF, King RG
Immunity.
2020 Jul 14;
53(1).
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.06.006
PMID: 32610078

Education

University of Miami (Florida)
B.S. Microbiology 2003

University of Miami (Florida)
B.A. Chemistry 2003

University of Alabama at Birmingham
M.D./Ph.D. 2013

Experience

University of Rochester (New York)
Residency in Internal-Medicine and Pediatrics (2013-2017)

NIAMS and Children’s National Hospital
Combined Rheumatology Fellowship (2017-2021)

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