Autoimmune diseases

Autoimmunity and autoinflammation
The research group is centered around the Laboratory of Autoimmunity, which is part of the Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital. The laboratory performs a very broad range of analyses of autoantibodies to support diagnostic processes. The laboratory serves as national laboratory for a number of these analyses, providing clinicians nationally and internationally with timely and precise results. In both routine and research, we collaborate with national and international laboratories.

Our research interests span the breadth of autoimmune disorders and autoinflammatory syndromes. We collaborate with other research groups within fields of neurology, rheumatology, pediatrics, nephrology, hematology, oncology, psychiatry, infectious diseases and respiratory diseases.

Principal investigator

Associate professor Anna Christine Nilsson
Clinical Immunology, SDU
Klinisk Immunologisk Afdeling
Odense Universitetshospital
J. B. Winsløws Vej 4, 5000 Odense 

Members of the team

Søren T. Lillevang, MD, Ph.D.
Sussi Bagge Mortensen, cand. scient., Ph.D.
Kristian Assing, MD, Ph.D., associate professor
Anne With Mikkelsen, cand.scient., research assistent
Staff at the Autoimmune Laboratory at the Department of Clinical Immunology

Ongoing projects

Some examples of research areas with ongoing projects:

Investigations in autoimmune encephalitis
Investigations in paraneoplastic neurologic disorders
Characterization of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases
Development of monocyte/macrophage assays for the functional evaluation of variants in autoinflammatory genes

Project options for students

Students are welcome to contact the team for inquiries about projects.

Selected publications

Mortensen SB, Hansen AE, Mogensen TH, Jakobsen MA, Beck HC, Harvald EB, Lambertsen KL, Johansen IS, Andersen DC. PYRIN inflammasome activation abrogates IL1Ra expression providing a new mechanism underlying FMF pathogenesis. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021 Apr 28. doi: 10.1002/art.41770. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33913256.

Tenstad HB, Nilsson AC, Dellgren CD, Lindegaard HM, Rubin KH, Lillevang ST. Use and utility of serologic tests for rheumatoid arthritis in primary care. Dan Med J. 2020 Feb;67(2):A05190318. PMID: 32053486.

Tenstad HB, Nilsson AC, Dellgren CD, Lindegaard HM, Rubin KH, Lillevang ST. Predictive values of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies and rheumatoid factor in relation to serological aspects of the ACR/EULAR 2010 classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. Scand J Rheumatol. 2020 Jan;49(1):18-20. doi: 10.1080/03009742.2019.1609079. Epub 2019 Jul 2. PMID: 31264518.