Dr. Sayegh is a world leader in transplantation research. He has published more than 200 original articles in addition to large number of reviews, editorial and book chapters. He has also edited several books in nephrology and transplantation.  Dr. Sayegh served as Council Member and President (2000-2001) of the American Society of Transplantation. He served as the chair of the Transplant Advisory Board of the American Society of Nephrology. Dr. Sayegh served as the Chair of AST Program, Education and Development Committees, as the chair of the 2005 ASN Program Committee, and the chair of the program committee of the 2006 World Transplant Congress and the 2007 World Congress of Nephrology. He is the active co-chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH Immune Tolerance Network and Member of the Executive Committee. He also served as chair of the Steering Committee of the NIH consortium, Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation (CTOT).

Honors/Awards:

1983 Alpha Omega Alpha

1984 MD Diploma with Distinction (Honors)

1989 UPJOHN Young Investigator Award, American Society of Transplant Physicians

1991-1992 Ortho-Grant-In-Aid Young Investigator Award, American Society of Transplant Physicians

1996-1999 Clinician Scientist Award, National Kidney Foundation

1997 First Young Scientist Award, Wyeth-Ayerst-American Society of Transplant Physicians

2008 First Mentoring Award, American Society of Transplantation

Dr. Sayegh also served/serving as 

2001-2005 Associate Editor, Journal of American Society of Nephrology

2002- Consulting Editor, Journal of Clinical Investigation

2005- Section Editor, Journal of Immunology

2005- Deputy Editor, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

Research Interest

Dr. Sayegh’s major research interests include studying the mechanisms of allograft rejection and transplantation tolerance in experimental animals and humans. Dr Sayegh has studied the role of the the so-called "indirect" pathway of allorecognition in which T cells recognize processed alloantigen presented as allopeptides by self antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in mediating chronic rejection in animal models and in humans. Dr. Sayegh has demonstrated that the indirect pathway occurs during allograft rejection and plays an important role in the rejection process, especially in chronic rejection. In addition, human studies in his laboratory are focusing on developing novel assays to predict transplant outcome. Another major interest of Dr. Sayegh’s laboratory is investigating the role and mechanisms of T cell costimulation in transplantation and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Sayegh’s research studies focus on the role of conventional and novel T cell costimulatory pathways CD28:B7 and TNF:TNF-R families in allograft rejection and autoimmune diseases, including diabetes. He is particularly interested in the function of inhibitory or negative T cell costimulatory pathways and their role in regulating autoreactive and alloreactive T cell responses. More recently, his studies are focusing on understanding functions of the new TIM family of molecules in transplant rejection and tolerance. Finally, Dr. Sayegh laboratory has a new major focus on role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in autoimmune (type 1 diabetes) and development of cell-based therapy with MSCs to cure the disease.