Detailed Biography:

J Michael Cecka is a transplant immunologist and Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, who serves as the Director Clinical Research in the UCLA Immunogenetics Center. Dr Cecka received his PhD in Microbiology at UCLA and did postdoctoral studies on the chemistry, genetics and function of major histocompatibility complex antigens at the California Institute of Technology, University College in London and the University of Basel. He returned to UCLA in 1982 and joined the UCLA Tissue Typing Laboratory, which became the UCLA Immunogenetics Center, to work in human transplantation immunology. Dr Cecka participated in the development of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the United Network for Organ Sharing National Registry of Transplant Recipients from 1988-2000. He managed and served as Director of the UNOS Kidney Transplant Registry from 1992-2000. He currently serves as Chair of the UNOS Histocompatibility Committee. His research is focussed on the causes of long-term deterioration and loss of kidney function in renal transplant recipients and the role of the immune system.