Ashira D. Blazer, MD

• Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, MD, 2010

• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, Internship and Residency, Internal Medicine, 2013

• New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, Clinical Postdoctoral Fellowship, Rheumatology, 2015

• New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation, 2017

Dr. Blazer is an Assistant Professor in the University of Maryland Division of Rheumatology. She co-directs the Lupus Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She has investigated systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) since her fellowship training in 2013, and her laboratory conducts bench-to-bedside translational research aimed at understanding genetic and functional genomic factors impacting SLE pathogenesis in African ancestry patients. Dr. Blazer's lab models genetic risk using SLE peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and vascular endothelial cells to understand the interplay between the inflammation seen in SLE and cellular injury. 

The Blazer Lab has been instrumental in understanding how common mutations in the Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene increase the risk of vascular disease, kidney disease, and SLE associated organ damage in African ancestry patients. Her translational research lab has shown that SLE-relevant inflammation increases cellular production of APOL1 which, in genetic mutation carrying cells, causes defects in mitochondrial health and inability to complete a cellular maintenance process called autophagy. Importantly, current clinical testing cannot distinguish between kidney injury caused by SLE and kidney injury caused by APOL1 gene mutations. In collaboration with West African physician scientists, the Blazer Lab now aims to use epigenetic profiling on cellular debris present in the urine to identify biomarkers of SLE nephritis and APOL1 associated nephropathy. 

Dr. Blazer supports her research through NIH funding as well as funding from foundations such as the Lupus Research Alliance and The Rheumatology Research Foundation. She has been a dedicated champion of health equity particularly in the African American community. She is passionate about research, teaching, and medical communication, and is active in community outreach and education through multiple national organizations.

Systemic lupus erythematosus, African ancestry, Genetics, Functional Genomics, Health equity

Yip K, Akerman M, Fernandez Ruiz R, Leung N, Algasas H, Qian Y, Blazer, A. Osteonecrosis is associated with APOL1 variants in African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus. Frontiers in Lupus. 2023;1. doi: 10.3389/flupu.2023.1219277

Lanata CM, Taylor KE, Hurst-Hopf J, Nititham J, Blazer A, Trupin L, et al. Screening of environmental chemicals to characterize exposures in participants with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023. Epub 20231221. doi: 10.1002/art.42779. PubMed PMID: 38129991

Morand, E.F., Fernandez-Ruiz, R., Blazer, A., Niewold, T., Advances in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus. BMJ, 2023. 383: p. e073980

Forrest, I.S., Petrazzini, B., Duffy, A., Park, J., O'Neal, A., Jordan, D., Blazer, A., et al., A machine learning model identifies patients in need of autoimmune disease testing using electronic health records. Nat Commun, 2023. 14(1): p. 2385

Blazer A, Qian Y, Schlegel MP, Algasas H, Buyon JP, Cadwell K, et al. APOL1 variant-expressing endot20927. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.769936. PubMed PMID: 36238153; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9551299.helial cells exhibit autophagic dysfunction and mitochondrial stress. Front Genet. 2022;13:769936. Epub 2022

Lanata, C.M., A. Blazer, and L.A. Criswell, The Contribution of Genetics and Epigenetics to Our Understanding of Health Disparities in Rheumatic Diseases. Rheum Dis Clin North Am, 2021. 47(1): p. 65-81

Blazer, A., Dey, D., Nwaukoni, J., et al., Apolipoprotein L1 risk genotypes in Ghanaian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a prospective cohort study. Lupus Sci Med, 2021. 8(1).