Chief Scientific Officer
Bloodworks Northwest
José A. López, M.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, Washington and Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry at the University of Washington. Dr. López is internationally acknowledged as one of the foremost experts in platelets and vascular biology, being recognized for his work in platelet receptors and VWF functions. He was the first to elucidate the structure of the platelet VWF receptor, GP Ib, and subsequently made seminal contributions to the understanding of the biology of this receptor, including its synthesis, post-translational modifications, role in adhesion and post-adhesion signaling, mutations associated with deficiency in humans, and polymorphisms. His studies led him to examine its major ligand, VWF. Together with his colleagues, he established the extraordinary dimensions of ULVWF secreted from endothelial cells, the requirement for its cleavage by ADAMTS13, and the unusual adhesiveness of these unprocessed forms of VWF. Recently, his lab has been exploring the physical and biochemical requirement for VWF to self-associate into enormous adhesive strands, and the factors that regulate the self-association, including high-density lipoprotein. He has also been largely responsible for identifying other ligands for the GP Ib complex, including P-selectin and the leukocyte integrin, MAC-1. He has been recognized for his accomplishments by election into the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians, and serving as a permanent member of the NIH Hematology I and Hemostasis and Thrombosis Study Sections, including chairing the later. He has also served on national and regional Study Sections of the American Heart Association. He was Chair for the Gordon Research Conference on Hemostasis in 2006 and served as the Co-Chairperson of the American Society of Hematology 2013 Annual Meeting Scientific Program, and has served as an Associate Editor at the journals Blood and Circulation.
Monday, July 11, 2022
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM