About the Center

Martin F. Kagnoff, M.D.

Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, UC San Diego
Director, Wm. K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease


  • Received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
  • Recognized expert worldwide for studies in the areas of Celiac Disease, intestinal immunology and inflammatory diseases of the intestine.
  • Director of the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology at UCSD.
  • Member of the National Institutes of Health Consensus Committee on Celiac Disease, which has published recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Celiac Disease.
  • Coauthor of the technical report and position statement of the American Gastroenterological Society on Celiac Disease.
  • Author of numerous groundbreaking papers on intestinal immunity and inflammation.
  • Served as Editor for two of the most prestigious biomedical research journals and Chairman of the Immunology, Microbiology, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease section of the American Gastroenterological Association.
  • Directs and oversees the day-to-day research operations and research projects conducted by leading investigators affiliated with the Wm. K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease.
  • Consults and works closely with the medical personnel who care for adults and children with celiac disease at UCSD.
  • Consults and advises with gastroenterologists and other physicians from around the country on the management and care of patients with Celiac Disease.

Gregory Harmon, M.D.

Associate Physician, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego


  • Manages the Adult Celiac Clinic at UCSD Perlman Ambulatory Outpatient Center.
  • Received his medical degree from The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
  • Completed Gastroenterology Fellowship training at the University of California, San Diego.
  • Dr. Harmon's research interests include studies of the biomarkers of celiac disease and inflammatory disorders of the intestine.

Kimberly P. Newton, M.D.

Assistant Adjunct Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UC San Diego


  • Manages the Pediatric Celiac Clinic at Rady Children’s Hospital.
  • Received her medical degree from The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
  • Completed her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship training at Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Brown University.
  • Dr. Newton’s research interests include the evaluation of potential biomarkers for monitoring celiac disease activity and dietary compliance, the investigation of gut microflora composition and its relationship to celiac disease development, as well as the characterization of neurologic manifestations of celiac disease in the pediatric population.

Hilde Cheroutre, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine, UC San Diego
Associate Member, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LIAI)


  • Received her Ph.D. degree from the State University of Ghent, Belgium. She continued her training in Immunology at Caltech (Pasadena, CA) and UCLA (Los Angeles, CA).
  • Known for her significant contributions to the understanding of immune T cell regulation and differentiation. Her work has been published in high profile journals worldwide.
  • Dr. Cheroutre's research focuses on several aspects of the mucosal immune system and, in particular, on the mucosal T cells of the intestine. Many of the mucosal T cells have acquired regulatory functions. Defects in their development or differentiation have been identified as a leading cause of severe immune pathology, locally in the intestine as well as systemically.
  • Celiac Disease is a T cell driven immune disorder. Although the initial focus centered on pathogenic CD4 + T cells, Dr. Cheroutre's research demonstrates that celiac disease is a much more complex disease involving multiple subsets of pathogenic and regulatory T cells.
  • Dr. Cheroutre's work to better understand the mechanisms and processes that mediate and/or control celiac disease has important implications for the development of novel or improved medical therapies.

Michael Karin, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology, UCSD


  • Received his Ph.D. degree from University of California, Los Angeles in Molecular Biology.
  • Completed his postdoctoral training at the Fox Chase Institute for Cancer Research and at the University of California, San Francisco.
  • Served as a member of the National Advisory Council for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences and was an American Cancer Society Research Professor.
  • Dr. Karin's research focuses on signal transduction pathways that regulate gene expression. He has made major contributions in defining key elements in genes responsible for their regulation, and in particular, key genes responsible for regulating inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. His work with genetically mutant murine models that develop intestinal inflammation has led to new insights into key mechanisms responsible for mucosal inflammation and the development of intestinal cancer. His work on host innate immunity is among the most highly cited by those working in the biologic sciences.
  • Dr. Karin's work with the Warren Center involves studies of genetically mutant mice that develop small intestinal mucosal inflammation, similar to that seen in human celiac disease.

Susan Algert, Ph.D., R.D.

Nutritionist


  • Received her Ph.D. degree in Social Science from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master of Science in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Algert is also a Registered Dietitian.
  • Author of numerous scientific and lay publications on health promotion and disease prevention.
  • 30 years of experience in counseling both adult and pediatric patients in major medical centers.
  • Dr. Algert's current research projects at the Warren Center include assessing compliance and level of knowledge of the gluten free diet in patients with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity

Linda Nelson

Administrative Manager


  • Directs the administrative operations for the Warren Center.

 

ADVISORY BOARDS

Scientific Advisory Board Members

  • Lloyd F. Mayer, M.D. Professor of Immune Medicine, Medicine, & Microbiology Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY
  • Ludvig M. Sollid, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine University of Oslo, Norway
  • Chaitan Khosla, Ph.D. Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and (by courtesy) Biochemistry Wells H. Rauser & Harold M. Petiprin Professor in the School of Engineering Stanford University, Stanford, CA
  • Bana Jabri, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pathology University of Chicago, IL
  • D. Brent Polk, M.D. Dean's Professor of Pediatrics and Cell & Development Biology Director, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology Director, Digestive Diseases Research Center Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Community Advisory Board Members

  • Karen Fine, Founder, along with her husband, of Gluten Free Foundation
  • Roxie Johnson, Founder of Gluten Free in San Diego
  • Elaine Monarch, Founder of the Celiac Disease Foundation

 

About the William K. Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease

Thanks to a $2.5 million research grant from the Oklahoma-based William K. Warren Foundation, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have joined in the fight against Celiac Disease, a disease estimated to affect one in 100 Americans. Celiac Disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of a common protein called gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and other wheat, rye and barley containing foods.

The mission of the Center is to advance the knowledge of Celiac Disease pathogenesis and to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic advances. Community activities include increasing the medical and local community's knowledge about Celiac Disease. The Center clinics at UCSD aim to provide state-of-the-art clinical care and education to adults and children with celiac disease.

 

About the William K. Warren Foundation

The William K. Warren Foundation was established on December 21, 1945, in Tulsa, Oklahoma by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren, Sr. Over the years, the Warrens have established a comprehensive health care system in Tulsa and given substantially to many charities. Mrs. Natalie O. Warren became the first president of the Foundation. Today their son, William K. Warren, Jr., serves as Chairman Emeritus and Vice President of Research. Their grandson, John-Kelly C. Warren, serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

William K. Warren, Sr., a pioneer Oklahoma oilman, founded Warren Petroleum Company in 1922. Mr. Warren built his company into an international corporation for which he served as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until his retirement in 1961. At that time, Mr. Warren served as Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Gulf Oil Corporation and later became Director Emeritus of that corporation until his passing on June 11, 1990.

From the inception of the Foundation, members of the Warren family have been its sole source of funds and the Foundation has been the sole source of funds for Saint Francis Health System's five hospitals, Warren Clinic, and Montereau Retirement Community, all based in Oklahoma. They have contributed their time and efforts to many of the Foundation's activities and affairs, many of which involve Saint Francis Health System.

Since the the William K. Warren Foundation opened Saint Francis Hospital in 1960, it has grown into an 871 bed tertiary hospital, the largest and most modern in the State of Oklahoma . Saint Francis Hospital has a medical staff of 656 members comprising every specialty in the field of medicine and employing over 7,000 people in the Tulsa Metropolitan area making it one of the largest employers in the state. The goal of the Foundation has been to provide the finest possible medical care available to all patients utilizing Saint Francis Health System and to this end, it annually supports various medical programs. Most noteworthy and unique is the fact that the Hospital was built in its entirety by funds from the Foundation without any cost to citizens or tax dollars at the Federal or local levels.

In addition to the hospitals and clinics, the Foundation created The William K. Warren Medical Research Center, which provides funds to medical investigators who participate in advanced medical research and in 2006 established the Wm K Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease at UCSD.