Dr. Richard Burt
Chief, Division of Immunotherapy, Northwestern University, USA
Dr. Richard Burt, MD, is Chief of the Division of Immunotherapy, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Burt pioneered the use of hematopoietic stem cells to treat autoimmune diseases. He performed and continues to do stem cell transplants in numerous animal autoimmune diseases for preclinical data to support human clinical trials. Dr. Burt performed either America’s first or the world’s first autologous (one’s own) hematopoietic stem cell transplants for numerous immune mediated diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn’s disease, polymyositis, bullous pemphigus, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, neurovascular Behcets, neurovascular or pulmonary Sjogrens, Wegners granulmatosus, and Arron’s syndrome (immune-mediated blindness), Devics, and type 1 diabetes. Northwestern University’s Division of Immunotherapy and Autoimmune Diseases, under Dr. Burt’s direction, has performed more hematopoietic stem cell transplants for autoimmune and immune mediated diseases than any other center in the world. Dr. Burt is the leader of randomized controlled trials currently ongoing in America for Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and systemic sclsclerosis (scleroderma).These trials are: ASSIST (American Scleroderma Stem cell vs Immune Suppression Trial), KISS ( Crohns Immune Suppression vs Stem cell Transplant), and MIST ( Multiple sclerosis Immune suppression vs Stem cell Transplant). Dr. Burt has also performed the World’s first allogeneic (another person’s ) stem cell transplant for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, and crohn’s disease. Current clinical trials being developed by Dr. Burt based on animal stem cell transplant models in Dr. Burt’s laboratory include allogeneic umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants peripheral vascular disease (PVD) on an FDA approved clinical trial and is developing a stem cell transplants protocol for chronic congestive heart failure. Dr. Burt was recognized by Scientific America along with Al Gore (Vice President of America) and Steve Jobs (CEO Apple Computers) as one of the top 50 people in the world for improving humanity due to his pioneering stem cell work. Dr Burt’s stem cell trials are being run at San Louis Hospital (Paris France), Uppsala University (Stockholm, Sweden) and the University of Sao Paolo (Ribeirao Preto, Brasil). In 2011, Science Illustrated recognized Dr Burt’s stem cell work as one of the top 10 advances of the decade.
