Hans D. Ochs, MD, Dr.med (Hans Dieter Ochs) (born September 29, 1936 in Spaichingen, Germany), is an immunologist and pediatrician. He is Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.

Medical and Research Career more less

Hans D. Ochs graduated from the University of Freiburg, Germany with a degree and Doctorate in Medicine. He was a resident in Pediatrics at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu, at the University of Tübingen, Germany and at the University of Washington, Seattle. He received post-graduate training in Biochemistry at the University of Tübingen and in clinical Immunology at the University of Washington. He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the German Pediatric Board.

Dr. Ochs' research focuses on the molecular basis of Primary immunodeficiency diseases with special interest in the genes that have been linked to the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, Hyper IgM syndrome, X-linked agammaglobulinemia, IPEX syndrome and autosomal dominante Hyper IgE syndrome. To improve the long-term outcome of these disorders, he has actively participated in clinical trials to develop strategies of immunoglobulin replacement therapies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and gene therapy.

Dr. Ochs' clinical interests focus on the use of intravenous and subcutaneous immunoglobulin in patients with antibody deficiencies and the in vivo analysis of antibody production using bacteriophage Phi X 174. He and his collaborators contributed to the identification of several genes associated with Primary immunodeficiency diseases located on the X chromosome, including CD40L, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein, Bruton's tyrosine kinase, and FOXP3.

Recently, he focused on the gene Uracil-DNA glycosylase, causing a rare form of autosomal recessive Hyper IgM syndrome, and on STAT3, the gene causing autosomal dominant Hyper IgE syndrome if mutated.

In 1995, he moved the immunodeficiency clinic from the University to Seattle Children's Hospital, providing diagnostic evaluations and clinical care for both pediatric and adult patients with Primary immunodeficiency diseases. He initiated and maintained a successful cooperation with the bone marrow transplant unit of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center since the early 70s and participated in the design of protocols related to stem cell transplantation for patients with SCID, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, Chronic Granulomatous Disease, and X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M syndrome.

The Ochs / Torgerson Lab focuses on:

Autoimmunity and Immune dysregulation
Regulatory T cells and mutations of FOXP3
The molecular consequences of heterozygous dominant negative STAT3 mutations and their relationship to autosomal dominant Hyper IgE syndrome