Alan Ebringer B.Sc, MD, FRCP, FRACP, FRCPath (born 12 February 1936) is an Australian immunologist, professor at King’s College in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He is also an Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist in the Middlesex Hospital, now part of the UCH School of Medicine. He is known for his research in the field of autoimmune disease.

Early life and education

Ebringer was educated in Melbourne High School, and graduated in Medicine from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He has three children and eight grandchildren.

Career

Ebringer worked for one year as a Medical Registrar at the Walter Eliza Hall Institute under Sir

Macfarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, (3 September 1899 – 31 August 1985), usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist known for his contributions to immunology. He won a Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immun ...

and Prof. Ian Mackay where he developed an interest in autoimmune diseases. He moved to London in the 1970s, working first with Ivan Roitt in the Department of Immunology at the Middlesex Hospital. In 1972, he formed the Immunology Unit at

Queen Elizabeth College Queen Elizabeth College (QEC) was a college in London. It had its origins in the Ladies' (later Women's) Department of King's College, London, England, opened in 1885 but later accepted men as well. The first King's 'extension' lectures for l ...

, now linked to King’s College which was located in the Departments of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biology studying autoimmune diseases. About 22 Ph.D. students graduated from the Immunology Unit over the subsequent thirty years. Ebringer is the pioneer researcher behind autoimmune disease and "molecular mimicry," and was head of the Middlesex AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis) Clinic, London, for nearly 20 years where the was employed as successful therapy in AS patients. Ebringer was among the first to investigate the relationship between autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and certain bacteria, ''Proteus mirabilis'' in particular (Ankylosing Spondylitis and ''Klebsiella pneumoniae''; Multiple Sclerosis and ''Acinetobacter calcoaceticus''). His findings have been cited by proponents of herbal medicine Low-starch and gluten-free diets.

Publications

Ebringer is the author of several books on the subject of autoimmune disease, including ''Rheumatoid arthritis and Proteus''. and ''Ankylosing spondylitis and Klebsiella'' (Springer publications) He also published a number of articles on the subject in peer reviewed journals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebringer, Alan Australian immunologists 1936 births Living people Academics of King's College London