David Figge, M.D., Ph.D., joins the Department of Pathology’s Division of Laboratory Medicine, led by Sixto Leal, M.D., Ph.D., as an assistant professor and Director of Clinical Immunology effective July 1.
Figge will assume the directorship role from predecessor José Lima, M.D., Associate Director, Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Director of the UAB Apheresis Service.
Originally from Wisconsin, Figge describes himself as a "transplant to the South" and has been a Birmingham resident for 15 years. Figge graduated from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine in 2018 with both his medical degree and Ph.D. in neuroscience. Due to his scholastic accomplishments while in medical school, he was awarded the UAB William Boyd Medal for Most Outstanding Medical Student in Pathology and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. He then completed his residency training in clinical pathology at UAB Pathology in 2021. Upon his graduation, Figge continued his interests in research as an instructor/fellow under the supervision of Casey Weaver, M.D., Professor, Anatomic Pathology, before joining the department in 2024.
During his medical training, Figge began to appreciate how the multiple organ systems are deeply interconnected through unique combinations of common biochemical mechanisms to allow for specialized cellular functions. This led to his broad interest in understanding the functional effects non-coding genetic regions have on transcriptional and cellular behavior. His graduate thesis focused on understanding how epigenetic mechanisms contribute to long-term cellular memory within the central nervous system, and how the subsequent dysregulation of these mechanisms contributes to Parkinson's disease. During his clinical training, he became fascinated with the pivotal role the immune system plays in the development of several aging-related disorders and the correlation between chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative disease. Due to these interests, his current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the transcriptional dysfunction observed in immune senescence and how that contributes to the development of neurodegeneration.
The UAB Clinical Immunology Laboratory is a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) licensed and College of American Pathologists (CAP) accredited diagnostic laboratory. The laboratory performs a variety of tests to identify antibodies mediating autoimmune disease or prior exposure to infectious agents as well as antigens specific to a variety of pathogens and diseases including cryoglobulins and monoclonal gammopathies. The laboratory runs about 16,000 tests per month.
Figge’s teaching responsibilities will include directorship of the Clinical Immunology curriculum for the Department of Pathology’s ACGME-accredited residency program and fellowship training programs in which immunology is a critical component.
"I'm very excited to start my new position here as the Director of Clinical Immunology,” Figge says. “After completing both my medical and residency training at UAB, I've come to realize how remarkable this institution is and I look forward to continuing my participation in this incredibly welcoming and collaborative community."
Please join us in congratulating Dr. David Figge on his new role as the Director of Clinical Immunology and his promotion to assistant professor in the Department of Pathology.