Anne M Stevens, MD, PhD

Anne M Stevens, MD, PhD

Rheumatology

On staff since July 2000

Academic Title: Affiliate Clinical Professor

"Many years ago, I began caring for a child with severe lung disease due to scleroderma, an autoimmune condition in which inflammation of the skin and lungs leads to scarring. At the time, the five-year survival rate for scleroderma was only 50%. Although the patient missed a lot of school during treatment, she stayed healthy with her parents’ support. She even played varsity basketball in high school. Her father once worried that he’d never see her grow up. Now he thinks he might be able to walk her down the aisle someday. Patients like her motivate me to advance scientific understanding of scleroderma and other diseases and to hopefully discover new treatments through laboratory research."

  • Patient Testimonials

    • Caroline WA, currently in New England 01.21.22

      Dr. Stevens had been my daughter's rheumatologist since 2016 and sad to say goodbye as my daughter transitioned to adult rheumatology. Dr. Stevens is one of the most caring and compassionate specialists we've known and to this day we still keep in touch. Dr. Stevens goes above and beyond and ensures patient's safety and well-being are the the utmost priority. Thanks for everything, Dr. Stevens! We love and miss you.

    Recommend Anne M Stevens, MD, PhD

  • Awards and Honors

    Award Name Award Description Awarded By Award Date
    Seattle Top Doctor - 2019 Seattle Magazine 2019
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2018 Seattle Magazine 2018
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2017 Seattle Magazine 2017
    SEATTLE'S TOP DOCTOR - 2016 Seattle Magazine 2016
    U.S. News Top Doctor U.S. News and World Report 2012
    Seattle Magazine Top Doctor - 2012 Seattle Magazine Top Doctor - 2012 Seattle Magazine 2012

  • Publications

    Other Publications

    • Lu JQ, Joseph JT, Nash RA, Storek J, Stevens AM, Metz LM, Clark AW, Johnson ES, Yong VW
      Neuroinflammation and demyelination in multiple sclerosis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
      20558390 Archives of neurology, 2010 June : 716-22
    • Stevens AM, Hermes HM, Kiefer MM, Rutledge JC, Nelson JL
      Chimeric maternal cells with tissue-specific antigen expression and morphology are common in infant tissues.
      18939886 Pediatric and developmental pathology : the official journal of the Society for Pediatric Pathology and the Paediatric Pathology Society, 2009 Sept. : 337-46
    • Dai Z, Turtle CJ, Booth GC, Riddell SR, Gooley TA, Stevens AM, Spies T, Groh V
      Normally occurring NKG2D+CD4+ T cells are immunosuppressive and inversely correlated with disease activity in juvenile-onset lupus.
      19289577 The Journal of experimental medicine, 2009 Apr 13 : 793-805
    • Lu JQ, Storek J, Metz L, Yong VW, Stevens AM, Nash RA, Joseph JT
      Continued disease activity in a patient with multiple sclerosis after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
      19139309 Archives of neurology, 2009 Jan. : 116-20
    • Shaw EA, Stevens AM
      Are pediatric autoimmune diseases primarily genetic diseases?
      18698183 Current opinion in rheumatology, 2008 Sept. : 589-94
    • Stevens AM
      Do maternal cells trigger or perpetuate autoimmune diseases in children?
      17550578 Pediatric rheumatology online journal, 2007 May 16 : 9
    • Nelson JL, Gillespie KM, Lambert NC, Stevens AM, Loubiere LS, Rutledge JC, Leisenring WM, Erickson TD, Yan Z, Mullarkey ME, Boespflug ND, Bingley PJ, Gale EA
      Maternal microchimerism in peripheral blood in type 1 diabetes and pancreatic islet beta cell microchimerism.
      17244711 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007 Jan 30 : 1637-42
    • Stevens AM, Tsao BP, Hahn BH, Guthrie K, Lambert NC, Porter AJ, Tylee TS, Nelson JL
      Maternal HLA class II compatibility in men with systemic lupus erythematosus.
      16142706 Arthritis and rheumatism, 2005 Sept. : 2768-73
    • Yan Z, Lambert NC, Guthrie KA, Porter AJ, Loubiere LS, Madeleine MM, Stevens AM, Hermes HM, Nelson JL
      Male microchimerism in women without sons: quantitative assessment and correlation with pregnancy history.
      16084184 The American journal of medicine, 2005 Aug. : 899-906
    • Stevens AM, McDonnell WM, Mullarkey ME, Pang JM, Leisenring W, Nelson JL
      Liver biopsies from human females contain male hepatocytes in the absence of transplantation.
      15502859 Laboratory investigation; a journal of technical methods and pathology, 2004 Dec. : 1603-9
    • Stevens AM
      Foreign cells in polymyositis: could stem cell transplantation and pregnancy-derived chimerism lead to the same disease?
      14609488 Current rheumatology reports, 2003 Dec. : 437-44
    • Stevens AM, Hermes HM, Rutledge JC, Buyon JP, Nelson JL
      Myocardial-tissue-specific phenotype of maternal microchimerism in neonatal lupus congenital heart block.
      14630442 Lancet, 2003 Nov 15 : 1617-23

Overview

Board Certification(s)

Pediatric Rheumatology

Medical/Professional School

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Residency

Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Seattle, WA

Fellowship

University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA

Clinical Interests

Role of maternal microchimerism in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus and scleroderma

Research Description

The Stevens Lab is focused on the role of maternal microchimerism and T lymphocyte regulation in children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

There are two major projects:

1) Maternal Microchimerism in Systemic Lupus.

The role that maternal cells, passing into the fetus during pregnancy and persisting for years in the child, play in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The lab has demonstrated that maternal cells can differentiate into myocardial cells in the hearts of infants with neonatal lupus syndrome, where these foreign cells may act as targets for the child's immune system. Maternal cells in children can also become liver cells, kidney cells, and pancreatic islet cells.

Current work aims to answer the question: do maternal cells, expressing foreign proteins, act to stimulate the child's immune system in these organs, leading to chronic inflammatory diseases like lupus? Or do maternal cells respond to tissue injury and aid in repair of tissue injured by inflammation due to another cause? To answer this question, the lab is studying the immune response to chimeric maternal cells in children with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and a mouse model investigating the role of maternal cells in renal injury.

2) The Loss of the Negative Regulator PD-L1 on Dendritic Cells and Monocytes in Children with SLE.

The loss of the negative regulator PD-L1 on dendritic cells and monocytes in children with SLE. This loss of a protein that inhibits T lymphocytes may lead to chronic inflammation in SLE. The Stevens Lab members are studying how PD-L1 is regulated, and exploring the use of PD-L1 as a biomarker for SLE disease activity or replacing PD-L1 as a treatment.

Students currently training in the lab include: Brian Harrington, James Kuo.
Post-Doctoral Fellow: Jing-Ni Ou, PhD

Research Focus Area

Autoimmune Diseases