Michael J Lenardo

Michael J. Lenardo, M.D. is an American molecular immunologist and geneticist and is the chief scientific officer of Calico Life Sciences. Previously, he was the chief of the Molecular Development and Immune System Section and the founder and co-director of the Clinical Genomics Program at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Trained as a geneticist, molecular biologist, and immunologist, his research examines how cells of the immune system defend themselves against various pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. His research has investigated genetic abnormalities in the immune system, mechanisms of cell death, genetic diseases of immune homeostasis and autoimmunity, and development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases of the immune system. Lenardo's contributions to science and medicine have shown the possibilities of genomic research in developing precision medicine diagnoses and treatments for disease in humans. In 2006 he was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II. He has 6 siblings Mary, Guy, Elizabeth (Lizzie), Timothy (Tim), and Eugene (Geno) Lenardo, the latter of which was part of the Filter rock band. He became interested in genetics while a student at Campion Jesuit High School during a senior project in which he prepared karyotypes of chromosomes for a hospital laboratory investigating birth defects in infants. His research interests branched into molecular genetics while an undergraduate student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked in a laboratory within the Department of Medical Genetics at the medical school. He continued his research at Washington University in St. Louis, where he was introduced to molecular biology through virus research. In Donelson's laboratory, Lenardo was introduced to advanced molecular techniques, including DNA manipulation and sequencing, which encouraged him to pursue molecular research rather than clinical work. His postdoctoral training was productive and involved developing the functional assay for the newly described NF-kB binding complex, providing first evidence of the role of NF-kB in innate immunity, and co-discovering the Oct4 nuclear factor with Louis M. Staudt, among other contributions. Following the completion of his postdoctoral fellowship, he became an independent principal investigator at NIAID, National Institutes of Health.

Lenardo has published over 250 scholarly works and holds a number of medical patents. This has resulted in the discovery of fundamental principles of cellular homeostasis involving previously unidentified molecules, including Fas, Caspase 8, Caspase 10, PI-3 kinase p110, CTLA-4 and its regulator LRBA, CD55, and the MagT1 magnesium transporter.

Lenardo's work reveals how these molecules control the homeostasis of both immune and non-immune cell types. His discoveries have been found to be broadly applicable to common diseases such as cancer. Lenardo has been a strong proponent of mentorship for emerging young scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

He has founded or co-founded several joint research programs, including the NIH-Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program (OxCam), the NIH-University of Pennsylvania Immunology Graduate Partnership Program, the NIH-Marshall Scholars, the NIH-Rhodes Scholars, the National M.D./Ph.D. Partnership Training Program, and the NIH-Institut Pasteur Infectious Disease and Immunology Program.

Music Lenardo is a member of The Affordable Rock 'n' Roll Act, a band composed of NIH physicians, scientists, and researchers, including NIH Director Francis Collins. Lenardo sings and plays guitar. The band has performed at the Library of Congress, National Building Museum, and several NIH events. 2020: American Association of Immunologists Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research Lenardo, Michael. "Benjamin Banneker: How cicadas led this Maryland farmer to become the country's first recognized Black scientist | COMMENTARY". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2022-02-16.