Robert Siegel
Professor (Teaching) of Microbiology and Immunology
Microbiology & Immunology
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/people/siegelr
Academic Appointments
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Professor (Teaching), Microbiology & Immunology
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Affiliate, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Honors & Awards
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Award for Outstanding Service, American Cancer Society Boulder County (1980)
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Dean's Award for Outstanding Teaching in Human Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine (1990)
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Dean's Award for Outstanding Community Service, Stanford University School of Medicine (1990)
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Peter and Helen Bing Award for Outstanding Teaching, Stanford University (1994)
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Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Preclinical Teaching, Stanford University School of Medicine (1998)
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Distinguished Teaching Award, Associated Students of Stanford University (2000)
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Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Preclinical Teaching, Stanford University School of Medicine (2002)
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"Excellence in Teaching" Pin, Stanford School of Medicine (2004)
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Certificate of Appreciation for Community Volunteer Work, Stanford University (2004)
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Award for Excellence in Faculty Advising, Stanford University Program in Human Biology (2006)
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Henry J. Kaiser Award for Excellence in Preclinical Teaching, Stanford University School of Medicine (2006)
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"Leadership in Education" Pin, Stanford University School of Medicine (2008)
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Master Advisor Award - First recipient, Stanford University Program in Human Biology (2008)
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Walter J Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford University (2011)
Professional Education
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M.D., Stanford University, Medicine (1990)
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Ph.D., Univ. of Colorado at Boulder, Molecular Biology (1984)
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M.A., Stanford University, Education (1977)
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B.A., Stanford University, Psychology (1976)
Community and International Work
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In country orientation leader
Topic
HIV prevention education
Partnering Organization(s)
Support for International Change
Populations Served
NorthernTanzania
Location
International
Ongoing Project
Yes
Opportunities for Student Involvement
Yes
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Students for International Change, Tanzania
Topic
HIV/AIDS Education
Location
International
Ongoing Project
Yes
Opportunities for Student Involvement
Yes
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
My work is primarily involved in medical education and curricular development, especially in the areas of infectious disease, virology, HIV, and molecular biology. Projects included electronic applications to science education, three dimensional model building, service learning, and the development of undergraduate research projects.
2024-25 Courses
- 46 Orders of Birds
MI 175 (Spr) - Photographing Nature
MI 110 (Win) - Viruses in the News
MI 95N (Win) -
Independent Studies (7)
- Directed Individual Study in Earth Systems
EARTHSYS 297 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Reading in Microbiology and Immunology
MI 198 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Reading in Microbiology and Immunology
MI 299 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Research
EARTHSYS 250 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Graduate Research
MI 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Medical Scholars Research
MI 370 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Undergraduate Research
MI 199 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Individual Study in Earth Systems
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- 46 Orders of Birds
MI 175 (Spr) - Climate Crisis Management
MI 160 (Spr) - Photographing Nature
MI 110 (Win) - The Vaccine Revolution
MI 115B (Spr) - Viruses in the News
MI 95N (Win)
2022-23 Courses
- Climate Crisis Management
MI 160 (Spr) - Humans and Viruses I
MI 155A (Win) - Life in the Coronascene
MI 255C (Win) - Nature through Photography
MLA 326 (Sum) - Photographing Nature
MI 70Q (Win, Spr) - The Vaccine Revolution
MI 115B (Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- Desert Biogeography of Joshua Tree National Park
MI 28SC (Sum) - Humans and Viruses I
MI 155A (Win) - Humans and Viruses II
MI 155B (Spr) - Photographing Nature
MI 70Q (Win)
- 46 Orders of Birds
Stanford Advisees
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Master's Program Advisor
Ike Aguigui, Steve Andrews, Tipu Barber, Demian Ford, Mark Hendrickson, Gina Jorasch, Shashwat Vidhu Sher, Heather Weckel
All Publications
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The efficacy of IL-6 inhibitor Tocilizumab in reducing severe COVID-19 mortality: a systematic review
PEERJ
2020; 8: e10322
Abstract
In the absence of highly effective antiviral therapies against SARS-CoV-2, it is crucial to counter the known pathophysiological causes of severe COVID-19. Evaluating the efficacy existing drugs may expedite the development of such therapeutics. Severe COVID-19 is largely the result of a dysregulated immune response characterized by lymphocytopenia, neutrophilia and critical hypercytokinemia, or "cytokine storm," which is largely mediated by the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab (TCZ) could potentially suppress the effects of the pro-inflammatory cytokine and thereby lower mortality from the disease. This systematic analysis aimed to investigate and synthesize existing evidence for the efficacy of TCZ in reducing COVID-19 mortality.PubMed and SearchWorks searches were performed to locate clinical studies with primary data on TCZ treatment for severe COVID-19. Sixteen case-control studies comparing mortality between TCZ and standard of care (SOC) were identified for quantitative synthesis. The systematic analysis was pre-approved through PROSPERO (CRD42020193479).Combined mortality for the TCZ-treated and SOC groups were 26.0% and 43.4% respectively. In all but one of the studies, the odds ratio of mortality from COVID-19 pointed towards lower fatality with TCZ vs the SOC. A combined random effects odds ratio calculation yielded an odds ratio of 0.453 (95% CI [0.376-0.547], p < 0.001). Additionally, 18 uncontrolled trials were identified for qualitative analysis producing a raw combined mortality rate of 16.0%.Important caveats to this research include the lack of prospective randomized control trials and the absence of data from the large COVATA study from the published literature. However, results from this systematic analysis of published research provide positive evidence for the potential efficacy of TCZ to treat severe COVID-19, validating the ethical basis and merit of ongoing randomized controlled clinical trials.
View details for DOI 10.7717/peerj.10322
View details for Web of Science ID 000583631300009
View details for PubMedID 33194450
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7643559
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Fatal H1N1-Related Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy in an Adult.
Case reports in critical care
2011; 2011: 562516-?
Abstract
Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is a severe neurological complication of influenza infection, including H1N1 influenza. Many cases of ANE have been reported in the pediatric literature, but very few cases have been described in adults. The cause of ANE remains unknown-the influenza virus is not known to be neurotropic, and evidence of direct viral involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) has not been demonstrated in the limited cases of ANE in which pathological specimens have been obtained. Here we report a fatal case of ANE from H1N1 influenza infection in an adult. Neuroimaging and postmortem analysis both showed widespread brain edema, necrosis, and hemorrhage, but molecular studies and postmortem pathology revealed no evidence of direct viral involvement of the CNS. This case of fatal ANE in an adult is consistent with the hypothesis generated from pediatric cases that the host immune response, and not direct viral invasion of the CNS, is responsible for pathogenesis of ANE.
View details for DOI 10.1155/2011/562516
View details for PubMedID 24826323
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4010007
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Fatal H1N1-Related Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy in an Adult
Case Reports in Critical Care
2011; 2011: 4
View details for DOI 10.1155/2011/562516
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Amantadine in treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection?
JOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS
2005; 12 (5): 445-455
Abstract
Treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) continues to be an important and growing challenge. As the response rate to FDA-approved treatment improved over the past decade, we are facing increasing number of difficult-to-treat patients such as those who have failed prior anti-viral therapy. The role of amantadine in the treatment of CHC remains unclear. Studies thus far have produced conflicting results, and type II error could not be excluded. This review summarized results published in the literature from 1997 to 2003, and reviewed the existing questions and controversies regarding the use of amantadine. Current literature suggests that amantadine is ineffective as monotherapy. Amantadine increased the sustained virologic response of certain treatment naïve patients when used in combination with interferon, and may be effective as an adjunct to interferon-based combination therapy in some patients who have failed or relapsed on prior therapy. Factors such as small sample size, patient characteristics, and differences in treatment protocols including amantadine preparation and duration of therapy might explain the conflicting observations of various studies. Further investigations are needed to define optimal dosing and formulation of amantadine, and its appropriate role in management of CHC infection.
View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2005.00622.x
View details for Web of Science ID 000231223400001
View details for PubMedID 16108758