John Atkinson

John P. Atkinson, MD, is the Samuel B. Grant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, with a joint professorship in Molecular Microbiology. He earned his B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Kansas in 1969. Atkinson completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1969 to 1971, followed by a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health from 1973 to 1974 and postdoctoral research training at the NIH and Washington University School of Medicine from 1974 to 1976. Joining the faculty at Washington University in 1976, he directed the Division of Rheumatology from 1976 to 1992 and again from 2007 to the present. During 1976 to 1992, he also served as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. From 1992 to 1997, he was Physician-in-Chief at Barnes Hospital, Adolphus Busch Professor, and Head of the John M. Dalton Department of Medicine.

Atkinsons research elucidates the complement system and its role in infectious, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases, including the discovery of membrane cofactor protein (MCP, known as CD46), which regulates complement activation to protect healthy cells. His work addresses the etiopathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitic syndromes, age-related macular degeneration, and retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy and systemic manifestations (RVCL-S), where he characterized the condition in 1987 and identified the TREX1 frameshift mutation; he directs the RVCL Research Center established in 2016. Clinically, he cares for patients with complement deficiencies and rare immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, drawing referrals from across the country. Atkinson has authored more than 270 peer-reviewed publications and chairs NIH scientific boards, such as the National Human Genome Research Institute Board of Scientific Counselors. He has trained generations of graduate students, rheumatology fellows, and physician-scientists, earning the Teacher of the Year or Distinguished Service Teaching Award 16 times, including the Alpha Omega Alpha National Distinguished Teacher Award in 1991. Major honors include the American College of Rheumatology Presidential Gold Medal, the American Society of Hematology Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award in 2022, the Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2015, the American Association of Immunologists Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024.

Professional Email: j.p.atkinson@wustl.edu