Dr. Jimenez's research activities have focused on the application of biochemical, molecular biological, and genetic approaches to the study of Scleroderma, fibrotic disorders, and Osteoarthritis. His major contributions have been the identification of mechanisms of cytokine regulation of collagen gene expression and of the interactions between inflammatory cells and fibroblasts, the study of the role of transforming growth factor in tissue fibrosis, the identification of cartilage gene mutations in Osteoarthritis, and the demonstration of microchimeric fetal cells in affected tissues from Scleroderma patients supporting the hypothesis that fetal cell transfer across the placenta during pregnancy may cause the disease.
The goals of Dr. Jimenez's current research interests are to unravel the early events responsible for the initiation of the fibrotic process in systemic sclerosis, focusing on the role of two novel proteins, allograft inflammatory factor-1 and caveolin-1, and to study the role of macrophages as initiators of this process through their interactions with environmental or infectious agents.