Ginny Bumgardner, MD, PHD

Professor

Surgery

Ginny Bumgardner

Academic contact

395 W 12th Ave
Columbus, OH 43210-1267

Phone: 614-293-8545
Fax: 614-293-6720

Ginny.Bumgardner@osumc.edu

Academic information

  • Department: Surgery
  • Division: Transplant

Research interests

  • Transplant Immunology

About

Biography

I am the Associate Dean for Physician Scientist Education and Training at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. I also serve as Director of the Ohio State Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) and Director of the Department of Surgery’s Research Training Program. I am a tenured Professor and transplant surgeon-scientist in the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplant Surgery, and Comprehensive Transplant Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. I recently completed my term as President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

I earned my undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in French from the College of William and Mary, my M.D. degree from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. during my General Surgery residency at the University of Minnesota. I completed my Transplant Surgery fellowship training at the University of California San Francisco. With over 30 years of experience in the practice and science of transplantation, I perform abdominal transplant surgery and provide pre-transplant, peri-transplant, and post-transplant care, including immunosuppression management.

In addition to patient care, teaching, and education administration, I direct an NIH-funded Transplant Immunology Laboratory. I am passionate about physician and surgeon-scientist education and training. As the inaugural Associate Dean for Physician Scientist Education and Training, I oversee physician scientist training and career development across the spectrum of early-stage trainees to early-career faculty.

I serve as Principal Investigator and Program Director for five NIH T32/T35 training grants, including the Ohio State MSTP T32 (MPI), a postdoctoral T32 entitled Advanced Research Training in Immunology for Surgical Trainees (ARTIST), the OSU Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) T32 pre-doctoral training grant, OSU R38 Stimulating Research and Residency (STARR), and the OSU T35 Short-term Research in Immunology and Virology Experience (STRIVE) training grant for medical students.

I currently serve as immediate past President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and as a member of the American College of Surgeons National Surgeon Scientist Program Committee. I was elected to the Ohio State Mazzaferri-Ellison Society of Master Clinicians in 2020 and received The Ohio State College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award in 2021.

Credentials

Education

Fellowship - Transplant Surgery
University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States
8/1/1991 - 7/31/1993
Residency - Surgery (General Surgery)
Fairview University of MN Hospital and Clinic, Minneapolis, MN
7/1/1984 - 6/30/1991
Internship - Surgery (General Surgery)
University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, United States
7/1/1983 - 6/30/1984
Doctor of Medicine (MD)
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, United States
8/1/1979 - 5/22/1983

Certifications

  • American Heart Association National Center
    5/1/2006
  • American Board of Surgery
    4/1/1992

Research

Research interests

  • Transplant Immunology

Research Interests

My laboratory-based investigations are focused on the discovery of novel mechanisms that regulate de novo alloantibody production after transplant to uncover new targets for development of immunotherapeutics. These studies address the clinical problem of antibody-mediated allograft damage by investigating mechanisms that 1) drive or downregulate alloAb production or 2) cause tissue damage mediated by alloAb effector pathways.

In addition, we test the relative efficacy of conventional and novel immunotherapeutics to suppress alloAb production to see if it interferes with alloAb-mediated graft damage and prolongs allograft survival. Well-developed experimental models are used to study allograft rejection mediated by alloAb alone (e.g., in Rag1 KO recipients), in vivo and in vitro cytotoxicity of alloprimed B cells, in vivo CD8-mediated suppression of alloprimed B cell antibody production, in vitro co-cultures to investigate CD8-mediated suppression of CD4+ T follicular helper cells and methods to enrich for CD8+ T Ab suppressor cells. Using these and other models, my research team was the first to discover a role for iNKT cells in critically enhancing the magnitude of alloAb production post-transplant and also the first to discover a novel CD8-dependent pathway which downregulates alloAb production post-transplant. Studies to date indicate that alloAb-mediated parenchymal cell injury is complement-independent, NK-independent and relies on macrophage dependent cytotoxic effector mechanism. My lab collaborates with experts in transplant immunology, tumor immunology and B cell biology.

Lab Mission Statement

The Bumgardner Transplant Immunology Laboratory research goals are to investigate adaptive and innate immune responses to both cellular and solid organ transplants to spearhead development of novel immunotherapies, which will prolong transplant allograft survival.

Current Research

  • More precisely identify the unique characteristics of a novel antibody suppressing CD8+ T cell subset and to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms critical for their activation, maturation and expansion.
  • Study mechanisms by which CD8+ T Ab suppressor cells suppress development and function of IL-4- and IL-21-producing CD4+ T follicular helper cells and germinal center B cells. These studies have significant potential clinical impact to suppress alloantibody production post-transplant as well as to suppress ongoing antibody mediated rejection.
  • Pursue human transplant immunology research to determine if donor specific alloantibody development is regulated by a subset of CD8+ T regulatory cells.

Research Techniques

Well-developed experimental models are used to study allograft rejection mediated by alloAb alone, in vivo and in vitro cytotoxicity of alloprimed B cells, in vivo CD8-mediated suppression of alloprimed B cell antibody production, in vitro co-cultures to investigate CD8-mediated suppression of CD4+ T follicular helper cells and methods to enrich for CD8+ T Ab suppressor cells.

A transgenic functional hepatocyte transplant model and vascularized kidney transplant model are used to study immunogenicity of allogeneic parenchymal cells.

Some research techniques that are commonly used in the laboratory include small animal surgery, liver cell isolation, injection of monoclonal antibodies, splenocyte isolation, phlebotomy, adoptive transfer of cell populations, in vitro cell culture, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, cell viability assays, ELISA, ELISPOT and confocal microscopy.

Funding

  • NIH T35 grant - Short-term Research in Immunology and Virology Experience (STRIVE), 5/1/2025–4/30/2030, $525,850
  • NIH T32 grant - Advancing Research Training in Immunology for Surgery Trainees (ARTIST), 8/1/2014–7/31/2029, $2,326,965
  • NIH R01 grant - Investigating a Novel Cellular Therapy to Prevent and Treat Acute Antibody Mediated Kidney Transplant Rejection, 7/1/2019–6/30/2024, $2,686,090
  • NIH T32 grant - Medical Scientist Training Program, 7/1/2021–6/30/2026, $4,189,808
  • NIH T32 grant - Predoctoral Research Training in Clinical and Translational Science, 10/2023–10/2028, $1,500,000
  • NIH R38 grant - OSU Stimulating Access to Research in Residency, 7/1/2024–6/30/2029, $2,063,065
  • Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant, Physician Scientist Retention in Research, 10/15/2021–10/14/2023, $550,000

Honors and News

  • President of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), 2024-2025
  • OSU Health & Discovery leader profile article, Transforming Lives, One Organ Transplant at a Time, 2025
  • Spearhead of inaugural ASTS Surgeon Scientist Career Development Conference, 2025
  • Surgeon scientist article, Blazing a trail: Supporting next generation physician scientists moves innovation forward, 2024
  • College of Medicine Distinguished Educator Award, 2021
  • Named a "Master Clinician" by The Ohio State University College of Medicine's Mazzaferri-Ellison Society of Master Clinicians, 2020
  • Voted by peers for the “Best Doctors List” for central Ohio, 2005 - 2015
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, The Ohio State University College of Medicine Department of Surgery, 2005

More about my research

News and media

My news coverage