As president of a premier autoimmune research disease institute in the United States, Jane Buckner ’83 is helping countless people improve their daily lives. At Carleton Buckner was a chemistry major; she earned an MD from Johns Hopkins University and trained in medicine and rheumatology at the University of Minnesota and University of Washington. In 1999 she moved to the Benaroya Research Institute, where her research in autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis has led to a greater understanding of these diseases and the development of a selective immune therapy, referred to as engineered T regulatory cells. This new cell therapy is being developed for clinical trials in autoimmune disease. She now has more than 150 scholarly publications.
In 2016 Buckner was named president of Benaroya, overseeing 25 labs and a staff of hundreds. During the pandemic, she pivoted the institute to COVID-19 research, conducting phase three clinical trials for the Pfizer mRNA vaccine.
Buckner has won numerous awards, including the 2020 Puget Sound Business Journal Women of Influence Award. She has led national research consortiums including the Cooperative Working Group for Autoimmune Disease Prevention, she participates on multiple scientific advisory boards, and she is on the board of directors of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies.
Buckner is a parent of two Carls: Emily Buckner ’15 and John Buckner ’18. She lives in Seattle.