Faculty Profile - Robert C. Allen, M.D., Ph.D.

Robert C. Allen, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Clinical Pathology

Creighton University Medical Center
Pathology Department and
Creighton Medical Laboratories
601 N. 30th St.
Omaha, NE. 68131-2197
(402) 280-5296
RobertAllen@creighton.edu
  • Professor of Pathology

Education

  • B.S. (Biology/Chemistry) Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana (1967)
  • Ph.D. (Biochemistry) Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1973)
  • M.D., Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1977)
  • Resident, Clinical Pathology, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, (1983-1985)

Research Sub-specialty Interests

  • The central idea of my scientific career is that the paramagnetic, diradical property of O2 protects against direct reaction with diamagnetic, non-radical organic matter, including living organisms. Consequently, combustion is not spontaneous. My research demonstrates that blood phagocytes kill microbes by changing the spin quantum number of O2, thus abolishing the symmetry barrier preventing direct oxygenation of organic and biological molecules. Microbicidal combustion is highly exergonic yielding electronically excited products that relax to ground state by emitting light in the visible spectrum. Introducing substrates that are highly susceptible to direct combustion maximizes light yield and increases the sensitivity for measuring microbicidal metabolic activity as its chemiluminescence product. Measurements of leukocyte luminescence allow ultra sensitive detection of oxygenating activity and open the window to real time kinetic analysis.

    My research into the role of O2 is leukocyte microbicidal action, leukocyte chemiluminescence, haloperoxidase function, and use of chemiluminigenic substrates for differential analysis of oxidase and haloperoxidase activities is original and seminal. More recently this luminescence approach has been applied to gauging blood phagocyte opsonin receptor expression. The state of the circulating phagocyte reflects the in vivo state of inflammatory activation.

Publications

  • Sheppard CA, Allen RC, Austin GE, Young AN, Ribeiro MA, and Fantz CR: Paraprotein Interference in Automated Chemistry Analyzers. Clin Chem 2005; 51: 1077- 1078.
  • Taylor FB Jr, Haddad PA, Kinasewitz G, Chang, A, Peer, G, Allen RC: Luminescence studies of the phagocyte response to endotoxin infusion into normal human subjects: multiple discriminant analysis of luminescence response and correlation with phagocyte morphologic changes and release of elastase. J Endotoxin Res 2000; 6: 3-15.
  • Allen RC, Dale DC, Taylor FB Jr: Blood phagocyte luminescence: Gauging systemic immune activation. Meth Enzymol 2000; 305: 591-629.
  • Vigerust DJ, Lincoln JA, Stuart RW, Gnade B, Lefkowitz DL, Lefkowitz SS, Allen RC: Peroxidase-mediated oxygenation and microbicidal activity. Inflammation 2000; 24: 251-263.
  • Pitrak DL, Mullane KM, Bilek ML, Stevens P, Allen RC: Impaired phagocyte oxidative capacity in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Lab Clin Med 1998; 132: 284-293.