Earlier this year, Saira Sheikh, MD, Director of the UNC Rheumatology Lupus Clinic, and Director of the Clinical Trials Program at the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center, as well as Allen Anandarajah, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, were invited by the ACR to partner with it in developing a grant proposal to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Office of Minority Health. We are pleased to announce that the grant has now been funded.

The treatment of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis is constantly evolving and advancing, thanks to recent scientific advances and new medications being studied and approved every year. Nonetheless, successful treatment remains partly dependent on traditional values such as maintaining open communication and addressing the personal needs and interests of each patient. Dr. Jonas and her colleagues at the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center are passionate about providing outstanding, personalized care and support for patients and their families. In the recent article she provides important insights regarding the best ways to do this in today’s rapidly changing medical environment, as we face a shortage of rheumatologists needed to treat our aging population.

Dr. Collins, a post-doctoral fellow working in Dr. Richard Loeser’s lab, was selected to receive the $120,000, two-year grant following a rigorous scientific competition held by the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). His research currently focuses on determining how age-related increases in oxidative stress levels contribute to disordered cell signaling in joint tissues to promote the development and progression of osteoarthritis (OA).

TARC welcomes Dr. Iglesia and Dr. Patel to its Allergy/Immunology Fellowship program. Fellows follow a “Core” 2-year (Clinical + Research) program. For some participants there is an optional 3rd year of advanced training in research. All fellows learn the clinical aspects of Allergy and Immunology while working side-by-side with faculty in a traditional ‘attending clinic.’ In addition, they learn to provide longitudinal care in their own “continuity clinic.” Learn more about our new fellows and our program…

The UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center welcomes Dr. Jaleel and Dr. Eltaraboulsi as the newest members of its Rheumatology Fellowship Program. The program trains fellows in the wide variety of skills needed to care for patients with all types of rheumatic disease, which helps ensure they will be well prepared for positions in either clinical care or academic medicine. Learn more about our new fellows as well as our fellowship program…

UNC is renowned for its rich and dynamic Fellowship training programs, which provide cutting-edge and multidimensional learning environments with frequent access to mentors who are the leaders in their field. Learn more about our programs, which are training tomorrow’s leading healthcare practitioners, and preparing them to successfully pursue a wide variety of career choices.

Thurston Researchers recently attended the ACR/RRF conference, where they shared important findings from a new study related to innovative use of sonography for patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and participated in a two-day Rheumatology Research Workshop designed to promote research collaborations and mentoring for early-career researchers in rheumatology.

Many people with osteoarthritis (OA) don’t reach the recommended amount of physical activity that is so key to managing their condition. Research conducted by Dr. Abigail Gilbert with the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center helps shed new light on how and why restless sleep and lowered activity levels are intertwined for people with OA. Dr. Gilbert’s study was published in Arthritis Care & Research and has been written about by Reuters Health and a number of national news outlets, as the findings provide important insights for physicians and patients.

It may sound surprising, but some people develop an allergy to meat named after being bitten by a tick. Dr. Scott Commins authored the seminal paper that first described “alpha-gal” allergy and is one of leading experts in the U.S. He treats patients with the condition and is one of a handful of scientists conducting research into this still poorly understood allergy. If you’d like to learn more about alpha-gal and its increasing prevalence in the U.S., Click Here.

Dr. Saira Sheikh, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of Clinical Trials at the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center, and Director of the UNC Rheumatology Lupus Clinic; Dr. Leslie Parise, UNC Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Biophysics; and EpiCypher, a biotechnology company located in Research Triangle Park, N.C., have received an NIH Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I grant to commercialize development of novel assays to study PAD4 activity.