Annual Meeting Press Center

• New ACR Guideline Summary Provides Guidance to Screen, Treat, and Manage Lupus Nephritis
• Late Breaking Abstracts at ACR Convergence Push Research Boundaries, Advance Rheumatology and Patient Care
• Research at ACR’s Annual Meeting Explores Medicinal Marijuana Use and Rheumatic Disease-Related Pain
• Vitamin D Research Goes Beyond Bones to Show Autoimmune & Inflammation Connection
• New Theory Suggests that Autoimmunity May be Causing Long COVID in Some People
• Corticosteroids: One Size Does Not Fit All
• Dietary and Exercise Changes Alone Can Help Obese Patients Living with OA—Or can it?
• Women with Psoriatic Arthritis Experience More Intense Symptoms and a Longer Time to Diagnosis than Men
• Is the Body’s Sodium Channels the New Route to Preserve Joint Structure in OA?
• Research at ACR's Annual Meeting Aims to Advance More Precise, Safer, and Scalable T Cell Therapies

Leonard Calabrese, DO, is a professor of medicine and, vice chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases and the co-director of the Centre for Vasculitis Care and Research. He also serves as director of the RJ Fasenmyer Centre for Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic. He also holds appointments in the Department of Infectious Diseases and the Wellness Institute.

Dr. Calabrese’s clinical and research interests include vascular inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, primary and secondary immunodeficiency states and the intersection of infections and autoimmunity. He serves as the editor of Healio Rheumatology and for over past 20 years has developed innovative programs to teach basic, clinical and translational immunology to care providers of patients with immune mediated inflammatory diseases.

Margherita T. Cantorna, PhD, received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois and a PhD in immunology from the University of Wisconsin. She began her career as an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University and eventually became a distinguished professor, a position she currently holds. Dr. Cantorna is a recognized expert in vitamin D, autoimmunity, the host response to infection and gastrointestinal immunity. In 2012, she received the Osborne and Mendel Award from the American Society for Nutrition for her work to understand the effects of vitamin D in the immune system. Professor Cantorna is frequently invited to speak at national and international meetings on both Immunology and nutrition.

Daniel Clauw, MD, is a professor of anesthesiology, medicine (rheumatology) and psychiatry at the University of Michigan (UM). He also serves as director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. Until January 2009 he also served as the first associate dean for clinical and translational research at the UM Medical School, and PI of the UM Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA).

He attended the University of Michigan for both undergraduate and medical degrees and then completed his internal medicine residency and rheumatology fellowship at Georgetown University. He joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 1990, and while there, founded the Georgetown Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, and served as the division chief of rheumatology, immunology and allergy, and vice chair of the department of medicine.

Dr. Clauw’s research focuses on clinical care and research on overlapping conditions such as fibromyalgia, gulf war illnesses, and interstitial cystitis, and how the central nervous system contributes to chronic pain states.

Lihi Eder, MD, PhD, is a clinician-scientist at Women’s College Research Institute and associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Eder has a broad background in rheumatology with specific training and expertise in psoriatic arthritis, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and cardiovascular diseases in rheumatic patients. She is the director of the Psoriatic Arthritis program at Women’s College Hospital and co-director of the University of Toronto cardio-rheumatology program. Dr. Eder’s research focuses on understanding the heterogeneity of psoriatic arthritis using clinical and imaging tools. Her research in the area of sex/gender attempts to elucidate mechanisms that underlie the differences in clinical course and response to therapy between males and females with PsA.

Martin Englund, MD, PhD, received his medical degree in 1998 and a PhD in orthopaedics in 2004 from Lund University in Sweden. He is a professor in the department of orthopaedics and currently heads the clinical epidemiology unit at Lund University. Dr. Englund’s research focuses on molecular aspects and imaging of osteoarthritis, clinical outcomes, epidemiology, and burden of disease.

He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles which has attracted more than 24,000 citations. He is currently serving as the president of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI). Additionally, he has been recognized with multiple international awards for his original research in osteoarthritis including OARSI Clinical Investigator Award (2011), European League of Rheumatology Young Investigator Award (2012), and International Élise Jourdevant Prize (2018).

Maximilian F. Konig, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology and the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also serves as the director of the Cellular Therapy Program (Autoimmunity) at Johns Hopkins. His lab develops precision cellular and protein-based immunotherapies to selectively eliminate autoreactive immune cells for the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

Chuan-Ju Liu, PhD, is the Charles W. Ohse Professor of Orthopaedics and serves as the vice chair of research for the Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation at Yale University School of Medicine.

His current research interests focus on autoimmune diseases, inflammatory and degenerative arthritis, and cartilage/bone regeneration. He has published approximately 200 peer-reviewed research articles and invited reviews, including corresponding author papers in Nature and Science. His research has also led to more than 20 US and international patents, with the majority of them licensed to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons & Orthopaedic Research Society and the Ethelmae Haldan Award for Innovative Science in Osteoarthritis Research from the Arthritis National Research Foundation.

Stephen P. Messier, PhD, is a professor and director of the J.B Snow Biomechanics Laboratory at Wake Forest University. He has been at Wake Forest for 43 years and has 33 years of experience in clinical trials research specifically related to knee osteoarthritis (OA). Currently, he is the principal investigator of the Weight loss and Exercise for Communities with Arthritis in North Carolina (WE-CAN) trial and The Osteoarthritis Prevention Trial (TOPS).

Dr. Messier has received the lifetime achievement award from the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (2022), the Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics (2020) for outstanding career accomplishment through exemplary research in biomechanics, and the career achievement award from the American College of Sports Medicine Biomechanics Group (2009).

Beth Wallace, MD, MS, is assistant professor in internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and a staff rheumatologist at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare Center. Her research focuses on personalizing treatment pathways for patients with autoimmune diseases, with a current focus on developing tailored glucocorticoid tapering strategies based on RA patient phenotypes. Her research has received support from the NIH, VA ORD, and the Autoimmune Association.

This year, we are offering expert commentary from the following rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals to provide additional insight about various research presented at the meeting. Registered press interested in this service may contact Monica McDonald (mmcdonald@rheumatology.org) for assistance coordinating interviews. Please provide the session or poster title and date (if applicable) for which you are requesting commentary.

Our experts are:

Elena Schiopu, MD, is the Director of Clinical Trials for the Division of Rheumatology at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. She graduated from the Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Romania and completed her medical training at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Brunswick, New Jersey and Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. She became faculty at the University of Michigan in the scleroderma program and director of the myositis program and the rheumatology lead for the combined oncology-rheumatology initiative in immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Her clinical research includes the first randomized controlled trial in myositis (RIM trial) and developing outcome measures in scleroderma (CRISS) and myositis (TIS), StopRA, photoacoustic imaging in rheumatic structures. Dr. Schiopu is a passionate educator a was honored by the University of Michigan Learning Environment Task Force (LETF) for her exemplary work in cultivating and upholding a positive learning environment for U-M Medical School students (2017).

Christopher Morris, MD, FACR, is in a busy private practice in rheumatology in Kingsport, Tennessee. Additionally, he also actively educates residents and medical students at local medical education programs. He has been a member of multiple committees and an active advocate for the American College of Rheumatology. He has also served as president of the Southern Medical Association.

Jay Mehta, MD, MS, is an attending physician with the division of rheumatology and associate program director of the pediatrics residency program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nevada, completed his residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He received many awards including being named a Top Doctor in Pediatric Rheumatology in Philadelphia Magazine 2018 and 2022.

Howard Yang, MD, is a rheumatologist who practices in Santa Monica at UCLA Health. He is a generalist who treats the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, gout, and osteoporosis. He believes in the whole well-being of the patient instead of just the specialized area of wellness, and is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology.

Dr. Yang has a specialized interest in musculoskeletal ultrasound. He earned his Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Certification in Rheumatology (RhMSUS) from the American College of Rheumatology, and frequently uses ultrasound to guide injections and improve their accuracy at the wrist, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.

Dr. Yang is a Southern California native, who grew up in Orange County. He received his medical degree from St. George's University. He then completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Hawaii and later completed his rheumatological training at Loma Linda University. He speaks fluent Mandarin and Taiwanese.

2024 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Screening, Treatment, and Management of Lupus Nephritis

• Summary: 2024 Lupus Nephritis Guideline
• Press Release: New ACR guideline summary provides guidance to screen, treat, and manage lupus nephritis
• Video: 2024 ACR Guideline: Screening, Treatment, and Management of Lupus Nephritis
• Podcast: ACR Convergence 2024: Updated ACR Lupus Nephritis Guideline

Session: ACR Lupus Nephritis Guideline Development and Key Recommendations
Monday, November 18
10:30–11:30 AM ET
Ballroom B, 3rd Floor

Press Conference
Monday, November 18
Noon–1:00 PM ET
Room 146AB

Lisa R. Sammaritano, MD, is a professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and an attending physician in the Hospital for Special Surgery Division of Rheumatology.

Dr. Sammaritano attended the University of Pennsylvania for her undergraduate studies, and completed medical school, internal medicine residency and rheumatology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine.

She has a large clinical practice focusing on SLE and APS patients. A special area of interest is pregnancy and reproductive health in rheumatic disease patients.

She has been an investigator in a number of clinical trials including the SELENA studies, prospective randomized double-blind studies of the safety of estrogen in SLE patients, and the PROMISSE study, a nationwide observational study of pregnancy risk in patients with SLE and aPL. She has written numerous review articles and chapters, edited a textbook on contraception and pregnancy in rheumatic disease patients (2014), and lectures nationally and internationally.

She led the 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Reproductive Health in Women with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases and is currently leading the ACR's two upcoming lupus treatment guidelines, the first on lupus nephritis and the second on general systemic lupus erythematosus.