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S. Louis Bridges, MD, PhD presents the Cochrane Award to Maria Trojanowska, PhD and son, Martin Trojanowski, MD

The John and Margaret Cochrane Lectureship was established in 1981 by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Cochrane, Jr., of Mobile, Alabama. The lecture series sponsors visits to UAB by scientists noted for their contributions to medical research. On Thursday, June 16, 2016, Maria Trojanowska, PhD, of Boston University Division of Rheumatology delivered the 20th John and Margaret Cochrane Endowed Lecture at UAB Rheumatology Grand Rounds (RGR). Dr. Trojanowska is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Arthritis Center at Boston University School of Medicine. Her research is aimed at understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate ECM synthesis in healthy tissues and in pathological conditions such as fibrosis and tumorigenesis. The majority of her studies focus on the pathogenesis of scleroderma, an autoimmune disease characterized by vascular abnormalities and a prominent fibrosis of the skin. Dr. Trojanowska’s lecture “New strategies for targeting fibrosis in systemic sclerosis” was given in conjunction with her son, Martin Trojanowski, MD of the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. His lecture was entitled “To infinity and beyond: the state of future systemic sclerosis”. This is the first RGR lecture delivered by a mother and son team.

Selected Recipients of
The Howard and Martha Holley
Research Prize in Rheumatology

1991
Frank C. Arnett, MD
John B. Harley, MD
Bevra H. Hahn, MD

1992
Joel D. Taurog, MD

1993
Nancy Oppenheimer-Marks, PhD
John B. Lowe, MD

1995
Allen C. Steere, MD

1996
John R. Couchman, PhD
A Robin Poole, PhD

2012
Professor Wolfgang Gross

2015
Richard Pope, MD

Third Annual Graciela Alarcón, MD, MPH lecture

Jane E. Salmon, MD
Professor of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College Collette Kean Research Professor Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY

Jane E. Salmon, MD will be the third Graciela S. Alarcón lecturer and will speak at Rheumatology Grand Rounds on Thursday, April 14 at 8:00 a.m. in West Pavilion Conference Room D. The title of her talk is “Mice and Mothers: Progress in Understanding Pregnancy Complications in Patients with Lupus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome”. This lecture honors Dr. Alarcón’s legacy in lupus research and her contributions to the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. There will also be a reception celebrating the establishment of the Graciela S. Alarcón, MD, MPH Endowed Support Fund for Lupus Research on Friday, April 15, 2016 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 PM in the Pittman Center for Advanced Medical Studies.

Dr. Salmon is Professor of Medicine and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College and the Collette Kean Research Professor at Hospital for Special Surgery. She graduated magna cum laude from New York University and earned a medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, where she was the first woman enrolled in their Medical Scientist Training Program. She completed training in internal medicine at The New York Hospital and in rheumatology at Hospital for Special Surgery, and has been an HSS faculty member since 1983. Dr. Salmon has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and was co-editor of Arthritis & Rheumatism and is currently an Associate Editor of Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. At Hospital for Special Surgery, she is a Director of the Lupus and APS Center of Excellence, co-Director of the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research, and Director of the FOCIS Center of Excellence. Dr. Salmon’s research has focused on elucidating mechanisms of tissue injury in lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Her basic and clinical studies have expanded our understanding of pregnancy loss and organ damage in SLE and the determinants of disease outcome in lupus patients with nephritis, pregnancy, and cardiovascular disease.

The vision of UAB’s CCTS is to reduce health disparities in diseases disproportionately represented within the Deep South as it accelerates discovery to improve human health. The CCTS’ recent award of $8.4M / year more than doubles its annual funding in its previous cycle. With its new award, the Center is poised to support 20 pre-doctoral trainees annually as part of its TL1 NRSA Training Program – 10 short-term and 10 full year scholarships. It will also support eight junior faculty annually as part of its KL2 Mentored Career Development Award. In addition, the CCTS will continue to build major capacities in training, clinical trial implementation, drug discovery, study design and methodology, informatics, pilot investigation, and clinical research services. Through its Partner Network – 11 institutions spanning Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana – the CCTS seeks to catalyze collaborative efforts in scientific research and interventional trials, to promote workforce development and to enhance clinical care in an effort to serve the unique populations in our region.

Congratulations to Dr. Robert K. Kimberly and many others who successfully led the application to renew the UAB CCTS for 5 years!

S. Louis Bridges, Jr., MD, PhD, was appointed to a three-year term as Chair of the American College of Rheumatology Committee on Research. He will serve as an invited guest on the ACR Board of Directors and as the Research Representative on the Rheumatology Research Foundation Board of Directors. The Chair is responsible for driving the agenda and projects of the committee in conjunction with ACR staff and committee members; for reporting on the committee’s activities to both the ACR and Foundation Boards and presenting any information and/or action items the committee brings forth to the boards.

Troy D. Randall, PhD received a new NIH U19 grant entitled, “Virus-Induced Cell Fate Decisions in Anti-Viral Immunity”. The study consists of four projects, supported by three cores. In Project 1, Dr. Troy Randall at UAB will determine how Tfh responses are controlled by IL-2 signaling and availability. In Project 2, Dr. Allan Zajac at UAB will determine how anti-viral CD8+ T cells responses are controlled by adhesion molecules and T cell clustering. In Project 3, Dr. Frances Lund at UAB will determine how anti-viral B cell responses are controlled by IFNgama signaling and availability. In Project 4, Dr. Nicole Baumgarth of UC Davis will determine how natural and induced anti-viral IgM responses are controlled. These projects will be facilitated by cores: (A) Administration and Biostatistics (Troy Randall, UAB); (B) Viral stocks and reagents (Frances Lund, UAB); and (C) Human immunology (Dr. Frances Eun-Hyung Lee, Emory). Importantly, all projects will be able to examine virus-specific B and T cells using tetramer reagents developed by Core B. In addition, although many of the mechanistic studies in each project will be performed using mouse models, the projects will also test key hypotheses in humans via interactions with the Human Immunology Core (Core C).

Dr. Alarcón was honored at the recognition ceremony at the Opening Lecture on Saturday, November 15, at 4:30 pm at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Boston, MA and by the Division at the UAB Reception held on Monday, November 17. The Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award is to a clinical scientist making outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology. Chela is the first UAB recipient of this award. Previous awardees have been: David Felson, MD, MPH; Matthew Liang, MD, MPH; Kenneth D. Brandt, MD; Lauren M. Pachman, MD; James F. Fries, MD; Jill P. Buyon, MD; Daniel J. Lovell, MD; Michael E. Weinblatt, MD; Allen C. Steere, MD; Gary S. Hoffman, MD, MS; Edward H. Giannini, MSc, DrPH; Marc C. Hochberg, MD; Jeffrey N. Katz, MD, MSc.

We are excited about the return of Research in Progress (Sponsored by the UAB Rheumatic Diseases Core Center P30 AR048311 and the Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Autoimmunity Center) on September 4, 2014 at Noon in SHEL 515. Several speakers during the upcoming year will focus on the Wonderful World of Technology to highlight new approaches and techniques, and Dr. Eugenia Kharlampieva, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, will be our inaugural Wonderful World of Technology Presenter to speak to us about the application of Confocal Imaging for Analysis of Nanoparticle Delivery and Release of Therapeutics. Please plan to attend!!

For more information about the Research in Progress series or to be added to the Research in Progress Distribution List, please contact Stephanie Ledbetter at sledbetter@uab.edu

Chela received the distinction of Dr. Honoris Causa (honorary doctoral degree) from the Universidad de Asunción in Paraguay in September, 2013. She was also invited to participate in the 2-part evaluation of Grants for the Innovative Medicines Initiative in the area of Systemic Autoimmune Diseases. Support for this effort is from the European Union. These activities took place in Brussels in April and August 2013, and Chela was the only non-European member of the panel.

Dr. Fessler, Dunn Scleroderma Scholar, organized the UAB Scleroderma Symposium held on Thursday, December 5, 2013. Maria Trojanowska, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Arthritis Center at Boston University in Boston was the keynote speaker. In addition to Drs. Trojanowska and Fessler, speakers included Marcin Trojanowski, MD; Joao de Andrade, MD, Director, Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic; Yong Zhou, PhD, Assistant Professor, UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine; Joanne Murphy-Ullrich, PhD, Professor of Pathology; and Timothy Wick, PhD, Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, the Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Autoimmunity Center, and the UAB BioMatrix Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Center.

Lou Bridges has been selected as Chair of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Division Directors Taskforce. The charge of ACR Division Directors Taskforce is to create a mission, measurable goals and a strategic plan to address current issues faced by Rheumatology Division Directors. There will be a draft proposal brought to the ACR Executive Committee outlining the goals of the group and the strategy/timeline for achieving those goals. Other taskforce members include Drs. Abby Abelson, The Cleveland Clinic; Mike Holers, University of Colorado, Denver; Dan Battafarano, Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX; Joanne Jordan, University of North Carolina; Naomi Schlesinger, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ; Leslie Crofford, Vanderbilt; Terry Moore, St. Louis University; Lindsey Criswell, University of California, San Francisco, and William J. Koopman, former Director, UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and Distinguished Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the UAB Department of Medicine. Dr. Koopman was a member of the American College of Rheumatology’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Academic Rheumatology, which issued a report on the challenges and the opportunities that confront academic rheumatology today.

The UAB Department of Medicine released its research metrics report based on the completed forms in August 2013. The top 3 faculty members in each rank (total of 12 faculty) that scored the highest number of points included four faculty members in our Division:

• Dr. Kenneth Saag – 1st in rank Professor
• Dr. Jeffrey Curtis – 1st in rank Associate Professor
• Dr. Jasvinder Singh – 3rd in rank Associate Professor
• Dr. Jun Li – 3rd in rank Instructor

The Division will receive $56,550 this year, which represents ~16% of the $347,000 distributed by the DOM. Other recipients include Drs. Troy Randall, Harry Schroeder, Lou Bridges, Maio Danila, Hui-Chen Hsu, Bob Kimberly, John Mountz, Richard Reynolds, Andre Ballesteros, Larry Bradley, Chander Raman, Winn Chatham, Jeff Edberg, Sarah Morgan, Mike Fuller, Angelo Gaffo, Iris Navarro, Alex Szalai, and Tong Zhou.

Of our 16 clinical faculty members, 13 (81%) were included on the 2013 Best Doctors in America List released earlier this month. The list recognizes 323 UAB physicians in 65 specialties who are among the top 5% of clinicians in the United States, as voted by their peers. Best Doctors is an independent, knowledge-based medical referral service whose surveys ask peer physicians, “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty or a related specialty, to whom would you refer them?” The list was also featured in the December issue of Birmingham Magazine. Rheumatology faculty included in the list were: Drs. Lou Bridges, Winn Chatham, Jeffrey Curtis, Maria Danila, Barri Fessler, Angelo Gaffo, Laura Hughes, Robert Kimberly, Sarah Morgan, Kenneth Saag, Harry Schroeder, Jasvinder Singh, and David Spalding.

Ken Saag has been named the recipient of the 2013 Rheumatology Research Foundation Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award. This award recognizes the importance of the mentor/mentee relationship. Through the Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award, the Foundation honors an active ACR or ARHP member for their contributions to the rheumatology profession through outstanding and ongoing mentoring. Past recipients of the Rheumatology Research Foundation Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award are as follows: 2012: Virginia Steen, MD; 2011: Betty Diamond, MD; 2010: Michael H. Weisman, MD; 2009: Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH; 2008: Robert J. Winchester, MD; 2007: Bevra H. Hahn, MD; 2006: John B. Harley, MD, PhD.

Jeff Curtis, MD, MS, MPH received notice that he will be awarded a Rheumatology Research Foundation (formerly ACR REF) Disease Targeted Innovative Clinical Research Grant entitled, “A Pilot Study of the Safety and Effectiveness of the Live Zoster Vaccine in Anti-TNF Users”

S. Louis Bridges, Jr. MD, PhD

W. Winn Chatham, MD

Jeffrey R. Curtis, MD, MS, MPH

Maria Danila, MD, MSc

Barri Fessler, MD, MSPH

Angelo Gaffo, MD, MSPH

Laura Hughes, MD, MSPH

Robert P. Kimberly, MD

Sarah L. Morgan, MD, MS, RD, FADA, FACP, CCD

Kenneth G. Saag, MD, MSc

Harry W. Schroeder, Jr, MD, PhD

Jasvinder Singh, MD, MPH

David M. Spalding, MD

William J. Koopman, M.D. was honored at a dinner at UAB Alumni Hall on Friday, October 5th 2012