News & Events
 Hot topics in rheumatology
Scleroderma lung disease
First different black/white mechanism in pulmonary fibrosis/scleoderma identified
Dr. Alan Brown honored by students
Dr. Oates Chair-Elect of AFMR and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect of SSCI
Dr. Trojanowska chosen for Study Section
Dr. Richard Silver breaks fundraising record
Dr. Gary Gilkeson named Vice Chairman for Research
Hot topics in rheumatology
 Rituximab and Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
Osteonecrosis of the jaw with bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel)
Safety concerns with TNF inhibitors (Enbrel, Remicade, Humira) View other American College of Rheumatology news items. Scleroderma lung disease
One of the lead articles in the June 22nd New England Journal of Medicine was co-authored by Rick Silver, M.D., Professor and Director, Rheumatology and Immunology, Marcy Bolster, M.D., Professor, Rheumatology and Immunology and Charlie Strange, M.D., Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. The article's conclusion states: "One year of oral cyclophosphamide in patients with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease had a significant but modest beneficial effect on lung function, dyspnea, thickening of the skin, and the health-related quality of life." Also, in the accompanying editorial the first reference is a paper written by Kristin Highland, M.D., Associate Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Rick Silver, M.D. First different black/white mechanism in pulmonary fibrosis/scleoderma identified
Of the more than 40,000 persons who die each year in the U.S. from pulmonary fibrosis, the mortality rate among African-Americans is twice as high Caucasians. Galina Bogatkevich, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology thinks she's found a mechanism that could explain why. "Pulmonary fibrosis is a deadly, very complex disease where the lung's air sacs are replaced by tough fibrotic tissue," Galina Bogatkevich said. Using modern physiological technology called proteomics, Bogatkevich's laboratory compared healthy and diseased lung fluid and found that a key growth factor that is supposed to inhibit fibrotic growth is malfunctioning. "This is the first time we've identified a physiological difference that parallels the profound differences between blacks and whites in the severity of the disease and prognosis," she said in an American Physiological Society session at Experimental Biology, April 5th, in San Francisco. Until now the only therapy for this very difficult group of diseases was palliative: oxygen to increase the chance of breathing success and/or trying to generally boost the immune system. Neither approach is real therapy, however, "now that we've identified the c-Met malfunction, it gives us a good direction to follow," Bogatkevich said. "It's a promising target that seems to take the same clear track as the disease's population." *Paper presentation: "Antifibrotic effect of hepatocyte growth factor is impaired in lung fibroblasts isolated from African-Americans," APS Physiology Airway Mechanics and Mechanotransduction in the Lung 767.9/board #C684. Research was by Galina Stephanie Bogatkevich, Anna Ludwicka-Bradley, D. Beth Singleton and Richard M. Silver, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston. See the full press release Dr. Alan Brown honored by students
Dr. Alan Brown, an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology was selected by both the 3rd and 4th year medical student classes in the College of Medicine Faculty Excellence Awards. This honor is fitting for Dr. Brown, as he shows tireless devotion to medical student education. Dr. Oates Chair-Elect of AFMR and Secretary-Treasurer-Elect of SSCI
Jim Oates, M.D., Associate Professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology has been elected to the position of Chair-Elect for the American Federation of Medical Research (AFMR). Established in 1940, the AFMR is an international multi-disciplinary association of scientists engaged in all areas of biomedical investigation--patient-oriented, translational, and basic research. Members are located at government facilities, medical centers, research institutions, and private industry in all 50 states and throughout the world. AFMR fosters research in the medical sciences, provides leadership in articulating and publicizing the aims and goals of scientific research, disseminates the knowledge medical research generates, and identifies and supports efforts to achieve these objectives. Dr. Oates has also been elected to Secretary-Treasurer elect of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Founded in 1946, SSCI is dedicated to the advancement of medical research and the exchange of knowledge, information, and ideas. Its members are committed to mentoring future generations of medical investigators and promoting careers in academic medicine. Both societies co-sponsor the Southern Regional Meeting in New Orleans, LA (http://www.ssciweb.org/meetings.php). This meeting fosters the development of junior investigators by offering podium presentations, travel awards, and workshops on topics such as grant writing, manuscript writing, time management in academic medicine, and education as scholarship. Dr. Trojanowska chosen for Study Section
Dr. Toni Scarpa, Director of the Center for Scientific Review (NIH), announced March 29th that Maria Trojanowska, Ph.D., Professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the Arthritis, Connective Tissue and Skin Study Section. Study section members are selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and achievement as well as mature judgment and objectivity. Dr. Trojanowska has published 62 articles in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Arthritis & Rheumatism, the Journal of Hepatology and the Journal of Immunology. She is currently Principal Investigator on 2 NIH R01’s and an R21. She also leads projects on a P20 (NIAMS) and a P01 (NCI) and she also has one of three projects in the NIAMS-funded Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (P50). Dr. Trojanowska has demonstrated her commitment to scientific education by serving as a mentor on the Department of Pharmacology Training Grant as well as serving as Co-Director of the Training Grant in inflammatory and fibrosing diseases (T32) with Dr. Gary Gilkeson in Rheumatology and Immunology as well as mentoring numerous post-doctoral fellows and graduate students. Dr. Trojanowska came to MUSC as a post-doctoral fellow in 1981 in the Department of Biochemistry. She joined the Department of Medicine in 1986 as an Instructor. She was awarded tenure in 2000 and promoted to the rank of Professor in 2003. Dr. Richard Silver breaks fundraising record
Dr. Richard Silver, Director of the Division of Rheumatology, chaired the “Quick Silver’s Kids” team that raised $24,316.29 for the 2006 Lowcountry Arthritis Walk for the Arthritis Foundation. By doing so, his team raised more than any other in North and South Carolina. From the Arthritis Foundation, “Arthritis Foundation efforts center on the three-fold mission of the organization: research, prevention and quality of life. The Arthritis Foundation currently provides nearly $20 million in grants to nearly 300 researchers to help find a cure, prevention or better treatment for arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation’s sponsorship of research for more than 50 years has resulted in major treatment advances for most arthritis diseases.” Dr. Gary Gilkeson named Vice Chairman for Research
Gary S. Gilkeson, M.D., Professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology has accepted the position of Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Gilkeson came to MUSC in 1996 as an Associate Professor. He is currently Principal Investigator on a VA Merit Review, an NIH R01, and a T32 training grant as well as on a Program Project and several clinical trials. Dr. Gilkeson also serves as Co-Investigator on a VA REAP award. Dr. Gilkeson’s research interests focus on lupus erythematosus. His research involving identification of nitric oxide’s role in the inflammatory processes in lupus is a major contribution to arthritis research. Dr. Gilkeson joins Ayad Jaffa, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chair, in helping advance the Department research program. | 
