This Faculty Development Research Core will recruit Dr. Julius Birnbaum and Dr. Ami Shah to the tenure track faculty as Assistant Professors in the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University. The Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins is a highly collaborative environment in v /hich the diagnosis, management and mechanisms of autoimmune rheumatic diseases are approached in an academically rigorous and multi-disciplinary way. The division is highly invested in developing the careers of junior faculty, and has successfully guided the development of 10 assistant professors over the past 6 years (with 9 being awarded K grants from the NIH). Structures and systems already established in the Division (including availability of a Rheumatic Disease Research Core Center, a pilot and feasibility grant program funded by the NIH and supplemented by philanthropic funds, a matrix mentoring structure, quarterly meetings with faculty setting explicit milestones, interest groups and Disease Center group meetings, weekly concept sessions, and grant review sessions) will maximize career growth. Drs. Birnbaum and Shah have been chosen based on their outstanding talents, their successful competition for peer-reviewed funding at the end of fellowship, and their ability and interest in bridging important interfaces in the rheumatic diseases (cardiac muscle and neurological phenotypes), where the interacting partners are strong and already in place, and the potential for an important contribution, independence and career growth is high. A clear plan for their career development and success is in place, and there is an explicit Institutional commitment to these candidates to provide the resources necessary for success for 2 years following the termination of this P30 grant.
Rheumatic disoasos are chronic, frequently disabling diseases which pose a high disease burden on the US population. Advances in understanding and treatment of rheumatic diseases are central to improving the outcome in these diseases, and limiting damage and disability. Ensuring ongoing recruitment, support and career development of research faculty in the rheumatic diseases is a critical element for achieving these advances.
| Shah, Ami A; Chung, Shang-En; Wigley, Fredrick M et al. (2013) Changes in estimated right ventricular systolic pressure predict mortality and pulmonary hypertension in a cohort of scleroderma patients. Ann Rheum Dis 72:1136-40 |
| Le, Elizabeth N; Wigley, Fredrick M; Shah, Ami A et al. (2011) Long-term experience of mycophenolate mofetil for treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis 70:1104-7 |
| Shah, Ami A; Rosen, Antony (2011) Cancer and systemic sclerosis: novel insights into pathogenesis and clinical implications. Curr Opin Rheumatol 23:530-5 |
| Shah, Ami A; Rosen, Antony; Hummers, Laura et al. (2010) Close temporal relationship between onset of cancer and scleroderma in patients with RNA polymerase I/III antibodies. Arthritis Rheum 62:2787-95 |
