Department of Medicine - Surgery - University of Minnesota

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Full-time rheumatology clinicalfaculty at Regions Hospital,the VA Medical Center, andHCMC continue their traditionof excellence in patient careand teaching.This year, Barbara Segal, M.D.and her collaborators openeda University of MinnesotaScleroderma Specialty Clinic,which has already evaluatedover 50 new patients. Her goalin starting the Sclerodermaprogram at the University ofMinnesota has been two-fold:(1) to bring the medicalspecialists caring for sclerodermapatients together toallow for comprehensiveservices and maximum conveniencefor the patients and(2) to make available stateof-the-artmanagement andaccess to the latest clinicalresearch. She has broughttogether a team of basic scientistsand clinical investigatorsto apply new insights into thegenetics of autoimmunity,pulmonary fibrosis, basicimmunology, and vascularbiology, with the aim ofimproving our understandingof the pathobiology of Sclerodermaand developing rationalinterventions. During thecoming year, they will beginenrolling patients in severalwell-designed randomizedprotocols for treatment ofscleroderma disease manifestations(lung, skin, anddigital ulcers).Educational ProgramsIn addition to clinical service,this division is committed tothe education of the next generationof rheumatology careproviders and investigators.Medical students, internalmedicine interns, and residentsrotate through ourclinics, gaining experiencein the diagnosis and treatmentof rheumatic diseases.The program, headed by AnneMinenko, M.D. at the University,includes (1) instructionin how to perform a detailedmusculoskeletal examinationusing patients from theMedical School’s standardizedpatient program, (2) instructionin how to perform jointaspirations and soft tissueinjections using simulatedlimb models, and (3) selfguidedCD-ROM tutorials tocomplement the clinic andhospital learning experience.At Regions Hospital, ElieGertner, M.D. and EllenShammash, M.D. supervisethe instruction of medicalresidents and students onrheumatology clinical services.David Rhude, M.D. andPeter Schlesinger, M.D. directthe fourth-year medical studentrheumatology trainingat the HCMC. Rhude providesspecialized clinical trainingin the areas of metabolicbone disease and APS, whileSchlesinger focuses on thediagnosis and treatment ofSLE and scleroderma. Theyboth participate in the clinicalcorrelations and physicalexamination skills componentsof the first-year medicalschool curriculum. At theVA Medical Center, MarenMahowald, M.D.; Hollis Krug,M.D.; and Jasvinder Singh,M.D. also provide importantmedical training opportunitiesto students and residents.In addition to training medicalstudents and residents,our ACGME-accredited twoyearrheumatology fellowshipprogram provides an intenseclinical training experiencefor physicians who desire acareer in specialized, stateof-the-artrheumatology care.Our fellowship program currentlytrains two rheumatologyfellows at any given timeat both the UMMC and VAMedical Center sites underSegal’s direction. Clinicalresearch training opportunitiesfor fellows are now alsoavailable at HCMC. Finally, apersonalized scientific educationunder the tutorship ofone of our research facultymentors provides M.D. andPh.D. post-doctoral fellows,as well as undergraduate andgraduate students, with anopportunity to contribute tothe search for a cure. Abundantfederal (NIH) fundingis available to support thisresearch training withinthe division.FacultyProfessorsTimothy Behrens, M.D.Maren Mahowald, M.D. (VAMC)Ronald Messner, M.D.Daniel Mueller, M.D. (Director)Thomas Stillman, M.D. (HCMC)Elie Gertner, M.D. (Regions)Associate ProfessorsHollis Krug, M.D. (VAMC)Barbara Segal, M.D.Assistant ProfessorsThomas Bloss, M.D. (HCMC)Anne Minenko, M.D.Kathy Moser, Ph.D.Erik Peterson, M.D.David Rhude, M.D. (HCMC)Peter Schlesinger, M.D. (HCMC)Ellen Shammash, M.D. (Regions)Jasvinder Singh, M.D. M.P.H. (VAMC)Patricia Tam, Ph.D.instructorKeli Hippen, Ph.D.Faculty Honors andAwards for 2005Anne Minenko, M.D.American College of Rheumatology71
Division of Rheumatic and Autoimmune Diseases72Research ActivitiesAutoimmunity develops asthe consequence of a loss oftolerance to self-antigens.Investigations carried out byDr. Daniel Mueller are leadingto a better understandingof the biological and biochemicalnature of immuneself-tolerance. Of particularinterest are those factors (e.g.growth factors and costimulatoryligands) that determinewhether antigen stimulationof a T-cell will lead to anincrease in the clone size andthe development of protective(or pathological) effector function,or lead to its functionalinactivation (clonal anergy)and T-cell tolerance.Patty Tam, Ph.D. and RonaldMessner, M.D. are interestedin how viruses and their interactionwith the host affectthe development of chronicrheumatic and autoimmunediseases. Molecular analysisof coxsackievirus strains hasidentified the genetic determinantsthat cause chronicautoimmune myositis followinginfection. In a secondproject, second harmonic generationimaging technologythat is used to detect changesin diseased muscle is beingadapted to perform non-invasiveimaging of the collagenfound in knee joints. Thisproject represents an interdisciplinaryeffort headed byTam that includes investigatorsin dermatology, chemicalengineering, and materialsscience; the Biomedical ImageProcessing Laboratory; andphysics. The ability to detectminor degenerative changesin collagen on the cartilagesurface will translate into earlierdiagnosis and improvedopportunities for therapeuticintervention in joint diseasessuch as osteoarthritis.The Timothy Behrens Laboratoryis broadly interested inunderstanding the molecularbasis of human autoimmunediseases by engaging in alarge gene-mapping project inhuman SLE. In the past year,they demonstrated a geneticassociation of a polymorphismof the protein tyrosine phosphatasePTPN22 with humanSLE. The Behrens Laboratory,together with laboratories atNew York University/NorthShore and the University ofCalifornia San Francisco,is working with familiesenriched for multiple differentautoimmune diseases.These families will be used toidentify genes that predisposeto autoimmunity in general.A second focus of the BehrensLaboratory is the use of mousemodels to better understandthe mechanism by which toleranceto self is maintained inthe immune system. Finally,the laboratory is using microarray technology to study bothpatients with autoimmunityand our various mouse modelsto identify novel moleculesand pathways that are dysregulatedin autoimmunity,so that improved therapies forpatients with autoimmune disorderscan be designed. Theirresults now suggest a criticalrole of interferon in the pathogenesisof human SLE.Erik Peterson, M.D. has developeda molecular immunologyresearch program thatis focused on the roles ofT-cell signaling proteins inleukocyte development andautoimmunity. He has identifieda novel role for the leukocyte-specificadapter protein,ADAP, in the suppression ofT-cell dependent autoimmunityin mice. His laboratoryis investigating the molecularand cellular bases for ADAPaction through studies of bothT-cells and of other ADAPexpressingleukocytes thatregulate T-cell activity in autoimmunedisease. Peterson hasalso discovered that anothernovel adapter protein, PRAM-1,is important for physiologicproduction of infection-fightingchemicals by neutrophils.Recent experiments suggestthat PRAM-1 interacts withprotein components of the cellular“trash disposal” system.Current studies are investigatingthe biologic significanceof those interactions.A second group of projects inPeterson’s laboratory utilizesgene “knockout” technologyin mice to better understandthe cellular function ofLyp (PTPN22), the proteinphos-phatase recentlydescribed as a novel regulatorof human SLE, rheumatoidarthritis, and autoimmunediabetes. Finally, in collaborationwith other faculty inthe Autoimmunity group atthe University and faculty atthe Mayo Clinic, Peterson islooking for clues to the pathogenesisof human psoriaticarthritis. He is using microarraytechnology to probe geneexpression profiles in peripheralblood of patients withthis disorder.Investigations by KathyMoser, Ph.D. are also focusingon the identification andcharacterization of genes thatlead to autoimmune processesin SLE, SS, and APS. Thesedisorders may overlap withinpatients, tend to cluster infamilies, and are thought toshare at least some aspects ofimmune dysfunction. Studies
Page 2 and 3:
The University of Minnesota Departm
Page 4 and 5:
of excellence and nationalprominenc
Page 6 and 7:
The Division Heads haveagreed that
Page 8 and 9:
Department of Medicine Educationfle
Page 10 and 11:
Bradley benson, M.D.Medicine-Pediat
Page 13 and 14:
UMPhysicians: Clinical Programsimpr
Page 15:
Daniel Weisdorf, M.D.BMT Program Di
Page 20 and 21:
Oncology Clinic, ImagingCenter, and
Page 22 and 23: n Blue Cross and Blue Shieldof Minn
Page 24 and 25: Affiliated Campus Reports23
Page 26 and 27: FacultyThe core faculty is growingr
Page 28 and 29: esidents and fulfilling itsbring in
Page 30 and 31: tional cardiology. Dr. CrispinSemak
Page 32 and 33: ClinicalOur outpatient services hav
Page 34 and 35: VA Medical CenterThe Medicine Servi
Page 36 and 37: Research funding in medicineservice
Page 38 and 39: Divisions, Department of Medicine
Page 40 and 41: in its earliest stages, beforeconve
Page 42 and 43: with heart failure and otherforms o
Page 44 and 45: pital is highly individual inits pa
Page 46 and 47: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepat
Page 48 and 49: From Left to Right: John R.Lake, MD
Page 50 and 51: FacultyProfessorsHanna E. Bloomfiel
Page 52 and 53: andomized, controlled trialof TU 02
Page 54 and 55: Division of Geneticsactive collabor
Page 56 and 57: Division of Hematology, Oncology, a
Page 58 and 59: This UMPhysicians-ownedclinic house
Page 60 and 61: Division of Infectious Diseases and
Page 62 and 63: opment of invasive clinicalextraint
Page 64 and 65: sleep medicine. Regions Hospitalpro
Page 66 and 67: the clinical services to newsubgrou
Page 68 and 69: Division of Renal Diseases and Hype
Page 70 and 71: Faculty Honors andAwards for 2005in
Page 74 and 75: in her lab rely on family-basedgene
Page 76 and 77: Faculty Recognition: Fall 2005New D
show all

Department of Medicine - Surgery - University of Minnesota

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?