UPMC Top Doctors List

Five UPMC rheumatologists are part of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Top Doctors^® list, which is compiled by Castle Connolly. The Castle Connolly Top Doctor selection process is entirely merit-based. Castle Connolly’s peer-to-peer nominations and a rigorous research process ensures only the most qualified physicians are included.

• Deborah J. Co, MD
• Robyn T. Domsic, MD
• David J. Helfrich, MD
• Chester V. Oddis, MD
• Betsy F. Shook, MD

Heroes in the Fight Awards Celebration - The Myositis Association

The Myositis Association recently honored Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS, with its Heroes in Research Award, which recognizes researchers and clinicians working hard to make progress in the care and treatment of myositis diseases.

Dana Ascherman, MD, Chosen as Medical Honoree for Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell 5K Run | UPMC Physician Resources

Dana Ascherman, MD, division chief, professor of Medicine, and Margaret Jane Miller Endowed Professorship for Arthritis Research in the School of Medicine, was the event’s Medical Honoree.

Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Promotions

Congratulations to Christine Peoples, MD, a national leader in telerheumatology, who was promoted to associate professor of Medicine and Partha Biswas, PhD, an expert in kidney immunobiology, who was promoted to professor of Medicine with tenure.

University of Pittsburgh Launches Groundbreaking Clinical Trial Revolutionizing Rare Diseases Myositis and Interstitial Lung Disease | UPMC Physician Resources

The University of Pittsburgh recently launched a pioneering clinical trial, Myositis Interstitial Lung Disease (MINT), and recruited and enrolled its first patient. MINT is the first decentralized clinical trial of its kind in the nation and is funded through a $10 million grant from Boehringer Ingelheim. Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS, is the principal investigator of the study.

UPMC Rheumatology Division Faculty Spotlight: Myositis Specialist Didem Saygin, MD | UPMC Physician Resources

Clinician-scientist Didem Saygin, MD, is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She joined the Division in July 2022 to continue her research program and clinical care of patients with rheumatologic disorders, specifically myositis, in the division’s Myositis Center of Excellence, one of the oldest and largest dedicated myositis centers in the United States.

New Multidisciplinary Clinic for Vasculitis Patients at UPMC | UPMC Physician Resources

The UPMC Rheumatology/Renal Vasculitis Clinic is the product of a collaboration between Sebastian E. Sattui, MD, MS, assistant professor of Medicine and director of the UPMC Vasculitis Center, and Syeda B. Ahmad, MD, assistant professor of Medicine and medical director of the Glomerular Disease Clinic at UPMC.

‘Black Sheep’ of Helper T Cells May Hold Key to Precision Allergy Treatment | UPMC Physician Resources

A Nature Immunology study led by University of Pittsburgh and National Institutes of Health researchers sheds light on how a rare type of helper T cell, called Th9, can drive allergic disease, suggesting new precision medicine approaches to treating allergies in patients with high levels of Th9. Daniella Schwartz, MD, was senior author of the study.

New Research Suggests NK Cells, T Cells, Have Possible Role in Pathophysiology of Systemic Sclerosis Associated Interstitial Lung Disease | UPMC Physician Resources

The study, published in the journal Rheumatology (Oxford) in June 2023, was led by Cristina M. Padilla, MD, clinical instructor and T32 postdoctoral research associate. Robert Lafyatis, MD, professor of medicine and director of the UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Scleroderma Center, was the study's senior author.

Autoimmunity Research Spotlight: Vladimir Liarski, MD, MS, and Translational Research in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies | UPMC Physician Resources

Vladimir Liarski, MD, MS, is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Liarski joined the Division in 2022. Before joining UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, he conducted his research and clinical work at the University of Chicago.

Discordance Between Patient and Physician-Reported Disease Activity in Adult Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy | UPMC Physician Resources

Faculty from the UPMC Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology published research that explores the discordance between the physician and patient global disease activity in one third of myositis patients, primarily driven by fatigue, pain, and physical activity. Didem Saygin, MD, was a co-author of this study.

How to Provide Sexual and Reproductive Health Care to Patients: Focus Groups With Rheumatologists and Rheumatology Advanced Practice Providers | UPMC Physician Resources

A team of researchers, including Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, conducted focus groups with rheumatology providers to elicit solutions for overcoming barriers to sexual and reproductive health care. Providers identified many potential solutions and facilitators to enhancing this care that might serve as a foundation for intervention development.

UPMC Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Research Grants

A number of faculty members received new grant funding this year to support a variety of research projects.

Reproductive Health in Women with Systemic Autoimmune Disease | UPMC (upmcphysicianresources.com)

In this CME, Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD, describes pregnancy outcomes among people with systemic lupus ethreymosis, discusses medication safety in pregnancy, and describes contraception safety.

Introduction to Rare/Genetic Rheumatic Diseases | UPMC (upmcphysicianresources.com)

In this CME, Daniella Schwartz, MD, discusses how to identify patients at high risk for germline and somatic mutations causing rheumatic diseases, how to appropriately work patients up for rare genetic diseases by ordering the correct clinical laboratory tests, and how to identify tertiary and quaternary referral centers that can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic diseases.

Myositis: Update on Diagnosis and Management | UPMC (upmcphysicianresources.com)

In this CME, Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS, discusses how to explain the diagnostic process of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, recall the distinctive clinical phenotypes associated with myositis specific autoantibodies, and describe the treatment updates in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

Myositis and the Anti-synthetase Syndrome: Bedside to Bench...and Back | UPMC (upmcphysicianresources.com)

In this CME, Chester V. Oddis, MD, and Dana Ascherman, MD, discuss the clinical features of the anti-synthetase syndrome, the characteristics of autoimmune interstitial lung disease, and more.