In the News
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AIR Research Presented at National Meetings
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
The AIR Division was well represented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting 2022 held in Louisville, KY and the American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2022 meeting held in Philadelphia, PA this month. The meetings highlight the most current research findings as they relate to Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology respectively. Faculty, fellows, and residents presented their research through numerous posters, oral presentations and conferences.
Katherine Herman (top) and Lauren Davidson (bottom) present their research
Dr. Benjamin Korman awarded Katz RO1 Grant
Friday, October 7, 2022
Benjamin Korman, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, has been awarded a Katz RO1 grant from the NIH for his project, "Role of the CD47 pathway in rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis and treatment."
Study Led by Dr. Jessica Stern Shows Hay Fever Among School Children Leads to Worse Asthma Outcomes
Thursday, September 15, 2022
A study led by Jessica Stern, M.D., assistant professor in Pediatrics and Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, found half of children diagnosed with both asthma and hay fever were not receiving proper care. Learn more about the study.
Christopher Palma Joins Clinical Research Center as Associate Director
Monday, June 27, 2022
Effective July 1, Christopher Palma, M.D., Sc.M., assistant professor of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, will join the UR Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) as the new associate director of the Clinical Research Center, a dedicated clinical research space with skilled staff. Palma will also co-lead the UR CTSI's Participant and Clinical Interaction Function.
AIR Scientists Publish Findings on Small Molecule Inhibitors of Nuclear Export in Lupus
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Maria de la Luz Garcia-Hernandez, Ph.D., Christopher Ritchlin, M.D., M.P.M., Jennifer Anolik, M.D., Ph.D., Javier Rangel-Moreno, Ph.D. and colleagues recently published their paper “Small Molecule Inhibitors of Nuclear Export and the Amelioration of Lupus by Modulation of Plasma Cell Generation and Survival” in Arthritis and Rheumatology. The study demonstrates the potential therapeutic utility of inhibition of nuclear export in lupus. The publication was selected by Dr. Daniel Solomon, the editor in chief of Arthritis and Rheumatology, to be featured in the “Clinical Connections” section in the journal and the cover of the journal features a picture from the paper.
Read the abstract.
AIR Scientists Publish Findings on NR4A Expression in RA Synovium
Thursday, May 12, 2022
Nida Meednu, PhD, Javier Rangel-Moreno, PhD, Katherine Esclera-Rivera, Jennifer Anolik, MD, PhD and colleagues recently published their article, “Dynamic spectrum of ectopic lymphoid B cell activation and hypermutation in the RA synovium characterized by NR4A nuclear receptor expression” in Cell Reports. The paper describes the role of NR4A in B cell activation in RA synovium. Read the full article.
$10 Million NIH Grant Funds Research on Treatments for Autoimmune Diseases
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
The Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology division, along with other URMC collaborators, has earned a multimillion-dollar grant for five years to research autoimmune diseases. Jennifer Anolik, M.D., Ph.D., professor and interim chief of Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology, and Christopher Ritchlin, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology, will lead rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis research teams, respectively.
Learn more about this grant.
Dr. Anandarajah Awarded Grant to Reduce Racial Disparities in Clinical Trials
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Allen Anandarajah, M.B.B.S., has been awarded a grant from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), funded through the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. Funding will go towards developing initiatives that will reduce racial disparities in lupus clinical trials. The grant is titled TIMELY, which stands for Training to Increase Minority Enrollment in Lupus trials with communitY engagement. TIMELY is a two-year grant for $500,000, which will be split between URMC and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both universities leading the efforts on this initiative. The grant will run through September 2023.
Anandarajah and URMC were chosen as leaders for this new program due to the success of a previous two-year program, Materials to Increase Minority Involvement in Clinical Trials (MIMICT).
In the US, lupus is more common in African American and Hispanic populations, however, patients from these populations are currently underrepresented in lupus clinical trials. The goal of the project is to increase clinical trial literacy for physicians and community health workers on phases, functions, and benefits, through educational materials woven throughout a multi-stage, interactive training program. This will lead to raising clinical trial awareness among underrepresented patients living with lupus in our region.
“This project will help us continue to be national leaders in providing high-quality care for patients from minority communities with lupus,” said Anandarajah. “We started a few years ago with the IQ-LUPUS project that was partly funded by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation (GRHF) and have continued to improve our efforts first with the MIMICT and now the TIMELY projects. In addition to serving our patients, these grants will ultimately help build better relationships with our community."
Read the press release from the ACR.
Dr. Looney's Research on Senescent Cells in Lupus Highlighted by the Department of Defense
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Lupus research conducted by R. John Looney, MD and his lab has been highlighted in a Department of Defense publication that features news about biomedical research in the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.
Read the article: "Therapeutic Targeting of Senescent Cells in Lupus"
Katherine Escalera-Rivera Recognized on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Friday, February 11, 2022
On February 11th, International Day of Women and Girls in Science, URMC introduced five inspiring women in science including Ms. Escalera-Rivera, a graduate student in the PhD Program in Pathology – Cell Biology of Disease. She is currently working the lab of Jennifer Anolik, MD, PhD where she is studying the inflammatory processes in osteoarthritis.
Read more about Ms. Escalera-Rivera and the other scientists.