ACR Journals on Air Podcast

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Welcome to ACR Journals on Air, the ACR’s newest podcast series featuring interviews, commentary, and analysis on research from our three peer-reviewed journals: Arthritis & Rheumatology, Arthritis Care & Research, and ACR Open Rheumatology. Join us each episode for engaging discussions with authors and independent experts about recently published studies, their implications for clinical care, and how they move the field of rheumatology forward.

Whether it’s an expert analysis of a manuscript or deep dive with an author—our goal is the same—to understand the impact of the science and bring it from the bench to the bedside.

Podcast Host

Victoria Shanmugam

Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, has clinical expertise caring for patients with autoimmune diseases, vasculitis, and chronic wounds. She has led several research studies investigating scleroderma, hidradenitis suppurativa, and the interplay of the host immune response and the microbiome in chronic wounds. Dr. Shanmugam is a frequently invited speaker at professional meetings. Her work in wound healing, hidradenitis, and scleroderma has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, such as Arthritis Care and Research, Current Opinion in Rheumatology, International Wound Journal, and Clinical Rheumatology. Connect with Dr. Shanmugam on Twitter (@VickiShanmugam).

Episodes

New episodes will be available twice a month on Tuesdays.

Episode 38 – B-Cells In Sjögren's Syndrome

Episode 37 – Global Perspective on COVID-19

Episode 36 – The Power of the Negative Study

Episode 35 – Bad for the Bones

Episode 34 – Reimagining Zoom Interviews

Browse previous episodes in the ACR Journals on Air archive.

Episode Show Notes

Tobit D. Steinmetz, PhD, is our guest this week, author of the manuscript recently published in Arthritis and Rheumatology, titled "Association of Circulating Antibody-Secreting Cell Maturity with Disease Features in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome." Dr. Steinmetz and his team endeavored to better understand the hyperactivity observed among B cells, which play a major role in Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS). To do this, he and the team examined the quantity, maturity, and inflammatory properties of Antibody Secreting Cells (ASCs) in the B cell effector branch, which became the focus of the study. Tune in to hear how this was done, what their observations and conclusions were, plus Dr. Steinmetz’s insights for those looking to enter a postdoctoral position.

 

Tobit D. Steinmetz, PhD

Tobit D. Steinmetz, PhD - Tobit D. Steinmetz, PhD, is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He completed his master's and PhD at the University Clinic in Erlangen in Germany, including a research internship in the lab of Jason Cyster at UCSF in California. He is now building a research career in Dr. Frans Kroese's research group studying B cell function in Sjögren’s Syndrome.

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This episode was recorded prior to Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, commencing her role as Director of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research at the National Institutes of Health. The opinions expressed in this podcast are Dr. Shanmugam’s own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States Government.

After a major event, it’s important to take stock of the causes of such an event, but just as important, on the reactions to it. No other event has challenged humanity in recent memory like COVID-19. In this episode we discuss the pandemic in relationship to its impact on those who suffer with rheumatic disease and examine the global response. Our guest is Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, first author of the paper: Global Perspective on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Rheumatology and Health Equity, which was recently published in Arthritis Care & Research.

 

Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD

Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD - Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, is Associate Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology) and Epidemiology (Chronic Diseases) at the Yale Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and Chief of Rheumatology for the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She has a longstanding dedication to global rheumatology training and research. As a rheumatologist and epidemiologist, Dr. Hsieh studies the impact of chronic infection and inflammatory disease (e.g., HIV and rheumatoid arthritis) on musculoskeletal outcomes such as osteoporosis, fracture, and sarcopenia in Peru, China, and the United States. Her research combines biomedical and behavioral approaches and has leveraged national cohorts and international registries to better understand drivers of risk for these outcomes. Dr. Hsieh’s work has been supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (Fogarty International Center, NIAMS, NCATS, NCI, NIA, NIAAA), Rheumatology Research Foundation, China Medical Board, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. She co-founded the Yale Network for Global Non-Communicable Diseases, was a 2018-2019 U.S.-China Fulbright Scholar, and founding chair of the ACR Global Engagement Committee.

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Submit Show Feedback

This episode was recorded prior to Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, commencing her role as Director of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research at the National Institutes of Health. The opinions expressed in this podcast are Dr. Shanmugam’s own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States Government.

Sometimes, we learn more from what isn’t achieved than when we achieve an expected result. Such is the case for our next guest, David R. Jayne, FRCP, FRCPE, FMedSci, first author of Clinical and Biomarker Responses to BI 655064, an Antagonistic Anti-CD40 Antibody, in Patients With Active Lupus Nephritis: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II Trial, a study designed to characterize a dose-response relationship between an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody known as Bi 655064 and complete renal response (CRR) in patients with active lupus nephritis (LN). Dr. Jayne and his research team’s study may not have shown this dose-response relationship, but what was gained along the way surely shows the power of the negative study.

 

David Jayne, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FMedSci

David Jayne, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FMedSci - David Jayne, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FMedSci, has been Professor of Clinical Autoimmunity in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge since 2017. Dr. Jayne is a medical advisor to UK, US, and EU regulatory bodies, patient groups, and professional organizations. His work has been published in more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and reviews. He was elected the first President of the European Vasculitis Society in 2011 and co-chairs the EULAR task force on lupus nephritis. Dr. Jayne’s research includes investigator-initiated international trials and the introduction of newer therapies in vasculitis and SLE with collaborators on five continents. In 2021 he received the European Renal Association award for outstanding contribution to nephrology.

Dr. Jayne received his MB BChir in Surgery and Medicine from Cambridge University. He received postgraduate training at several London hospitals and Harvard University. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, and the Academy of Medical Science. He is a certified nephrologist and an Honorary Consultant Physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK.

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Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

Submit Show Feedback

This episode was recorded prior to Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, commencing her role as Director of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research at the National Institutes of Health. The opinions expressed in this podcast are Dr. Shanmugam’s own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States Government.

Knowing that glucocorticoids significantly increase the risk of fractures and is the most common cause of secondary osteoporosis, the use of the steroid has always been viewed as a doubled-edged sword and “bad for the bones”. In this episode, we welcome Giovanni Adami, MD, first author of Bone Loss in Inflammatory Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Disease Patients Treated with Low-Dose Glucocorticoids and Prevention by Anti-Osteoporosis Medications. The goal for this study was to assess if a safe dose of glucocorticoids exists, with an attention focus on those with inflammatory rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (iRMDs), to determine if a low enough dose of glucocorticoids can still reduce inflammatory burden and yet significantly reduce expected risk of fracture.

 

Giovanni Adami, MD

Giovanni Adami, MD - Giovanni Adami, MD, is a rheumatologist at the Rheumatology Unit of the University of Verona (Italy). Dr. Adami holds a PhD position in Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences at the School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Verona and has been a post-doctoral fellow at the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL. Dr. Adami is the author of more than 100 scientific papers (Scopus H-index = 21, Google-scholar H-index = 24) published in peer-reviewed international journals and indexed in English and is first author in most of these scientific papers and second author in numerous others. Dr. Adami is also young author of the module Osteoporosis: Pathogenesis and Clinical Features in the EULAR Textbook on Rheumatic Diseases (2020) and the EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases (2020).

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Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

Submit Show Feedback

This episode was recorded prior to Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, commencing her role as Director of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research at the National Institutes of Health. The opinions expressed in this podcast are Dr. Shanmugam’s own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States Government.

The pandemic has changed much in our world—from the way we work, to the way we shop, and even the way we learn. Rheumatology wasn’t immune from such changes and when medical institutions needed to adjust their practices to accommodate a changing world around them, the process by which fellowship interviews were conducted needed to change as well. Thus, a shift to the video communication platform Zoom was made.

Now, as the pioneering cohorts of the new Zoom matching process graduate, we are joined by Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, RhMSUS. Dr. Kumar has been doing a lot of research on what went well, what didn’t, and what merits rethinking. Dr. Kumar is the first author of the manuscript Reimagining the Rheumatology Fellowship Interview: Using Participatory Design-Thinking Process to Create a More Applicant-Centered Experience.

 

Paul Monach, MD

Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, RhMSUS - Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, RhMSUS, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Iowa, where he practices both Rheumatology and Allergy/Immunology. He completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree at Saba University School of Medicine. He completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Kentucky and fellowships in Rheumatology and Allergy-Immunology through the dual-certification pathway at the University of Iowa. During his fellowship training, he also completed a master's degree in medical education and the RhMSUS certification in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound. Currently, Dr. Kumar is the Physician Editor of The Rheumatologist and the Humanism-in-Research Associate Editor of the Gold Foundation’s Research Roundup. Most recently, he has become the program director for the University of Iowa’s Rheumatology Fellowship training program and is a VA Quality Scholar. His interests include medical journalism, quality improvement and fostering humanistic practices, as well as the intersection of autoimmunity and immunodeficiency.

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Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

Submit Show Feedback

This episode was recorded prior to Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, commencing her role as Director of the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research at the National Institutes of Health. The opinions expressed in this podcast are Dr. Shanmugam’s own and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States Government.

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