ACR Journals on Air Podcast
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, 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 75 – Late Lung Disease in Scleroderma
Episode 74 – Castleman Disease
Episode 73 – LUMEN
Episode 72 – Looking in the Archives
Episode 71 – SGLT2i in SLE with Type 2 Diabetes
Browse previous episodes in the ACR Journals on Air archive.
Episode Show Notes
In this episode, our guests Sabrina Hoa, MD, MSc, FRCPC, and Marie Hudson, MD, MPH, FRCPC, explore new insights into late-onset interstitial lung disease (ILD) in scleroderma. Using data from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group, they discuss how ILD can still develop years after diagnosis, challenging traditional screening timelines. They cover key findings, clinical implications, treatment patterns, and the need for more inclusive trials. The conversation also touches on mentorship and what’s next in scleroderma research.
Sabrina Hoa, MD, MSc, FRCPC – Sabrina Hoa, MD, MSc, FRCPC, is a rheumatologist, associate professor and researcher at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. She holds the Université de Montréal Scleroderma Research Chair and is co-director of the multi-centered Canadian Scleroderma Research Group (CSRG). Her research is focused on studying the impact of early detection and treatment of scleroderma complications, with a particular interest in interstitial lung disease. She is currently leading a clinical trial in treatment of subclinical ILD and is pursuing research on predictors of progression as well as early screening strategies.
Marie Hudson, MD, MPH, FRCPC – Marie Hudson, MD, MPH, FRCPC is Director of rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at McGill University, Chief of the Division of rheumatology at the Jewish General Hospital and Senior Investigator at the Lady Davis Institute. She is a founding member of the multi-centered Canadian Scleroderma Research Group (CSRG) and has worked on a broad range of projects. She is now exploring the therapeutic potential of cellular therapies for scleroderma. Modeled on the CSRG, Dr Hudson launched the Canadian Inflammatory Myopathy Study (CIMS), a multi-centered cohort of patients with autoimmune myositis. CSRG and CIMS have become internationally recognized research programs. Dr Hudson also pursues research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is leading an inter-disciplinary study on precision care for RA. Finally, she has an interest in immune-related adverse events (irAE) secondary to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Locally, she established the Montreal Immune-Related Adverse Event (MIRAE) Biobank. Nationally, she is co-leading a multi-centered cohort study of cancer patients who develop rheumatic irAE, the Canadian Research Group of Rheumatology in Immuno-Oncology (CanRIO) study. Dr Hudson also pursues a number of other scholarly activities, including serving as co-director of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4) from 2019–2024.
Related Links:
Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
In this episode, we review the Arthritis & Rheumatology manuscript, Diagnosis and Treatment of Castleman Disease, with Luke Chen, MD, FRCPC, MMEd, and David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc. The discussion (which provides an essential, up-to-date overview of a rare but critical disease) highlights the clinical subtypes of Castleman Disease, its overlap with autoimmune and autoinflammatory syndromes, and current diagnostic and treatment strategies. Dr. Chen offers a hematologist’s perspective on disease classification, pathology, and practical management tips, while Dr. Fajgenbaum shares insights from his personal experience as a patient and his work advancing research through the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network and Every Cure.
David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc – David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc is the Co-Founder & President of Every Cure and one of the youngest faculty members ever to receive tenure at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. A physician-scientist and patient battling a deadly disease, he discovered and repurposed a treatment that saved his own life—a story he chronicled in his national bestselling memoir Chasing My Cure, which is being adapted into a film by Forrest Gump producer Wendy Finerman.
Dr. Fajgenbaum has since advanced 13 more repurposed treatments for cancers and rare diseases and co-founded Every Cure to unlock more hidden cures from existing medicines. Every Cure has received over $100M from ARPA-H and TED’s Audacious Project. He has been profiled by The New York Times, Good Morning America, TODAY, and Forbes 30 Under 30 and honored with awards including the Atlas Award alongside then VP Joe Biden, Philadelphia Citizen of the Year Award, and named to the 2025 TIME100 Health list of the world’s most influential people in health. Dr. Fajgenbaum earned a BS from Georgetown University, MSc from the University of Oxford, MD from the University of Pennsylvania, and MBA from Wharton.
Luke Chen, MD, FRCPC, MMEd – Luke Chen, MD, FRCPC, MMEd, is a Hematologist and Professor of Medicine at Dalhousie University and Affiliate Professor at the University of British Columbia. His clinical and research interests are in rare inflammatory diseases including cytokine storm syndromes (HLH, Castleman disease and COVID-cytokine storm), histiocyte disorders, autoinflammatory diseases, IgG4-related disease and eosinophilic disorders. In 2024 he received the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network “Physician of the Year” award. He directs the Coastal Rare Inflammatory Diseases Program, which provides support for physicians dealing with rare diseases.
Related Links:
Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
In this episode of ACR Journals on Air, host Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, speaks with Dr. Alain Sanchez-Rodriguez about a new study from the Lupus Midwest Network (LUMEN), published in Arthritis Care & Research. They explore how patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) experience delays and disparities in care, the types of physicians involved in diagnosis, and what the data reveals about access to specialized treatment. Dr. Sanchez-Rodriguez also shares his research journey and insights on improving equity in rheumatology.
Alain Sanchez-Rodriguez, MD – Alain Sanchez-Rodriguez, MD, is an Internal medicine and Rheumatology Specialist and clinical investigator currently practicing at the American British Cowdray (ABC) Medical Center in Mexico City, where he serves as Research coordinator of the internal Medicine department. He completed his medical specialty training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Mexico City. And From 2021 to 2024, held a position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Division of Rheumatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in the Lupus Clinic under the guidance of Dr. Ali Duarte. His research focuses on systemic autoimmune diseases and care delivery disparities; he is an active contributor to the Lupus Midwest Network (LUMEN). Dr. Sanchez is first author of the recent Arthritis Care & Research paper on delays in access to specialized care among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and currently serves on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guideline committee for lupus care and a strong advocate for improving equity in rheumatology across Latin America.
Related Links:
Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
This episode explores the ARChiVe Registry, a longitudinal database for pediatric vasculitis, with guest Samuel Gagne, MD, MPH, a pediatric rheumatologist and bioinformatician. The discussion covers the registry’s design, patient selection, and key outcomes, including remission rates, hospitalization, and damage scores (pVDI) across treatment strategies. Dr. Gagne highlights how these findings inform clinical practice and discusses the challenges of observational data. The episode also touches on his unique background in social pediatrics and health informatics, emphasizing the evolving role of clinicians as both diagnosticians and data stewards in rheumatology research.
Samuel Gagne, MD, MPH – Samuel Gagne, MD, MPH, is a pediatric rheumatologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology and neuroscience from Brandeis University and his Doctor of Medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He completed his residency in Social Pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Montefiore in Bronx, New York, followed by a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. During his fellowship, Dr. Gagne also completed a master's in public health with a focus on biomedical informatics at Ohio State University before he joined the faculty of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2023.
Dr. Gagne has a clinical and research interest in chronic childhood vasculitis and is a member of the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Chronic Childhood Vasculitis workgroup as well as a member of the international Pediatric Vasculitis (PedVas) initiative. Through these collaborative research efforts, Dr. Gagne hopes to improve treatment outcomes and overall quality of life for pediatric patients with chronic vasculitis. In addition to vasculitis, Dr. Gagne has an interest in clinical and research informatics, specifically in improving the interaction between users and the electronic health record. He is a member of the Division of Health Informatics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and is currently assisting with the hospital-wide transition to the Epic EHR.
Related Links:
Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!
In this episode we explore the potential role of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and comorbid type 2 diabetes (T2D)—a population historically excluded from landmark SGLT2i trials. Our guest, Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH, discusses the rationale behind the study, the nuances of trial emulation design, and key findings regarding cardiovascular and renal outcomes, infection risk, and prescribing patterns in this complex cohort. We also unpack implications for clinical decision-making and the evolving landscape of metabolic and cardiovascular care in autoimmune disease.
Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH – Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and holds the Michael E. Weinblatt, MD Distinguished Chair in Rheumatology in the Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation and Immunity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where she serves as Director of the Lupus Program and Chief of the Section of Clinical Sciences. She is a graduate of Williams College, University of Cambridge, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health, and trained in medicine and rheumatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Costenbader’s research investigates the epidemiology and pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis in particular. She is an experienced research mentor for medical students, residents, graduate students in epidemiology, and rheumatology fellows and junior faculty, having trained over 40 doctoral and post-doctoral fellows and faculty. She is PI of the BWH Lupus Registry containing data on more than 2800 patients. She is a co-editor of Arthritis and Rheumatology, the chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council for the Lupus Foundation of America, and recent past chair of the National Institutes of Health AMS study section grant review committee.
Related Links:
Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!