Research Committee

Nikolay Delev, M.D. has served as Executive Medical Director, Clinical Development Team Lead, Immunology and Fibrosis, at Bristol Myers Squibb since 2019. Dr. Delev received his M.D. from Sofia Medical School in Bulgaria and completed Internal Medicine training at Advocate Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. He completed Rheumatology Fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University with a special interest in inflammatory arthritides and clinical research. He oversees the clinical development strategy, design, and execution of programs across the BMS mid to late-stage portfolio. He is leading a clinical team targeting a broad spectrum of immunologic conditions such as lupus, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjogren’s. Prior to joining BMS, he held several roles of increasing responsibility at Parexel, Novartis, and Celgene, where he served as a Medical and Scientific Expert and Senior Director for a variety of early and late-stage programs. He was loosely involved in the development and approval of Otezla and Cosentyx. He continues to see patients as a volunteer clinician-rheumatologist in an outpatient setting.

Gary Koretzky, M.D., Ph.D. obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. (Immunology) degrees at the University of Pennsylvania (’84). He then pursued clinical training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of California at San Francisco. He went on to re-enter the laboratory at UCSF as a post-doctoral fellow, examining the molecular events associated with immune cell activation. Dr. Koretzky later moved to the University of Iowa in 1991, continuing his research examining the biochemistry and molecular biology of signal transduction in hematopoietic cells. In 1999, Koretzky joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and as Director of the Signal Transduction Program of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. At Penn, he was an Associate Director of the M.D./Ph.D. program, served as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology from 2006-2008, and as the Francis C. Wood Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair for Research and Chief Scientific Officer in the Penn Department 2008-2013. In 2013, Dr. Koretzky moved to Weill Cornell Medical College as the Vice Dean for Research and the Dean of Weill Cornell Graduate School. In 2017, Dr. Koretzky moved to Ithaca as Vice Provost for Academic Integration to build research programs between the Ithaca and New York City campuses and as the inaugural Director of the Cornell Center for Immunology.

Anca D. Askanase M.D., M.P.H. is a Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. She is the Founder and Director of the Columbia University Lupus Center, Director of Rheumatology Clinical trials at Columbia University, and Associate Rheumatology Division Director. Dr. Askanase is a clinician, diagnostician, and researcher specializing in complex Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Her research in lupus encompasses multiple areas including, lupus epidemiology including cohort and registry studies to allow for in depth characterization of disease phenotype and comorbidities; outcomes research to identify biomarkers and develop objective and novel instruments to more accurately diagnose lupus, track disease activity, and define treatment response; and clinical trials to increase treatment options. Much of Dr. Askanase’ research is conducted in collaboration with national and international lupus researchers.  She founded the CUIMC Lupus cohort (n=450) and is an active participant in the SLE registries managed by SLE international Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) and the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN), managed by the Lupus Research Alliance clinical research affiliate Lupus Therapeutics. Ongoing projects include the use of optical tomography to evaluate lupus arthritis, development of virtual lupus disease activity measures for use in clinical research, and lupus outreach to disparate populations in NYC.  Dr. Askanase earned her medical degree from Instit De Medicina Si Farmacie Carol Davila and Master’s of Public Health from Columbia University School of Public Health. 

Catherine Barbey, Ph.D. is a Senior Medical in the MS-Immunology Development Unit at Biogen. She has been in the pharmaceutical industry for almost 20 years, with a successful track record in Global Medical Information, Global Medical Affairs and Global Clinical Development in the areas of dermatology and rheumatology, particularly in lupus. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, she spent 15 years as an immunologist researcher, conducting research at the University of Lausanne, the University of British Columbia-Canada, and various clinical departments at the University Hospital of Geneva and Lausanne and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

S. Louis Bridges, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. is Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at HSS and at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is Past President of the Rheumatology Research Foundation and a former Chair of the Committee on Research of the American College of Rheumatology.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans.  After serving as Chief Medical Resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch, he completed a fellowship in Rheumatology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he also obtained his doctorate in Microbiology/Immunology. For 12 years, he was UAB Director of the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.  Dr. Bridges has been named to Best Doctors in America, and the 2023 New York Super Doctors list. He is former Co-Editor of Arthritis & Rheumatology and Past Chair of the NIAMS Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Study Section.  His research focus is rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility, autoantibodies, and biomarkers of treatment response. Dr. Bridges has authored more than 185 manuscripts, many book chapters, and served as editor of three books.  

Denesh Chitkara, M.D. is the Vice President, Head of Global Clinical Development Immunology at EMD Serono. Denesh completed his medical training at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, a fellowship in pediatric gastroenterology at the combined program of Harvard Medical School Children’s Hospital Boston/Massachusetts General Hospital, and a fellowship in clinical research at Mayo Clinic Rochester. Denesh has been involved in immunology clinical development for the last 14 years with leadership roles within Merck/MSD, Celgene, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Denesh has been leading teams involved in the clinical development of treatments for a broad range of immunologic diseases, such as cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus, axial spondyloarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and hepatic fibrosis.

Jennifer Cooper, M.D. is a pediatric rheumatologist, clinical pharmacologist, and clinical/translational researcher at the University of Colorado. She completed dual fellowship training in pediatric rheumatology and clinical pharmacology at UCSF in 2017. Dr. Cooper has been an active member of the Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) SLE committee and Lupus Nephritis Workgroup since 2015. She published a key paper evaluating the use of standardized treatment protocols for pediatric lupus nephritis at 10 CARRA sites and is actively working to plan a larger comparative effectiveness trial. She is also Co-PI on a project to develop a standardized core dataset to harmonize data collection for pediatric SLE research internationally. Her individual research efforts are focused on pairing translational immunology and pharmacokinetics to develop precision treatment strategies for children with SLE. She also serves as Co-Director of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Pediatric Lupus Program, which provides pediatric rheumatology care for a five-state region.

Maria Dall’Era, M.D. is the Jean S. Engleman Distinguished Professor and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at UCSF. She is the Director of the UCSF Lupus Program and the Rheumatology Clinical Research Center. She serves as the Chair of the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) and is a Steering Committee member of the annual 21st Century Lupus Conference, Lupus Academy, and the Lupus Forum. Dr. Dall’Era is a practicing rheumatologist and clinical researcher who leads an integrated research program focused on three closely related goals: (i) improving our understanding of the molecular and epidemiologic basis for SLE, (ii) developing novel approaches to the treatment of SLE and lupus nephritis, and (iii) finding biomarkers that predict treatment response and long-term outcome in patients with lupus nephritis. She is currently the protocol chair of an NIH-funded clinical trial in lupus nephritis, the P.I. of a CDC-funded longitudinal lupus cohort of patients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and a co-PI on various translational studies focused on lupus nephritis and cutaneous lupus. As Director of the UCSF Lupus Center, she cares for > 200 lupus patients and oversees the training of rheumatology fellows, medical residents, and students.

Richard Furie, M.D. is the Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Northwell Health. He is a rheumatologist whose activities for the last several decades have focused on patient care, physician education, and clinical research in the area of anti-rheumatic drug development. He directs The Program in Novel Therapeutics, the Health System’s clinical research program in musculoskeletal disease. He also directs the Hospital’s SLE and Autoimmune Disease Treatment Center, which has become internationally recognized for its role in the development of new therapies for SLE. Regarded as one of the senior rheumatologists in the New York metropolitan area, he has served as a volunteer for the Arthritis Foundation, the Lupus Foundation of America, the Lupus Research Alliance, and Lupus Therapeutics. For over twenty years, he served on many committees of the American College of Rheumatology and was named a Master of the College in 2018.

Rachel Glaser, M.D. is the Associate Director for Therapeutic Review and the Acting Deputy Director for Safety, in the Division of Rheumatology and Transplant Medicine at the FDA. She is also a practicing rheumatologist in Rockville, MD. She received her medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Glaser subsequently completed her training in internal medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell, and a fellowship in rheumatology at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), NIH. She was previously an Instructor in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and worked in private practice prior to joining the FDA. At the FDA, Dr. Glaser is responsible for the regulatory review of small molecules, biologics, and biosimilars developed for the treatment of adult and pediatric rheumatologic diseases. She serves on multiple internal and external committees and working groups in these areas.

Amit Golding, M.D. is a Senior Physician in the Division of Rheumatology and Transplant Medicine (DRTM) in FDA/CDER/OND/Office of Immunology and Inflammation. After completing clinical training in Internal Medicine (Johns Hopkins Bayview), Rheumatology Fellowship (Johns Hopkins University SOM), and post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Ethan Shevach (NID/NIAID/LI/Cellular Immunology), Dr. Golding joined the University of Maryland School of Medicine Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. He received a five-year Career Development Award grant from the V.A. to conduct research on the regulatory T cells in Veterans with autoimmune disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (R.A.). He has published numerous first and last-authored manuscripts on the cellular biology of human regulatory T cells in the context of autoimmune disease as well as a new method for identifying hyperactivated B cells in SLE. Dr. Golding has been a full-time FDA employee since September 2019 and has presented on behalf of the FDA at the annual ACR Convergence meetings.

Ellen Goldmuntz, M.D., Ph.D. is the Acting Chief of the Autoimmunity and Mucosal Immunology Branch in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, NIAID. She completed her residency at Children’s National Medical Center, followed by a pediatric rheumatology fellowship in a combined program with the Children’s National Medical Center and NIH. Dr. Goldmuntz attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she received an M.D. and a Ph.D. through the Medical Scientist Training Program. She joined the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation in 2003 to work on clinical trials in autoimmunity. Prior to joining NIAID, Dr. Goldmuntz was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Rheumatology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Elena Hsieh, M.D. earned her M.D. from the University of California San Francisco in 2008. She completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of California Los Angeles in 2011 and a fellowship in Allergy and Immunology at Stanford University in 2014. After one year stay at Stanford University as an Instructor, in 2015 Dr. Hsieh joined the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, jointly affiliated with the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Dr. Hsieh’s lab addresses mechanistic and translational questions in human immunology, focusing on classical pediatric autoimmune disorders such as lupus and type 1 diabetes, and genetic immune dysregulation disorders. She is currently leading consortium studies that aim to identify novel inborn errors of immunity (IEI) that present with autoimmunity/inflammation, atopy, and/or malignancy (Sanford Children’s Genomic Medicine Consortium). She is the Director of the Jeffrey Modell Center for Primary Immunodeficiency and co-directs the Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Newborn Screen Program. Dr. Hsieh also directs the high-dimensional single-cell tissue interrogation section of the Human Immune Shared Resource under the Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative, which seeks to promote basic science and translational immunology research.

J. Michelle Kahlenberg, M.D., Ph.D. is the Giles G. Boles MD and Dorothy Mulkey MD Research Professor of Rheumatology and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Dermatology at the University of Michigan. She completed her undergraduate degree at Denison University, her M.D., Ph.D., and Internal Medicine training at Case Western Reserve University, and her fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Michigan. She has been running her own laboratory at UM since 2013. Her clinical work is centered on the care of complicated lupus patients, including those with refractory skin disease. Her research laboratory combines translational approaches using patient samples and murine models to uncover the mechanisms that drive lupus and other autoimmune diseases. In particular, she is focused on unraveling the pathogenic mechanisms in cutaneous lupus, the factors that drive photosensitivity, and how skin inflammation can influence systemic lupus activity. Recently, she and her collaborator, Johann Gudjonsson, were the first Taubman Institute Innovate Program recipients through which they started the PerMIPA cohort to deeply and longitudinally phenotype lupus and psoriasis patients.

Matt Linnik, Ph.D. is Vice President, Immunology at the Lilly Biotechnology Center in San Diego, where his responsibilities span discovery and clinical research. Matt received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Current responsibilities include a biologic immune checkpoint agonist in phase 2, a small molecule enzyme inhibitor entering phase 2, and a large academic collaboration with a major EU University. His research lab focuses on multifunctional molecules, including antibody-drug conjugates for autoimmune diseases and oncology. Matt started his Lilly career in the late phase, contributing to multiple autoimmune compounds, including baricitinib, ixekizumab, and tabalumab. Matt joined Lilly in 2011 from Biogen Idec where he was Distinguished Medical Research Scientist and Head of Translational Medicine for Immunology. At Biogen, Matt was responsible for rituximab and ocrelizumab in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, SLE and lupus nephritis. Before Biogen Idec, he was Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President at La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co (NASDAQ: LJPC). His responsibilities included leading registration trials for a phase 3 asset in lupus nephritis (abetimus sodium) and driving a discovery research platform for B cell toleragens. Matt is an internationally recognized expert in Lupus and Co-Chair of Lupus Industry Council for Lupus Research Alliance.

Joan T. Merrill, M.D. is a Professor in the Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, OMRF Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma, and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University Medical Center. She is the Principal Investigator of the Oklahoma Lupus Cohort which has collected a repository of clinical information and matched biospecimens obtained from more than 650 patient volunteers. With 320 publications on the immunologic disorders that characterize SLE and the safety and efficacy of treatments, as well as decades of experience in the design and implementation of government and biotech-sponsored clinical trials for lupus, Dr. Merrill has developed novel approaches to testing new treatments, identifying immunologic profiles in patients most likely to respond to a given targeted approach, and improving the quality and interpretability of clinical trial outcomes. A particular interest has been research aimed at finding pitfalls in lupus disease activity measures that create noise which obscures the results of trial data, and refining trial protocols to minimize the impact of these bugs. She is an emeritus member of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics, Chief Advisor for Clinical Development at the Lupus Foundation of America, and a Master of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Merrill is a graduate of Vassar College and Cornell University Medical School.

Judith Mills, M.B.S. is a biomedical scientist, a TEDx speaker, and adjunct professor at Kean University specializing in alopecia, disability, health, and lupus advocacy. She was diagnosed with lupus after three years with symptoms like fatigue, loss of appetite, body aches, and hair loss.

Seeking support, Judith first contacted the local New Jersey chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) while pursuing a B.S. in Biology. She organized a student support group for individuals with disabilities and fundraising clubs for lupus.

In 2003, Judith formed Team MSU at Montclair State University for a local LFA walk. She also joined the now Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), supporting the NJ Walk with Us to Cure Lupus and participated in its Multicultural Task Force.

In 2011, she founded the nonprofit Butterfly Walkers Inc. while working towards a graduate degree in Biomedical Science. She has generated lupus awareness on television shows, serves with the Montclair Township Council, and has secured mayoral proclamations for lupus awareness in several NJ cities. Judith’s dedication has earned several awards from the LFA and the LRA.

Judith serves on the Lupus ABC to collaborate with fellow researchers and add her perspective as a person with lupus. She hopes Lupus ABC prioritizes precision medicine and encourages development of medications with minimal side effects.

Despite shattered dreams as a track star, Judith remains a runner, “not for track and field, but for the race of life.”

Eric Morand, M.D. graduated from Monash University and trained in rheumatology in Australia and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, U.K. His laboratory research focuses on glucocorticoid-induced proteins in the immune system and his clinical research is on systemic lupus erythematosus. He founded the Asia Pacific Lupus Collaboration, which developed and validated the Lupus Low Disease Activity State (LLDAS) endpoint and lead the TULIP2 trial of anifrolumab, resulting in regulatory approval of anifrolumab in the U.S., Japan, Australia, and E.U. Dr. Morand is also a founding member of the Australian Lupus Registry & Biobank and a founder of the Monash Lupus Clinic, Australia’s largest research-grounded clinic for patients with SLE.

Raj Nair, M.D. is a Clinical Team Leader within the Division of Rheumatology and Transplant Medicine (DRTM) at the FDA. He trained at the University of Alabama-Birmingham as a research fellow under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Saag and subsequently completed a clinical fellowship in Rheumatology at the Thurston Arthritis Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He joined Washington Hospital Center, where he served as an attending physician. During this time, he obtained certification in musculoskeletal ultrasound through the American College of Rheumatology (RhMSUS). He started as a full-time FDA employee in 2013 and was promoted to clinical team leader within the Division of Rheumatology and Transplant Medicine in 2021. He has been a speaker at the national American College of Rheumatology annual meetings and additional meetings specific to regulatory policy, patient perspective, and specific diseases.

Dr. Popat is Board certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Clinical Informatics. She joined FDA in 2008 and worked as a reviewer in CDER, and subsequently worked as a founding director of the Biomedical Informatics program in the office of New Drugs/CDER/for 7 years where she led safety analytics and informatics including data standards, data integrity/data quality, and Clinical reviewer training & mentoring activities. Currently she is the branch chief of general medicine branch 3 in CBER, working on Rheumatologic, Orthopedic, Endocrine, Pulmonary, ID, psychiatric and Trauma/Dental/Surgery indications and manages pre-IND, IND, BLA, IDE and variety of other regulatory submissions.

Jorge Terres, M.D. is the Senior Global Medical Director, Nephrology and Rheumatology at Genentech. He received his medical degree from Universidad Anáhuac Mexico Norte.

Dr. Zahi Touma, M.D, Ph.D.is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinician-Scientist with the University of Toronto and Scientist with the Schroeder Arthritis Institute and Krembil Research Institute. Dr. Touma  is Director of the Lupus Program and Staff Rheumatologist with the University Health Network (UHN)/Mount Sinai Hospital, and Adjunct Scientist with the Institute for Work and Health. Appointed the inaugural Dr. Murray B. Urowitz Chair in Lupus Research at UHN, his research is focused on patients with SLE and measurement science with a particular interest in the assessment of disease activity, patient reported outcomes and cognitive function. One of his most significant contributions has been the development of the SLE disease activity indices – the SLEDAI Responder Index-50 (S2K RI-50) and SLEDAI-2K Glucocorticoids Index (SGI). 

Dr. Touma is a Co-Chair of the Criteria Subcommittee of the Quality-of-Care Committee of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for the development of classification and response criteria for rheumatic diseases. He established the NeuroLupus Program with the goal of developing improved methods of identifying cognitive impairment in SLE and understanding its course over time and impact on health-related quality of life and productivity. Dr. Touma also is a co-chair of the SLE OMERACT (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology) Working Group and  sits on the Advisory Boards of Lupus Ontario and the Lupus Foundation of America. He has been appointed as the inaugural Dr. Murray B. Urowitz Chair in Lupus Research at UHN.

Veronica Vargas Lupo is a Managing Director at Consello. She is renowned for spearheading business transformations, partnering with C-level executives, and digitally transforming business capabilities and operational processes based on smarter, data-driven decision making.

Prior to joining Consello, Veronica spent 12 years at IBM serving in various leadership roles throughout the organization, including Associate Partner in IBM Consulting, Strategy & Transformation and Operations leader. Before joining IBM, Veronica worked as a buyer and planner for Dillard’s department stores.

Veronica has lived with lupus for 18 years. She has been an active member of the Lupus Research Alliance Young Leadership Board since its inception in 2010 and was honored in 2018 at our annual Handbag Luncheon as our “Woman of Achievement’. Veronica is originally from Venezuela, where she grew up until moving to the U.S. as a teenager. Lupus is dear to her not only because she has lived with it but also because her mother has lupus.

Why Veronica says she is serving on the Lupus Voices Council: “Lupus ABC will, for the first time, truly give people who live with lupus and their caregivers a platform where they can be heard and involved in the treatment development process directly with all stakeholders. As someone who has lived with the disease for many years and knowing the wide range of symptoms that those of us with lupus experience, having a voice in this process is immensely important. It is so critical for our perspectives to be considered when designing clinical trials and measuring outcomes to develop tailored therapies in lupus.”