Message from Dr. Janet Lewis, Division Chief of Rheumatology
The Division of Rheumatology has had another successful year, driven by its continued dedication to excellence in patient care, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our faculty, fellows, and clinical staff have all contributed to the division’s continued growth and success.
Demand for our clinical services remains high, particularly in the ambulatory setting. With eight faculty members seeing patients across three sites—Fontaine, Pantops, and Fishersville Pinnacle—we are proud to be one of the largest rheumatology practices in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This past year, we were delighted to welcome Dr. Alden Adkins to our division following the completion of his fellowship at the University of Virginia.
As the care of patients with complex autoimmune disease becomes increasingly multidisciplinary, we have continued to strengthen our collaborations with other specialties. We offer a range of combined specialty clinics, including:
•Pulmonary/rheumatology for patients with interstitial lung disease
•Dermatology/rheumatology for the management of patients with psoriatic arthritis and other complex cutaneous-rheumatic conditions
•Nephrology/rheumatology for patients with SLE and vasculitis
•Ophthalmology/rheumatology for patients with uveitis and other inflammatory eye diseases
Our dedicated procedure clinic continues to provide ultrasound-guided interventions and diagnostic services for our patients.
In education, our fellowship program, under the leadership of Dr. Adam Carlson, continues to thrive. Interest in rheumatology remains high, and we have been fortunate to continue attracting outstanding candidates. In addition to fellowship training, our faculty remain actively involved in the education of UVA medical students and internal medicine residents.
We are proud of all that we have accomplished this year and remain deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve our patients and contribute to the broader mission of the Department of Medicine.
Janet Lewis MD
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Activating STAT3 mutations in CD8+ T-cells correlate to serological positivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Frontiers in Immunology. Katharine Moosic, Thomas Olson, Mark Freijat, Samara Khalique, Cait Hamele, Bryna Shemo, Jesse Boodoo, William Baker, Matthew Schmachtenberg, Aakrosh Ratan, Erika Darrah, Felipe Andrade, Kristine Olson, David Feith, D Kimpel, Thomas Loughran. (2024). DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1466276.
PRESENTATIONS
Genes Gone Rogue: Somatic Mutations and Autoimmune Disease. 2025 Ohio State University, Division of Rheumatology, Grand Rounds; April 18, 2025.
Activating STAT3 Mutations in CD8+ T Cells Correlate to Serologic Positivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Poster presented at the 2024 American College of Rheumatology Convergence conference. Authors: Katharine Moosic, Thomas Olson, Mark Freijat, Samara Khalique, Cait Hamele, Byrna Shemo, Jesse Boodoo, William Baker, Gitanjali Khurana, Matthew Schmachtenberg, Trisin Duffy, Aakrosh Ratan, Ericka Darrah, Felipe Andrade, Marieke Jones, Kristine Olson, David Feith, Thomas Loughran, and Donald Kimpel.
Blood transcriptome of adults with myositis and interstitial lung disease. Poster discussion presented at 2025 American Thoracic Society Conference in May 2025. San Franscisco, CA. Authors: Jae Hee Yun and John Kim.
Associations Between Rheumatic Diseases and Mental Health Disorders. Poster presented at the 2024 American College of Rheumatology Convergence conference. Authors: Thoai Vu, Sivam Bhatt and Janet Lewis.
EDUCATION
It has been a strong year for the Rheumatology fellowship program under the guidance of Dr Adam Carlson. We had two excellent senior fellows graduate this year. Dr. Alyssa Bosso has taken a job in private practice in Frederick, MD, and Dr. Bradley Clemens has joined a private practice in Chesapeake, VA.
We are excited to welcome two new fellows: Dr. Dominic Gentile, MD, who is joining us from Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, NE, and Dr. Alexandria Lucas, from Prisma Health in Columbia, SC. They join rising senior fellows, Drs. Joanna Lee and Suqrat Munawar.
We have continued to enhance our training program through a dedicated MSK ultrasound curriculum, administered as part of a diagnostic and procedures clinic staffed by Drs. Amanda Lusa, Alden Adkins, and Adam Carlson. The rheumatology division also maintains robust educational collaboration with other divisions. We have combined educational conferences with Dermatology, MSK Radiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, and Ophthalmology. We also hold several combined clinics with Dermatology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, and Ophthalmology, seeing patients with complex rheumatic diseases that overlap with these specialties.
In undergraduate medical education, Dr. Janet Lewis continues to serve as the co-system leader of the Musculoskeletal Integument System for first-year medical students. All of our rheumatology faculty and fellows contributed to working with first-year medical students during their Foundations of Medicine course, as they interacted with rheumatology patients from our clinics.
Read the full edition of the August Medicine Matters Newsletter
Filed Under: Basic Research, Clinical Research, DOM in the News, Education, In the Know, News and Notes, Notable Achievements, Publications, Research, Top News