Michael E. Weinblatt, MD Program Chair John R. and Eileen K. Riedman Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Co-Director, Clinical Rheumatology Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy Brigham and Women s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Michael E. Weinblatt earned a medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he also completed his internship and residency. He completed a clinical fellowship in rheumatology at the Robert B. Brigham Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Weinblatt was a member of the Rheumatology Subspecialty Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine from 1994 to 2000 and he served as the President of the American College of Rheumatology in 2001. Dr. Weinblatt is the author of The Arthritis Action Program: An Integrated Plan of Traditional and Complementary Therapies. He has also authored or co-authored more than 180 published papers, reviews, and book chapters on rheumatology. Additionally, he is the co-editor of Targeted Treatment of the Rheumatic Diseases and the textbook Rheumatology (3rd, 4th and 5th editions). His major research interest is in the therapeutics for rheumatoid arthritis, which includes studies of methotrexate and biologic response modifers. His work on the development of methotrexate therapy for rheumatoid arthritis garnered him the Carol Nachman Prize for Rheumatology and the Arthritis Foundation s Virginia P. Engalitcheff Award for Impact on Quality of Life. In 2008, Dr. Weinblatt received the American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award.
Paul P. Doghramji, MD, FAAFP Program Co-Chair Attending Physician Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Medical Director, Health Services Ursinus College Collegeville, Pennsylvania Paul P. Doghramji completed a medical degree at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. His postdoctoral training included a residency in family practice at Chestnut Hill Hospital, also in Philadelphia. Dr. Doghramji cofounded Brookside Family Practice & Pediatrics, an affiliate of Pottstown Medical Specialists, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He has also been Attending Physician in Family Practice, Chair of the Utilization Management Committee, and Physician Advisor at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center; Senior Staff Member at Collegeville Family Practice; Assistant Medical Director for Health Services at the Hill School in Pottstown; and Preceptor in the Physician Assistant Program at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Board certified by the American Board of Family Practice, recertified 4 times since then, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Doghramji holds membership in the American Academy of Physicians, and has held membership in the American Medical Association, the National Headache Foundation, and the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Association. Dr. Doghramji has received the American Medical Association Physician Recognition Award in all qualifying years since leaving residency. Dr. Doghramji s work on sleep medicine has been published in Postgraduate Medicine, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, INSOM Magazine, and International Journal of Clinical Practice, as well as on such Web sites as Medscape and Pri-Med. He coauthored a textbook, Clinical Management of Insomnia, released January 2007. Dr. Doghramji lectures nationally on topics relating to sleep medicine.
Clifton O. Bingham III, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Divisions of Rheumatology and Allergy and Clinical Rheumatology Director, Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center Director, Rheumatology Clinics Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Clifton O. Bingham completed a medical degree at Columbia University in New York, where he also completed a residency in internal medicine. He trained as a fellow in rheumatology and allergy/clinical immunology at Brigham and Women s Hospital in Boston. He subsequently served as attending rheumatologist and allergist/immunologist at Brigham and Women s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He was recruited to join the faculty at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases in 1999, where he directed the rheumatology clinic at Bellevue Hospital Center. At NYU he founded and directed the Seligman Center for Advanced Therapeutics, a pioneering center that incorporated cutting-edge clinical therapeutics with clinical trials and translational research in rheumatology. In 2005, Dr. Bingham was recruited to join the faculty at Johns Hopkins University where he now is an Associate Professor and Director of the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center. Dr. Bingham currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee for the international Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) group, and he chairs workstreams developing a standardized definition of disease flares in rheumatoid arthritis and evaluating the efficacy and safety of intraarticular agents, including gene therapy. He has been active in American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation committees and has chaired meetings, study groups, and grant review sections. Dr. Bingham has served as an investigator for several clinical trials of agents in early to late phases of development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. This includes service as lead investigator for the largest international study to date of a disease-modifying drug for osteoarthritis (KOSTAR), the National Institutes of Health sponsored Glucosamine Arthritis Interventional Trial (GAIT), and a controlled study of immunization responses in patients treated with rituximab (SIERRA). Dr. Bingham has served as lead investigator in more than 35 additional clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and other autoimmune diseases. His current research program focuses on oral health in inflammatory arthritis, risk factors for osteoarthritis progression, and defining clinical and biochemical disease phenotypes related to therapeutic responses in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. He was recently awarded an American College of Rheumatology Within Our Reach grant to study Periodontal Disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. He is a Co-Editor for Arthritis and Rheumatism and a regular reviewer for several leading rheumatology journals, and he was formerly Associate Editor for Clinical Care in the Rheumatic Diseases. He has authored more than 55 original articles, reviews, and editorials, 10 book chapters, several topics in UpToDate in Medicine, and more than 70 abstracts.
Joyce Peck Carlone, MN, RN, FNP-BC, CCRC Nurse Practitioner Division of Rheumatology Emory University Atlanta, Georgia Joyce Carlone earned a master of nursing degree in primary care and education from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and as a clinical research coordinator by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. Ms. Carlone is a member of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). She currently serves as the ARHP representative to the American College of Rheumatology Corporate Relations Committee. In 2009, Ms. Carlone received the Mary Nell McDonald Outstanding Service Award from the Emory University Department of Medicine. Ms. Carlone has coauthored several articles and abstracts, and she has given a number of presentations on topics relating to rheumatic disease and women s health. She works as both a nurse practitioner and research coordinator in rheumatology with a subspecialization in rheumatoid arthritis. She has been involved with the Arthritis Foundation s Arthritis Self- Management Course and has assisted in the initiation and development of the rheumatology division s clinical research program, Early Arthritis clinic, low-literacy education materials, and clinical assessment tools and protocols. She also is adjunct faculty in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University and teaches rheumatic disease management to nurse practitioner students.
Karen H. Costenbader, MD, MPH Associate Physician Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy Brigham and Women s Hospital Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Karen H. Costenbader received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, a master s degree from Cambridge University in England, and a master's in public health from Harvard School of Public Health. She completed an internal medicine internship and medical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as well as training in rheumatology at both the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women s Hospital. Dr. Costenbader is a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women s Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She specializes in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus and is the Associate Director of the Center for Lupus within the Center for Arthritis and Joint Diseases. She teaches at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. Board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology, Dr. Costenbader holds membership in several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Rheumatology, the American College of Physicians, and the Massachusetts Medical Society. Among her honors are the Arthritis Foundation s Physician Scientist Development Award (2002) and Arthritis Investigator Award (2005). In 2009, Dr. Costenbader was selected by the Lupus Foundation of America as the recipient of the inaugural Mary Betty Stevens, MD, Young Investigator Prize, and in 2011, The Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Costenbader is an editor for The International Journal of Clinical Practice and Arthritis Care and Research. She sits on several grant review committees and acts as a reviewer for multiple journals. Her research investigates risk factors associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus and outcomes among those who have these diseases.
Lydia Gedmintas, MD Rheumatology Clinical and Research Fellow Division of Rheumatology Brigham and Women s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Lydia Gedmintas received her medical doctorate degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gedmintas s postdoctoral training included a residency in internal medicine (including service as Chief Resident) at Columbia University Medical Center. She is currently completing her rheumatology fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a master s degree in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Gedmintas is a member of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Gedmintas is currently serving as an investigator on a National Institutes of Health-funded study on the association between antiretroviral therapy and increased risk of fracture.
David S. Kountz, MD, MBA, FACP Professor of Medicine Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Attending Physician Jersey Shore University Medical Center Neptune, New Jersey David S. Kountz earned a medical degree at the State University of New York in Buffalo and a master of business administration at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. His postdoctoral training included house staff training in internal medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. In addition to his positions at Jersey Shore and Robert Wood Johnson, Dr. Kountz is also a senior fellow in the School of Population Health at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Dr. Kountz serves as Vice President of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB) and a member of their Board of Trustees. In 2002, he was named a Master Educator by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Among Dr. Kountz s honors are the Friends Health Connection Francis Black Humanitarian Award in Healthcare and an Award of Honor from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Dr. Kountz is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Kountz has diverse clinical interests in primary care, including health literacy and health care economics, cardiovascular risk in minority populations, and rheumatoid arthritis. He was funded continuously by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1998 to 2006 to study the management of diabetes in managed care in the Translating Research into Action in Diabetes (TRIAD) study. Dr. Kountz has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles, book chapters, and editorials. He co-authored a consensus statement for the management of hypertension in African American patients, which was published in the journal Hypertension in November 2010.
Mary Suzanne Schrandt, JD Senior Analyst Kansas Health Institute Topeka, Kansas Mary Suzanne Schrandt completed a law degree at the University of Kansas School of Law. Ms. Schrandt currently serves as Senior Analyst at the Kansas Health Institute (KHI), where she conducts and analyzes research on health care systems and access issues and monitors state and federal legislative activity related to health care. She is currently developing and leading KHI s health reform work portfolio and serving as Project Director for the Legislative Health Academy, an intensive educational and experiential course for a select group of Kansas legislators. In addition to these posts, Ms. Schrandt has been involved in the Patient Partner program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine for over 15 years. The Patient Partner program utilizes trained and certified rheumatoid arthritis patients to instruct medical school students and health care professionals in the identification of early signs and symptoms of arthritis. The program also serves as an opportunity for students and providers to interact with patients in a nonclinical setting to determine effective solutions to difficult doctor-patient relationship challenges such as communication and compliance. Prior to assuming her current positions with KHI, Ms. Schrandt worked in patient advocacy and education, health law, and disability policy at the Arthritis Foundation and the Beach Center on Disability in Lawrence, Kansas. She is still an active volunteer at the Arthritis Foundation. Ms. Schrandt has coauthored several peer-reviewed journal articles and a book chapter on disability policy, and she authored issue briefs on federal and state health policy matters.
Ben Taylor, PhD, PA-C Clinical Faculty Physician Assistant Department Georgia Health Sciences University Augusta, Georgia Ben Taylor received a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska in Omaha in 1999 and a Doctorate of Health Services at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2006. He currently serves as a clinical faculty for the Physician Assistant Department and as a Senior Emergency Room Physician Assistant at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta. He also practices at the Peach Tree Family Medical Clinic in Edgefield South Carolina and as Senior Physician Assistant with Doctors Care of Aiken, South Carolina. Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and the Georgia and South Carolina State Composite Boards of Medical Examiners, Dr. Taylor holds positions of prominence with several organizations. He is Vice President of the Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants (AFPPA) and also serves as a member of the AFPPA Conference Committee and Chairs the Public Education Committee for the AFPPA and the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants (GAPA). Additionally, Dr. Taylor serves on the Conference and Nomination Committees of the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants and the board of directors for both AFPPA and GAPA. Dr. Taylor is a frequent lecturer, and he is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants.
Isaac Yeboah, MD University Of Medicine and Dentistry(UMDNJ) Robert Wood Johnson Medical School New Brunswick, New Jersey Isaac Yeboah attended University of Ghana Medical School in Ghana and had his internal medicine residency program at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey from July 2009 to June 2012. At Jersey Shore, Dr. Yeboah served as Chief Resident, teaching junior residents and medical students. He was recognized as the best resident teacher for residents and medical students in 2010 2011. Dr. Yeboah is currently a hematology/oncology fellow in UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. In Ghana, Dr. Yeboah practiced in both clinical and public health settings, with particular focus on the management of tuberculosis and HIV.