Virginia Pascual | |
---|---|
Born | Madrid, Spain |
Academic background | |
Education | BSc, 1975, Centro de Estudios Universitarios MD, 1981, Complutense University of Madrid |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
Maria Virginia Pascual is a Spanish-American pediatric rheumatologist.
Pascual was born in Madrid,Spain but grew up in Ceuta. She earned her undergraduate degree from Centro de Estudios Universitarios in 1975 and her medical degree from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1981. [1]
Pascual moved to the United States in 1987 to complete her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC). [1] She remained at the institution as an associate professor of pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Division until 2004. Eventually she became investigator at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research. In 2001,her research team linked abnormal secretion of alpha interferon to the malfunctioning immune systems of young patients with lupus. [2] In 2005 she described a link between Interleukin 1 and Systemic onset Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (sJIA) pathogenesis together with the first pilot trial results showing clinical efficacy of blocking this cytokine in sJIA patients [3] .
As a pediatric rheumatologist,Pascual investigated pediatric inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with the goal of translating laboratory findings into therapeutic targets and useful biomarkers. In March 2016,she served as the principal investigator of a study that identified molecular subgroups of patients and could improve the design of clinical trials for systemic lupus erythematosus patients. [4] [5] The following year,she was appointed the founding Gale and Ira Drukier Director of the Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children’s Health at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. [6] Pascual was also the recipient of the 2017 Lupus Insight Prize from the Lupus Research Alliance in recognition of her "major,novel insight and/or discovery with the promise of changing thinking about lupus as well as a high likelihood of generating further advances in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease." [7]
In August 2018,Pascual was inducted into the Association of American Physicians as a "physician-scientists who has demonstrated excellence in the pursuit of medical knowledge and in the advancement of basic and clinical science discoveries and their application to clinical medicine." [8] A few months later,her research team released a study suggesting that a previously unknown type of T lymphocyte causes the immune system to attack healthy tissues and organs and leads to chronic inflammation. [9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic,Pascual was recognized with the Distinguished Basic/Translational Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology. [10] She also received a grant supplement from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study the differences in immune responses in children infected with SARS-CoV-2. [11]
Rheumatology is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones,muscles,joints,and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases,collectively known as rheumatic diseases,which includes many forms of arthritis as well as lupus and Sjögren's syndrome. Doctors who have undergone formal training in rheumatology are called rheumatologists.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health,an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools,Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New York metropolitan area. The hospital's two flagship medical centers are Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center,situated on opposite sides of Upper Manhattan.
Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a hospital in New York City that specializes in orthopedic surgery and the treatment of rheumatologic conditions.
Childhood arthritis is an umbrella term used to describe any rheumatic disease or chronic arthritis-related condition which affects individuals under the age of 16. Most types are autoimmune disorders.
Lupus,technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common symptoms include painful and swollen joints,fever,chest pain,hair loss,mouth ulcers,swollen lymph nodes,feeling tired,and a red rash which is most commonly on the face. Often there are periods of illness,called flares,and periods of remission during which there are few symptoms.
Terri H. Finkel is an American pediatric rheumatologist and immunologist who is the Children's Foundation of Memphis Endowed Chair and tenured professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Previously,she was the pediatrician-in-chief,chair of pediatrics and chief scientific officer at Nemours Children's Hospital. She is known for her research into autoimmunity,AIDS,juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,lupus,and cancer. Her work has been recognized in more than 200 publications,10 U.S. patents,and 4 licensed technologies. Finkel has been placed in the top one percent of American pediatric rheumatologists by U.S. News &World Report. Her numerous honors include being named among America's Top Doctors by Castle Connolly every year since 2011 and induction into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.
Arup Kumar Kundu is an educationist,Indian Rheumatologist,clinician,orator,academician,teacher and author. He has authored five medical books entitled Bedside Clinics in Medicine,Part I &Part II,Beginner's Guide to Clinical Medicine,MCQs in Internal Medicine and Pearls in Medicine for Students.
Amita Aggarwal is an Indian clinical immunologist,rheumatologist and a Professor and Head at the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences,Lucknow. Known for her studies in autoimmune rheumatic diseases,Aggarwal is a recipient of the Shakuntala Amir Chand Award of the Indian Council of Medical Research and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences,India,National Academy of Medical Sciences and the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded her the National Bioscience Award for Career Development,one of the highest Indian science awards,for her contributions to biosciences in 2004.
Daniel Jeffrey Wallace is an American rheumatologist,clinical professor,author,and fellow. Wallace has published 500 peer reviewed publications,9 textbooks,and 28 book chapters on topics such as lupus,Sjögren syndrome,osteoarthritis,and fibromyalgia. He has the largest cohort of lupus patients in the United States (2000). A full professor of medicine,he is associate director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Program at Cedars-Sinai. His seminal contributions to research include being an author of the first paper to demonstrate vitamin D dysfunction and the importance of interleukin 6 in lupus,conducting the first large studies of apheresis in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus,and insights into the mechanisms of action of antimalarials. Wallace's research accomplishments also include conducting many clinical rheumatic disease trials,examining the role of microvascular angina and accelerated atherogenesis in lupus,and work on anti-telomere antibodies which have garnered him 6 papers in The New England Journal of Medicine. Wallace's monograph,The Lupus Book,has sold over 100,000 copies since 1995.
Robert George Lahita is an American physician,internist and rheumatologist,best known for his research into systemic lupus erythematosus. and other autoimmune diseases. He is the author of more than 16 books and 150 scientific publications in the field of autoimmunity and immuno-endocrinology and a media consultant on health-related issues. He currently serves as Director of the Institute of Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases at St. Joseph's Healthcare System,specializing in autoimmunity,rheumatology,and treatment of diseases of joints,muscle,bones and tendons including arthritis,back pain,muscle strains,common athletic injuries and collagen diseases.
Jacques Banchereau is an internationally prominent French American immunologist and molecular biologist. As of 2022,he is Chief Scientific Officer at Immunai. He was formerly professor and director of immunological sciences at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine and also the former chief science officer,senior vice president,and DTA head of inflammation &virology at Hoffman-La Roche. He is best known for his extensive research on dendritic cells with Nobel Laureate Ralph M. Steinman. He is the fifth most cited immunologist ranked by Times Higher Education's report.
Dafna D. Gladman,MD,FRCPC, is a Canadian doctor and medical researcher working in the fields of psoriatic arthritis,systemic lupus erythematosus,and rheumatoid arthritis. She is a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute. She is Deputy Director,Centre for Prognosis Studies in the Rheumatic Diseases,Co-Director,Lupus Clinic,Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) and Director,Psoriatic Arthritis Program,Toronto Western Hospital.
Lars Klareskog is a Swedish physician,immunologist,and rheumatologist,known for research into the genetics of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Sallie Robey Permar is the pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center and the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her research focuses on infections affecting newborns.
Nancy E. Lane is an American rheumatologist. She is an Endowed Professor of Medicine,Rheumatology,and Aging Research at the University of California,Davis and director of the UC Davis Musculoskeletal Diseases of Aging Research Group. She has also sat on the editorial boards of Nature Reviews Rheumatology,Rheumatology,Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism,Arthritis &Rheumatology, and The Journal of Rheumatology.
Judith Ann James is an American rheumatologist. She first came to Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMFR) as a Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar in the summer of 1988,and she joined the foundation’s scientific staff in 1994.
Lindsey A. Criswell is an American rheumatologist and physician-scientist. She is director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Criswell was vice chancellor of research at University of California,San Francisco where she held the Jean S. Engleman Distinguished Professorship in Rheumatology.
Robert H. Carter is an American rheumatologist and physician-scientist serving as the deputy director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) since 2008. He was the acting director of NIAMS from December 2018 until February 2021.
Mariana J. Kaplan is a rheumatologist and physician-scientist. She researches mechanisms of immune dysregulation,organ damage,and premature vascular disease in systemic autoimmunity. Kaplan is chief of the systemic autoimmunity branch at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.