Did you know that man's best friend can also develop lupus?
We collaborated with veterinarians at Tufts Cummings School to examine leftover material from skin biopsies taken to diagnose cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE; lupus skin rash) in pet dogs to better understand what drives disease in both human and veterinary patients.
For the month of July, we will be featuring the people of UMass who support our research. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Lajoie and Celia Hartigan. Laura and Celia work in our Dermatology Department and play critical support roles for our projects. Laura is the Director of the Skin Diseases Research Core, and Celia is a Research Nurse Manager who helps us with our human research studies. We have worked together for many years, during which we've become good friends. Laura and Celia are some of the hardest workers I know, and they always go above and beyond to help us. Get to know them here!
For the month of July, we will be featuring the people of UMass who support our research. For my first interview, I had the pleasure of interviewing Madelyn Rivera. Maddy works in our research core facility as an Animal Care Technician. Maddy always goes above and beyond to help us, and she does everything with a smile and a positive outlook on life. Get to know her here!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. John Harris, a physician-scientist here at UMass and co-director of the autoimmune skin sequencing program. Dr. Harris was my postdoctoral mentor, and I learned a lot from him. John is very talented and charismatic, and I hope you enjoy hearing about the exciting things going on in our department and his vision for the future of Cutaneous Lupus!
The direct causes of lupus are extremely difficult to identify, but scientists think that lupus is triggered by certain environmental factors (UV light exposure, infections, stress, drugs or smoking) in combination with specific genes.
Did you know that 80% of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE, multiple organs) have skin involvement, but only 10-20% of Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (CLE, skin) patients are at risk of developing lupus?
