Roberto Caricchio, MD, the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology, professor of medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine, is leading the launch of the Lupus Center at UMass Chan, a new research and clinical care center at UMass Chan Medical School, in collaboration with UMass Memorial Health.
“My vision for the Lupus Center is to provide patients a host of services that aim at their betterment from a well-being and a clinical point of view,” said Dr. Caricchio, a nationally recognized lupus expert who joined UMass Chan last year. “The center also offers patients the possibility to participate in and engage in breakthrough clinical trials and basic research.”
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that involves multiple organ systems of the body and causes severe morbidity. Research at the Lupus Center will focus on several areas of investigation, including subclinical infections as triggers of lupus and its flares; the utilization of artificial intelligence to investigate clinical data of lupus patients; and identifying predictors of flares or early signs of lupus disease.
The Lupus Center is a participant in national biorepositories to collect samples and provide the means of discovery of new therapies. Patients will have the opportunity to participate in novel treatments when standard therapies fail to control the disease, Caricchio said.
The Lupus Center is led by Caricchio and Elena Gkrouzman, MD, assistant professor of medicine, and includes a team of dedicated experts, including rheumatologists, dermatologists and nephrologists, as well as clinical research coordinators.
“Lupus is a systemic disease. Patients need expertise. It’s a team approach and a multidisciplinary approach that improves outcomes,” said Caricchio.
Prior to arriving at UMass Chan, Caricchio served as the head of rheumatology at Temple University Hospital and director of the Temple Lupus Program in Philadelphia.
Learn more about Caricchio’s research and the Lupus Center at UMass Chan in this Voices of UMass Chan podcast.
