A Half-Century of Rheumatology

This summer, former and current fellows, faculty and staff of the Division of Rheumatology & Immunology at MUSC participated in a special CME event to mark the division’s 50th anniversary.

The Medical University of South Carolina Rheumatology Division Celebrates 50 Years of Clinical & Academic Excellence

The Division of Rheumatology & Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Charleston, has come a long way in its 50-year history, as it now celebrates its half-century anniversary.

The Beginning

Walter Bonner, MD, joined MUSC in 1963 as the first rheumatologist in the state of South Carolina—before a division even existed. By 1975, E. Carwile LeRoy, MD, was recruited from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, to become MUSC’s first director of the Division of Rheumatology & Immunology.

Dr. LeRoy

“The division was relatively small at the time, with a research focus on scleroderma. Accompanying Dr. LeRoy from Columbia was Hildegard Maricq, [MD,] who devoted the next three decades of her career to the studies of Raynaud’s phenomenon and the microvascular aspects of scleroderma,” says Richard M. Silver, MD, Distinguished University Professor, Division Director Emeritus and vice chair of development for MUSC’s Department of Medicine.

Milestones

Dr. Silver

MUSC’s Division of Rheumatology & Immunology has distinguished itself over the past 50 years with various milestones, including:

• Seminal studies by Dr. LeRoy and colleagues on scleroderma fibroblasts and his vascular hypothesis for scleroderma pathogenesis;
• The early use of captopril to treat scleroderma renal crisis;
• Recruiting Gary Gilkeson, MD, in 1996, which led to the establishment of a lupus center that is now known globally;
• Creating strong community outreach for underserved and understudied populations, such as the local Gullah population, who have a disproportionate burden of lupus and other connective tissue diseases. The Gullah are of African ancestry and live in South Carolina’s Lowcountry;
• Silver’s studies of scleroderma lung disease were among the first to use bronchoalveolar lavage to characterize the alveolitis of scleroderma interstitial lung disease and helped design and complete important clinical trials (e.g., Scleroderma Lung Studies I and II^1,2); and
• Recruiting Kathleen Maksimowicz-McKinnon, DO, MPH, to create the groundwork for a multi-disciplinary vasculitis center now in operation.

Today’s Milestones

Fast forward to 2024, and the Division of Rheumatology & Immunology at MUSC heralds several accomplishments.

The division has 14 clinical faculty; five who specialize in scleroderma and seven who specialize in lupus. Dr. Maksimoicz-McKinnon has a combined focus of vasculitis and lupus. Jessica English, MD, MSCR, has a combined focus of lupus and reproductive health in autoimmunity. Grace Suppa, MD, has a clinical focus of telehealth and inflammatory eye disease. The adult rheumatology program works hand in hand with pediatric rheumatology, led by Natasha Kerran Ruth, MD, MS, with four faculty members including Katherine Silver, MD, a medicine- and pediatric-boarded physician in rheumatology, and two emeritus faculty.