Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, was born and raised in eastern Kentucky, where she first cultivated her love of literature, writing and personal narratives. She attended Kenyon college, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, summa cum laude. She worked with individuals with psychiatric conditions and later in a neuroscience lab at the University of Illinois, Chicago, before graduating from Indiana University Medical School in 2011. Instead of pursuing clinical medicine, Ruth opted to build on her strength of clearly explaining medical topics though a career as a freelance medical writer, writing both for lay people and for health professionals. She writes across the biomedical sciences, but holds strong interests in rheumatology, neurology, autoimmune diseases, genetics, and the intersection of broader social, cultural and emotional contexts with biomedical topics. Ruth now lives in Bloomington, Ind., with her husband, son and cat. She can be contacted via her website at ruthjessenhickman.com.
Washington D.C.—At a Sunday, Nov. 17, Pediatrics Great Debate session of ACR Convergence, speakers argued whether patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) should continue their interleukin (IL) 1/IL-6 biologics if lung disease is suspected. Randy Q. Cron, MD, PhD, the director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,…
Experts shared insights into their work on building consensus for the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound for the diagnosis and management of RA and PsA.
Dr. Khaled Elsaid discussed synovial macrophages/monocytes and monosodium urate crystal interactions at a session during ACR Convergence, exploring potential new gout pharmacology targets via the lubricin/CD44/protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) pathway.
In an effort to ameliorate serious rheumatology provider shortages, the ACR Workforce Solutions Committee has developed a new resource for primary care providers who treat patients with rheumatic conditions.
Two new successful trials in abatacept, APIPPRA and ARIAA, are the first to convincingly demonstrate the potential of a preventive approach to RA treatment.
Clinicians should not rely on glucocorticoids as a first-line treatment of SARD-ILD in patients with systemic sclerosis, according to a strong recommendation in a new ILD treatment guideline from the ACR and CHEST. The guideline is one of two addressing the screening, monitoring and treatment of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) secondary to systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs).
SAN DIEGO—As part of a Nov. 14 session on lupus nephritis at ACR Convergence 2023, Simone Appenzeller, MD, PhD, shared perspectives on the importance of biopsy to inform its diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, with an emphasis on childhood disease. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of lupus nephritis is perhaps even more important for children than for…
2023 marks the post-pandemic return of research exchanges hosted by the ACR & EULAR to benefit junior academic rheumatologists & rheumatology professionals.
In an ACR Convergence 2022 session, Robert Spiera, MD, director of the Scleroderma, Vasculitis, and Myositis Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, discussed the use of sarilumab as a potential glucocorticoid-sparing therapy in a phase 3 study in patients with treatment-refractory polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), one of the most common inflammatory diseases…
Georg Schett, MD, presented the latest research into CAR T cell therapy for rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus & other conditions. These findings demonstrate remarkable and durable efficacy for the treatment, as well as the potential for disease remission in some patients.