Samantha C. Shapiro, MD, is a clinician educator who practices telerheumatology and writes for both medical and lay audiences. She earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. In 2018, she completed her internal medicine residency and rheumatology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Fresh out of training, she founded the Division of Rheumatology at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, where she remains an affiliate faculty member. In September 2021, she left her full-time academic position to pursue her main passions: clinical education, patient education, advocacy and international travel. She works with various telehealth services to improve access to rheumatologic care. She educates patients and physicians as a medical writer and enjoys writing for both lay and medical audiences. She is an active member of the ACR, volunteering her time to the ACR’s Insurance Subcommittee.
Most Sunday mornings, I make myself an exceptional cup of pour-over coffee and sit down on my deck with the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. I check out the image of the week. I read the case report with pen in hand, racing to diagnose the patient before the authors spill…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is treatable, and for that, we should be grateful. But wouldn’t it be better if we could prevent it from even happening? Recent data from a study in China demonstrated some interesting results. Could an older type of diabetes medication be the answer we’ve been looking for? Background Preclinical studies have suggested…
SAN DIEGO—In one presentation at Plenary Session 3, ACR Convergence 2023, Beth Wallace, MD, MSc, a staff physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Michigan, and an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, shared important data on the relationship between time-dependent cumulative glucocorticoid exposure and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
SAN DIEGO—The Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence (ACE) are a cooperative group funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that conduct basic and clinical research on autoimmune diseases.1 ACEs focus on treatment and prevention strategies that induce immune tolerance or modulate the immune system. The goal is to facilitate collaboration across clinicians…
SAN DIEGO—At ACR Convergence 2023, Plenary Session 2, April M. Jorge, MD, shared data concerning the potential cardio- and renal-protective benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis.
SAN DIEGO—At ACR Convergence 2023, Philip Seo, MD, MHS, presented an overview of clinical updates in rheumatology from the past year.
SAN DIEGO—Too many excellent pediatric rheumatology studies to squeeze into one talk? What a good problem to have. Dr. Ardoin first highlighted baricitinib in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Have you ever wondered who plans the ACR annual meeting, State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Clinical Symposium, Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium (PRSYM) and the ACR Winter Rheumatology Symposium? Who chooses the topics? Who invites the speakers? You may be surprised to hear that it’s ACR members—just like you. These members volunteer for the ACR Committee on Education and/or its…
Your patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) isn’t responding well enough to methotrexate, and you both agree it’s time to consider a biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). But which one should you choose? In a treat-to-target era, we’re fortunate to have a variety of RA therapies at our disposal. Clinical practice guidelines from…
“What are you up to this weekend?” “Flying to Guam.” “What? Why?” “I promised an entire island I’d be their doctor.” In fall 2021, Jonathon Thorp, MD, phoned a friend. A passionate internist, he was bound and determined to bring a rheumatologist to Guam. Unlike most primary care providers (PCPs), he was willing to prescribe…