Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Faculty Profiles

Division Chief

Dana Ascherman, MD

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic autoimmune disease, ILD, Autoimmunity, Applied and Innate Immunity, Biomarker discovery

Email: DASCHER@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8734

Faculty

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Antonio Achkar, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Treatment of rheumatic diseases

Email: achkaraa@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-682-2434

Rohit Aggarwal, MD, MS

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (Polymyositis, Dermatomyositis, Inclusion Body Myositis) and Autoimmune Interstitial Lung Disease

Email: aggarwalr@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8123

Dana Ascherman, MD

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic autoimmune disease, ILD, Autoimmunity, Applied and Innate Immunity, Biomarker discovery

Email: DASCHER@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8734

Julius Birnbaum, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Email: birnbaumj@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-586-3550

Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: rheumatology, reproductive health, women's health

Email: birrums@upmc.edu

Partha S Biswas, BVSc, MVSc, PhD

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic lupus erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Immunity, Autoimmunity, Inflammation, Cytokine, Interleukin -17, Chronic kidney diseases

Email: psb13@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-648-8708

Jennifer Brackney, DO

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Gout, Pseudogout

Email: jennifer.brackney@va.gov

Phone: 412-360-6146

Carolyn M. Casey, DO

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: General rheumatology and medical education

Email: caseycm2@upmc.edu

Deborah Jane Co, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Rheumatoid Arthritis and osteoporosis and gout

Email: codj@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-784-1466

Andreea Coca, MD, MPH

Rheumatology

Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Epidemiology of rheumatic diseases, systemic lupus, erythematosus, Sjogren’s syndrome, uveitis and inflammatory eye disease

Email: cocaa2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-586-3550

Robyn T. Domsic, MD, MPH

Rheumatology

Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic sclerosis or scleroderma, Diffuse scleroderma, Raynaud phenomenon, Clinical trial, Risk prediction, Risk stratification, Endothelial function, Vascular imaging

Email: rtd4@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8000

Patrizia Fuschiotti, PhD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Human inflammatory skin diseases; Systemic sclerosis; Cutaneous T cell lymphoma; Human T cell differentiation; Molecular pathways of IL-13 in fibrosis and cancer

Email: paf23@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-648-9385

Sarah L. Gaffen, PhD

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Biology of IL-17 and Th17 cells, autoimmunity, signal transduction, oral mucosal immunology, fungal infections, psoriasis

Email: sarah.gaffen@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8903

Kenneth Gold, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: goldkn@upmc.edu

Phone: 724-935-1130

Rachael Gordon, MD, PhD

Rheumatology

Post Doctoral Scholar

Email: Gordonra2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8000

David J. Helfrich, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Autoimmune disease, inflammatory arthritis, osteoporosis, metabolic bone disease

Email: helfrichdj@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-854-3491

Yong Gil Hwang, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Rheumatoid arthritis, Immnosenescence, Patient reported outcome, Geriatric rheumatology, Immunosenescence, Autoimmunity with aging

Email: hwangyg@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-784-1466

Sosa Varghese Kocheril, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Email: kocherilsv@upmc.edu

Orysia Kozicky, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: General rheumatology

Email: kozickyom@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-784-1466

Ashok Kumar, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Inflammatory arthritis, systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Email: kumara39@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-858-0338

Robert Lafyatis, MD

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic Sclerosis, Scleroderma, autoimmunity, biomarkers, TGF Beta, myofibroblast, macrophage activation

Email: lafyatis@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8123

Vladimir Liarski, MD

Rheumatology

Visiting Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE), idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM)

Email: VLiarski@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8000

Silvia Laverdes Martinez, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: My interests are myositis, scleroderma and lung involvement in these diseases. As well as medical education.

Email: martinezlaverdes@upmc.edu

Veronica Matto, DO

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: mattov@upmc.edu

Thomas A. Medsger Jr., MD

Rheumatology

Emeritus Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis) and related diseases

Email: tmedsger@verizon.net

Phone: 412-383-8765

Oscar Mena, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: menamirandaod@upmc.edu

Siamak Moghadam-Kia, MD, MPH

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Inflammatory myopathies, Rheumatoid arthritis, Rheumatology

Email: moghaddamkias@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8123

Niveditha Mohan, MD

Rheumatology

Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: clinician educator for fellows and residents, autoimmune eye disease

Email: mohann2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8861

Mahta Mortezavi, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: mortezavim@upmc.edu

Anthony J Nicolas, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: nicolasaj@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-647-6700

Chester V. Oddis, MD

Rheumatology

Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Myopathies, polymyositis, dermatomyositis

Email: cvo5@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8861

Thaddeus Anthony Osial Jr, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Rheumatoid Arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondylitis and crystalline arthritis (e.g. gout).

Email: osialta@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-784-1466

Cristina Marie Padilla, MD

Rheumatology

Post Doctoral Scholar

Academic Interest: Translational and clinical research in scleroderma

Email: padillacm@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8123

Anna Papazoglou, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Systemic sclerosis and general rheumatology

Email: papazogloua@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-5223

Christine Peoples, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Rheumatology care provided through telemedicine, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjogren syndrome

Email: peoplesc2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-383-8861

John Steuart Richards, MBBS

Rheumatology

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

Email: richardsjs@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-360-6146

Sebastian E Sattui, MD, MS

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Vasculitis, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Aging and inflammation, Multidisciplinary care, Clinical Trials

Email: ssattui@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-648-9782

Didem Saygin, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Inflammatory myopathies, augmenting the rheumatology workforce

Email: SayginD@pitt.edu

Daniella Schwartz, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: IL-9 and other allergy-associated factors in rheumatic diseases

Email: Daniella.Schwartz@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-648-9782

Courtney E. Stull, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: stullce@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-784-1466

Jeremy Tilstra, MD, PhD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: Lupus

Email: tilstraj@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-586-3550

Atac Turkay, MD, PhD

Rheumatology

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Email: turkaya2@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-647-6700

Eleanor Valenzi, MD

Rheumatology

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Academic Interest: New treatments of systemic sclerosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases

Email: Valenzie@pitt.edu

Phone: 412-383-8000

Celine H. Zhou, MD

Rheumatology

Clinical Instructor of Medicine

Email: zhouc5@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-682-2434