About Me
I chose a career in medicine because I loved the idea of every day being a challenge. Rather than being knowledgeable about a broad range of diseases, I sought to focus on just a few conditions and, in this way, build true expertise. These conditions include lupus, lupus-like conditions, pre-lupus, and Sjogren’s syndrome, each of which can affect women more than men and can strike during childbearing years.
My greatest area of expertise is the counseling and care of women who have lupus and are either pregnant or contemplating pregnancy. At NYU Langone, we are extraordinarily positioned to address complications that may arise during pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, kidney problems, lupus flares, and preterm birth. We work with a team of obstetricians who are experts in managing high-risk pregnancies.
It’s essential to remember that people who have the same disease, such as lupus, are all different. Treatment needs to be tailored to meet each person’s needs. I spend lots of time getting to know my patients so I can put treatment guidelines into the context of each person’s lifestyle.
Our Lupus Center participates in almost all major clinical trials for lupus treatment and our research laboratory is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. From a basic research perspective, we are currently trying to understand how certain antibodies in women with lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome can result in damage to the developing fetal heart.
Our ongoing studies are aimed at understanding why people who have lupus may be at a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis. We are also working on figuring out what triggers the development of lupus in the first place.
I am proud to have received a few major awards highlighting my extensive work in lupus. I have been given the Evelyn V. Hess, MD, MACP, MACR Award from the Lupus Foundation of America for achievements in lupus research, the Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology, and the Halsted R. Holman Award for Excellence in Clinical Research at the LUPUS 2014 meeting.
Conditions and Treatments
Conditions
- systemic lupus erythematosus
- lupus
- rheumatism
- sicca syndrome
Learn more about conditions we treat at NYU Langone:
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Adults, Autoimmune Diseases in Pregnancy, Sjogren's Syndrome in AdultsCredentials
Positions
- Sir Deryck and Lady Va Maughan Professor of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine
- Dir Division of Rheumatology
- Dir Lupus Center
Board Certifications
- American Board of Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), 1984
- American Board of Internal Medicine - Internal Medicine, 1981
Education and Training
- Fellowship, Hospital For Joint Diseases, Molecular Biology, 1986
- Fellowship, NYU Medical Center, Rheumatology, 1983
- Residency, Bronx Municipal Hospital Cntr, Internal Medicine, 1981
- MD from Albert Einstein College of Med, 1978
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Edit profileInsurance Plans Accepted
This provider accepts the following insurance plans.
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Aetna
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Indemnity
- Aetna International
- Aetna Medicare Managed Care
- Aetna Meritain Health
- Aetna Open Access EPO
- Aetna Open Access HMO
- Aetna POS
- Aetna POS (American Express Employer)
- Aetna PPO
- Aetna Signature Administrators PPO
- Aetna Student Plan
- Allied
- Chesterfield Resources Inc
- Christian Brothers Services
- CoreSource
- Healthscope
- Nippon Life of America-Aetna
- Nippon Life-Aetna
- Starmark
- WellNet
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Blue Cross Blue Shield
- BCBS Blue Access EPO Large Group
- BCBS Blue Access EPO Small Group
- BCBS Blue Access GEPO Small Group
- BCBS Blue Access PPO Large Group
- BCBS EPO
- BCBS EPO (BlackRock Employees)
- BCBS EPO - Empire EPO (NYU Langone Employees)
- BCBS EPO - Empire EPO (Sunset Park/Family Health Center Employees)
- BCBS EPO - Empire NYU Care (NYU Langone Employees)
- BCBS EPO - Empire NYU Care (Sunset Park/Family Health Center Employees)
- BCBS Federal Program
- BCBS Florida Blue Care HMO
- BCBS Florida Blue Medicare PPO
- BCBS Florida Blue Options PPO
- BCBS Florida Blue Select
- BCBS Florida MyBlue HMO
- BCBS Florida Simply Blue
- BCBS Florida Traditional PPC
- BCBS HMO
- BCBS Indemnity
- BCBS Local 32BJ Employees
- BCBS Mediblue Medicare HMO
- BCBS Mediblue Medicare PPO
- BCBS POS
- BCBS PPO
- BCBS PPO (BlackRock Employees)
- BCBS PPO - Empire PPO (Sunset Park/Family Health Center Employees)
- BCBS PPO/EPO Small Group
- New York Hotel Trades
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GHI
- GHI Medicare Supplement
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HIP
- Emblem Essential Plan 1
- Emblem Essential Plan 2
- Emblem Essential Plan 3
- Emblem Essential Plan 4
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced - Child Health Plus (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced - NY MCD (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced - SNP Harp (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced Care
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced Essential 1 (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced Essential 2 (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced Essential 3 (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicaid Enhanced Essential 4 (SOMOS)
- HIP Medicare Supplement
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Health Smart
- WTC Health Program-HHC
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Medicare
- Medicare Part B
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Metroplus
- Metroplus Bronze Plus Plan Exchange
- Metroplus Child Health Plus
- Metroplus Essential Plan 1
- Metroplus Essential Plan 2
- Metroplus Essential Plan 3
- Metroplus Essential Plan 4
- Metroplus Gold
- Metroplus Gold Care 2
- Metroplus Gold Plus Plan Exchange
- Metroplus Medicaid Managed Care
- Metroplus Medicare
- Metroplus Medplus Plan Exchange
- Metroplus Platinum Plus Plan Exchange
- Metroplus Silver Plus Plan Exchange
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Railroad Medicare
- Palmetto GBA Railroad Medicare
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United Healthcare
- United Healthcare AARP
- United Healthcare EPO (NYU Langone Health Employees)
- United Healthcare Indemnity (NYU Langone Health Employees)
- United Healthcare Plus (NYU Langone Health Employees)
Locations and Appointments
Video Visits
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Schedule a Video VisitNYU Langone Orthopedic Center
333 East 38th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
NYU Langone Ambulatory Care - 23rd Street
324 East 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
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Learn more about MyChart at NYU Langone Health
You can schedule appointments, view test results, communicate with your doctor, and more using our portal, MyChart at NYU Langone Health.Research My Research
Interests
immunology, maternal anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La antibodies and pathogenesis of congenital heart block
Research Summary
Isolated congenital heart block (CHB), detected in utero in a previously normal heart, is strongly associated with autoantibodies that recognize the intracellular soluble ribonucleoproteins 48kD SSB/La, 52kD SSA/Ro, and 60kD SSA/Ro. Neonatal disease is presumed to be due to the transplacental passage of these IgG autoantibodies into the fetal circulation from the mother who may have systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren syndrome, or be entirely asymptomatic. However, the role of these antibodies in the direct pathogenesis of cardiac injury is unknown. After characterizing numerous affected neonates and their mothers with respect to health status and antibody profile, we have focused on explaining two major clinical observations: 1) permanent disease does not occur in other fetal organs and the maternal heart is unaffected despite exposure to the identical circulating antibodies; and 2) not all mothers with these antibodies have offspring with disease implying involvement of as yet unknown factors. In addition to these considerations is the overriding question of how intracellular antigens become accessible targets of maternal autoantibodies. We demonstrated that a major antigenic target characterizing the autoimmune response in mothers whose children have manifestations of neonatal lupus is the 52kD Ro protein (52a), which contains an N-terminal zinc finger domain and central leucine zipper. We recently identified an alternative 52mRNA derived from splicing exon 4 inclusive of the leucine zipper, which encodes a smaller protein, 52b, with a predicted molecular weight of 45kD which is immunoprecipitated by over 80% of sera from CHB mothers. Expression of 52b is greatest between 14 and 16 wks of gestation, a time of cardiac ontogeny when maternal antibodies gain access to the fetal circulation just prior to the clinical detection of CHB. Additionally, protein interactions with 52a and 52b are being sought using human adult and fetal (14-24 wk) heart libraries in a two-hybrid system. Human fetal cardiocytes are being cultured to address issues of antigen localization and accessibility to antibody under different conditions. To further the study of neonatal lupus and congenital heart block, we established a national Research Registry for Neonatal Lupus which currently includes 352 affected families.
Academic Contact
Lab Website
Research Interests Timeline
Clinical Trials and Research Studies
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Surveillance and Treatment to Prevent Fetal Atrioventricular Block Likely to Occur Quickly
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SAMPLE (Specimen and Matched Phenotype Linked Evaluation)
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Academic/Industry Collaboration to Promote the Development of New Lupus Therapeutics (DOLT)
Publications
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Barber, Megan R W; Hanly, John G; Su, Li; Urowitz, Murray B; St Pierre, Yvan; Romero-Diaz, Juanita; Gordon, Caroline; Bae, Sang-Cheol; Bernatsky, Sasha; Wallace, Daniel J; Merrill, Joan T; Isenberg, David A; Rahman, Anisur; Ginzler, Ellen M; Petri, Michelle; Bruce, Ian N; Dooley, Mary A; Fortin, Paul R; Gladman, Dafna D; Sanchez-Guerrero, Jorge; Steinsson, Kristjan; Ramsey-Goldman, Rosalind; Khamashta, Munther A; Aranow, Cynthia; Mackay, Meggan; Alarcón, Graciela S; Manzi, Susan; Nived, Ola; Jönsen, Andreas; Zoma, Asad A; van Vollenhoven, Ronald F; Ramos-Casals, Manuel; Ruiz-Irastorza, Guillermo; Lim, S Sam; Kalunian, Kenneth C; Inanc, Murat; Kamen, Diane L; Peschken, Christine A; Jacobsen, Søren; Askanase, Anca; Farewell, Vernon; Stoll, Thomas; Buyon, Jill; Clarke, Ann E
Arthritis care & research (2010). 2020 Dec ; 72(12):1800-1808
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Fernandez-Ruiz, Ruth; Masson, Mala; Kim, Mimi Y; Myers, Benjamin; Haberman, Rebecca H; Castillo, Rochelle; Scher, Jose U; Guttmann, Allison; Carlucci, Philip M; Deonaraine, Kristina K; Golpanian, Michael; Robins, Kimberly; Chang, Miao; Belmont, H Michael; Buyon, Jill P; Blazer, Ashira D; Saxena, Amit; Izmirly, Peter M
Arthritis & rheumatology. 2020 Dec ; 72(12):1971-1980
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Friedman, Deborah M; Kim, Mimi; Costedoat-Chalumeau, Nathalie; Clancy, Robert; Copel, Joshua; Phoon, Colin K; Cuneo, Bettina; Cohen, Rebecca; Masson, Mala; Wainwright, Benjamin J; Zahr, Noel; Saxena, Amit; Izmirly, Peter; Buyon, Jill P
Circulation. Arrhythmia & electrophysiology. 2020 Oct ; 13(10):e008686