The mission of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University’s Division of Rheumatology is to pursue research that will directly benefit patient care for rheumatic diseases and to educate future rheumatologists in this endeavor.

Current Research Projects:

  • Senile and Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

  • Osteoporosis in Special Populations

    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders
    • Diabetes Mellitus
  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Cardiovascular Disease

  • Health Care Disparities in Rheumatic Diseases

 

Principal Investigator: Laura Carbone, MD
Title:
Development of a Novel Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor as a Strategy for Treating Neuropathic Pain in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury
Source of Funding:
Department of Defense
Funding Period:
9/30/2021-9/29/2025

Principal Investigator: Laura Carbone, MD
Title: FY2024 Rheumatology Foundation Fellowship Training Award for Workforce Expansion
Source of Funding: Rheumatology Research Foundation
Funding Period: 7/1/2024-6/30/2026

Principal Investigator: Laura Carbone, MD
Title:
Calculator for Length of Use of Bisphosphonates
Source of Funding:
NIH R09
Funding Period:
9/15/2022-6/30/2027

Principal Investigator: Rachel Elam, MD
Title: Fracture Risk Assessment in Persons with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Source of Funding: Rheumatology Research Foundation Scientist Development Award

Principal Investigator: Rachel Elam, MD
Title: Development of a fracture absolute risk assessment tool for persons with type 2 diabetes
Source of Funding: Augusta University Career Development Scholars Program

Principal Investigator: Hong Shi, MD
Title: Perivascular Adipose tissue in the pathogenesis of lupus vasculopathy
Source of Funding: NIH K08
Funding Period: I  01/2024-12/2028

A Phase II, Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind, Parallel-group, Efficacy and Safety Study of at Least 48 Weeks of Oral BI 685509 Treatment in Adults With Early Progressive Diffuse Cutaneous

Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Principal Investigator: Elena Schiopu

Institution: Augusta University/MCG-Med-Rheumatology

Period: 9/21/2022—

A Phase 2, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Nipocalimab in Participants with Active Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (SPIREA)

Sponsor: Janssen Research & Development LLC

Principal Investigator: Elena Schiopu

Institution: Augusta University/MCG-Med-Rheumatology

Period: 4/1/2023—

A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Investigate the Efficacy and Safety of Oral Brepocitinib in Adults with Dermatomyositis (VALOR PVT-2201-301)

Sponsor: Priovant Therapeutics, Inc.

Principal Investigator: Elena Schiopu

Institution: Augusta University/MCG-Med-Rheumatology

Period: TBD

 

 Laura Carbone, MD
  • Carbone, L.; Bůžková, P.; Fink, H.A.; Robbins, J.A.; Barzilay, J.I.; Elam, R.E.; Isales, C.; Connelly, M.A.; Mukamal, K.J. Plasma Levels of Branched Chain Amino Acids, Incident Hip Fractures and Bone Mineral Density of the Hip and Spine. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2023, doi:10.1210/clinem/dgad275. FULL TEXT
  • Robbins JA, Buzkova P, Barzilay JI, Cauley JA, Fink HA, Carbone LD, Chen Z, Stein PK, Elam RE, Jalal D, Sheets K, and Mukamal K. Mortality following hip fracture in older adults with and without coronary heart disease. Am J Med. (2023 Apr 24);S0002-9343(23)00244-9. Doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.03.036. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37100188 FULL TEXT

  • Le, B.; Gonzalez, B.; Weaver, F.; Sinnott, B.; Ray, C.; Chu, E.; Premji, S.; Raiford, M.; Mayur, O.; Carbone, L. Malunions following lower extremity fractures in veterans with a spinal cord injury/disorder. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine March 28, 2023, 1-7, doi:10.1080/10790268.2023.2188391. FULL TEXT

  • Shi H, Goo B, Kim D, Kress TC, Ogbi M, Mintz J, Wu H, Belin de Chantemèle EJ, Stepp D, Long X, Guha A, Lee R, Carbone L, Annex BH, Hui DY, Kim HW, Weintraub NL. Perivascular adipose tissue promotes vascular dysfunction in murine lupus. Front Immunol. 2023 Mar 16;14:1095034. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1095034. PMID: 37006244; PMCID: PMC10062185. FULL TEXT

  • Mohanty N, San T *, Bell S *, Jalla R *, Williams J *, Fordjour I *, Siddiquee N *, Gavrilova-Jordan L, Carbone LD, and Elam RE. Initial presentation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis as urethral mass mimicking urethral cancer: A case report. Case Reports in Women’s Health. (2023 Mar 13); 37:e00498. doi.org/10.1016/j.crwh.2023.e00498. PMID: 36968550 FULL TEXT

  • Barzilay JI, Buzkova P, Fink HA, Cauley JA, Carbone L, Elam R, Robbins JA, Stein P, Sheets K, Jalal D, Mukamal KJ. The associations of markers of endothelial dysfunction with hip fracture risk. Arch Osteoporos. (2023 Mar 2);18(1):39. doi: 10.1007/s11657-023-01226-w. PMID: 36859726 FULL TEXT

  • Elam RE, Ray CE, Miskevics S, Weaver FM, Gonzalez B, Obremskey W, Carbone LD. Predictors of lower extremity fracture-related amputation in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury: a case-control study. Spinal Cord. (2023 Feb 16). doi: 10.1038/s41393-023-00879-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36797477

  • Elam, R.E., Ray, C.E., Miskevics, S., Weaver, F.M., Gonzalez, B., Obremskey, W., Carbone, L.D.,. Predictors of lower extremity fracture-related amputation in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury: a case–control study. Spinal Cord (2023). FULL TEXT

  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel FULL TEXT

  • Etingen B, Carbone LD, Guihan M, Ray C, Aslam H, Elam R, Weaver FM. Lower extremity fracture prevention and management in persons with spinal cord injuries and disorders: The patient perspective. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021 Apr 8:1-11. doi: 10.1080/10790268.2021.1907675. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33830880. FULL TEXT

  • Guihan M, Roddick K, Cervinka T, Ray C, Sutton C, Carbone L, Weaver FM. Physical and occupational therapist rehabilitation of lower extremity fractures in veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021 Mar 11:1-9. doi: 10.1080/10790268.2021.1890680. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33705274. FULL TEXT

  • Harvey NC, Kanis JA, Liu E, Cooper C, Lorentzon M, Bea JW, Carbone L, Cespedes Feliciano EM, Laddu DR, Schnatz PF, Shadyab AH, Stefanick ML, Wactawski-Wende J, Crandall CJ, Johansson H, McCloskey E. Predictive Value of DXA Appendicular Lean Mass for Incident Fractures, Falls, and Mortality, Independent of Prior Falls, FRAX, and BMD: Findings from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). J Bone Miner Res. 2021 Apr;36(4):654-661. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.4239. Epub 2021 Jan 28. PMID: 33450071; PMCID: PMC7610603. FULL TEXT

  • Carbone LD, Johnson K, Larson JC, Thomas F, Wactawski-Wende J, Bollinger K, Chen Z, Watsky M. Association of vitamin D with incident glaucoma: findings from the Women's Health Initiative. J Investig Med. 2021 Jan 11:jim-2020-001645. doi: 10.1136/jim-2020-001645. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33431603. FULL TEXT

  • Madera-Acosta A, Johnson-Wall H, Carbone LD, Meszaros A, Berman AE, White J. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil toxicity mimicking extraglandular complications of Sjögren's syndrome. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2021 Feb 27;5(1):rkab010. doi: 10.1093/rap/rkab010. PMID: 33748661; PMCID: PMC7962723. FULL TEXT

  • Elam RE, Jackson N, Machua W, and Carbone L. Osteoporosis. Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Updated January 20, 2021. Available at: HERE

  • Weaver FM, Gonzalez B, Ray C, Etingen B, Schwartz A, Burns S, Le B, Aslam H, Priebe M, Carbone LD. Factors influencing providers' decisions on management of bone health in people with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord. 2021 Jul;59(7):787-795. doi: 10.1038/s41393-020-00589-y. Epub 2020 Nov 25. PMID: 33239741. FULL TEXT
Alyce Oliver, MD 
  • Peterkin-McCalman R, Waller JL, Le B, Oliver AM, Manning E, Elam RE, Kheda M, Nahman NS Jr, Carbone LD. Fractures in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and end-stage renal disease. Arch Osteoporos. 2020 Sep 18;15(1):146. doi: 10.1007/s11657-020-00815-3. PMID: 32948922. FULL TEXT

  • Paudyal S, Waller JL, Oliver A, Le B, Zleik N, Nahman NS Jr, Carbone L. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Mortality in End Stage Renal Disease. J Clin Rheumatol. 2020 Mar;26(2):48-53. PMID: 32073514. FULL TEXT

Hong Shi, MD
  • Shi H, Goo B, Kim D, Kress TC, Ogbi M, Mintz J, Wu H, Belin de Chantemèle EJ, Stepp D, Long X, Guha A, Lee R, Carbone L, Annex BH, Hui DY, Kim HW, Weintraub NL. Perivascular adipose tissue promotes vascular dysfunction in murine lupus. Front Immunol. 2023 Mar 16;14:1095034. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1095034. PMID: 37006244; PMCID: PMC10062185. FULL TEXT
  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel FULL TEXT

  • Shi H, Kim HW, Weintraub NL. Macrophage immunometabolism in perivascular adipose tissue. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021 Feb;41(2):731-733. doi: 10.1161/atvbaha.120.315779. Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33746500; PMCID: PMC7978142. FULL TEXT

Rachel Elam, MD
  • Carbone L, Bůžková P, Robbins JA, Fink HA, Barzilay JI, Elam RE, Isales C, Connelly M, and Mukamal K. Plasma Levels of Branched Chain Amino Acids, Incident Hip Fractures and Bone Mineral Density of the Hip and Spine. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 May 18:dgad275. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37200158 FULL TEXT

  • Robbins JA, Buzkova P, Barzilay JI, Cauley JA, Fink HA, Carbone LD, Chen Z, Stein PK, Elam RE, Jalal D, Sheets K, and Mukamal K. Mortality following hip fracture in older adults with and without coronary heart disease. Am J Med. (2023 Apr 24);S0002-9343(23)00244-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37100188 FULL TEXT

  • Mohanty N, San T *, Bell S *, Jalla R *, Williams J *, Fordjour I *, Siddiquee N *, Gavrilova-Jordan L, Carbone LD, and Elam RE. Initial presentation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis as urethral mass mimicking urethral cancer: A case report. Case Reports in Women’s Health. (2023 Mar 13); 37:e00498. PMID: 36968550 FULL TEXT

  • Barzilay JI, Buzkova P, Fink HA, Cauley JA, Carbone L, Elam R, Robbins JA, Stein P, Sheets K, Jalal D, Mukamal KJ. The associations of markers of endothelial dysfunction with hip fracture risk. Arch Osteoporos. (2023 Mar 2);18(1):39. PMID: 36859726.FULL TEXT
  • Bucur P, Weber M, Agrawal R, Madera-Acosta AI, Elam RE. Pulmonary-Renal Syndrome from Levamisole-Adulterated Cocaine-Induced Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)-Associated Vasculitis: A Systematic Review. Pharmaceuticals. 2023; 16(6):846. FULL TEXT

  • Elam, R.E., Ray, C.E., Miskevics, S. et al. Predictors of lower extremity fracture-related amputation in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury: a case–control study. Spinal Cord (2023). FULL TEXT

  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel FULL TEXT

  • Barzilay JI, Bůžková P, Kuller LH, Cauley JA, Fink HA, Robbins JA, Carbone LD, Elam RE, and Mukamal KJ. The Association of Lipids and Lipoproteins with Hip Fracture Risk: The Cardiovascular Health Study. American Journal of Medicine. 2022 Jun 6:S0002-9343(22)00432-6. Doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2022.05.024. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35679877 FULL TEXT 

  • Elam RE, Bůžková P, Barzilay JI, Wang Z, Nemet I, Budoff MJ, Cauley JA, Fink HA, Lee Y, Robbins JA, Wang M, Hazen SL, Mozaffarian D, Carbone LD. Trimethylamine N-oxide and hip fracture and bone mineral density in older adults: The cardiovascular health study. Bone. 161 (2022) May 13:116432. doi:10.1016/j.bone.2022.116431. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35577327 FULL TEXT

  • Elam RE, Arora V, Oliver AM. (May 2022) Close, but no cigar: A case report of cannabis arteritis from smoking blunts. The Rheumatologist. pp. 43-44. www.the-rheumatologist.org

  • Elam RE, Doan J, Weaver F, Ray CE, Miskevics S, Gonzalez B, Obremskey WT, and Carbone LD (2022). “Pathological” fractures in spinal cord injuries and disorders: Insight into International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Coding. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, DOI: 10.1080/10790268.2022.2042658 PMID 35254231 FULL TEXT

  • Sinnott, B., Ray, C., Weaver, F., Gonzalez, B., Chu, E., Premji, S., Raiford, M., Elam, R., Miskevics, S., Parada, S. and Carbone, L. (2022), Risk Factors and Consequences of Lower Extremity Fracture Nonunions in Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury. JBMR Plus e10595. FULL TEXT PMID: 35309860

  • Stein PK, Buzkova P, Fink HA, Robbins, JA, Mukamal KJ, Cauley JA, Carbone LD, Elam RE, McMillan DW, Valderrabano R, and Barzilay JI. (2021) Cardiovascular Autonomic Nervous System Function and Hip Fracture Risk: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Arch Osteoporos. 2021 Oct 31;16(1):163 PMID: 34719754 FULL TEXT

  • Rice C, Kosuru V, White JJ, Beek CV, Elam RE, Clemenshaw M, Carbone L and James L (2021). Membranous nephropathy complicating relapsing polychondritis: A case report. J Clini Nephrol.5: 084-087. FULL TEXT

  • Etingen B, Weaver F, Guihan M, Ray C, Elam RE, and Carbone LD (2021). Lower Extremity Fracture Prevention and Management in Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders: The Patient Perspective. J Spinal Cord Med 8:1-11. PMID: 33830880 FULL TEXT

  • Elam RE, Jackson N, Machua W, and Carbone L. Osteoporosis. Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Updated January 20, 2021. Available at: FULL TEXT
Noelle Rolle, MBBS, FACR
  • ACR Fellows-in-Training Subcommittee, Saygin D, Lin J, Rolle NA, Mamut M. Report of the American College of Rheumatology Fellows-in-Training Subcommittee: experiences of rheumatology fellows early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022 Aug;74(8):1457-1458. doi: 10.1002/art.42135. Epub 2022 Jun 27. PMID: 35373922; PMCID: PMC9082478.
  • Alkilany R, Hanson JA, Rolle NA, Fields RA, Sibbitt WL Jr. Acute Surgical Abdomen Due to Sporadic Polyarteritis Nodosa. J Clin Rheumatol. 2021 Jun 1;27(4):e138-e140. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0000000000000891. PMID: 30142116
Elena Schiopu, MD
  •  
  • Ritchlin, Christopher T, et al. “Sustained and Improved Guselkumab Response in Patients with Active Psoriatic Arthritis Regardless of Baseline Demographic and Disease Characteristics: Pooled Results through Week 52 of Two Phase III, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Studies.” RMD Open, vol. 8, no. 1, 2022. FULL TEXT

  • Jo J, Mills D, Dentinger A, Chamberland D, Abdulaziz NM, Wang X, Schiopu E, Gandikota G. Photoacoustic Imaging of COVID-19 Vaccine Site Inflammation of Autoimmune Disease Patients. Sensors. 2023; 23(5):2789. FULL TEXT
  • Imaging of enthesitis by an LED-based photoacoustic system (Erratum). Jo J, Xu G, Schiopu E, Chamberland D, Gandikota G, Wang X. J Biomed Opt. 2021 May;26(5):059801. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.26.5.059801. PMID: 33998200 FULL TEXT

  • Detecting joint inflammation by an LED-based photoacoustic imaging system: a feasibility study (Erratum). Jo J, Xu G, Zhu Y, Burton M, Sarazin J, Schiopu E, Gandikota G, Wang X. J Biomed Opt. 2021 May;26(5):059802. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.26.5.059802. PMID: 34008353 FULL TEXT

  • Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients taking immunosuppressants. Shen C, Risk M, Schiopu E, Hayek SS, Xie T, Holevinski L, Akin C, Freed G, Zhao L. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022 Jun;81(6):875-880. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222045. Epub 2022 Feb 23. PMID: 35197265 FULL TEXT

  • Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Risk of Type 1 Diabetes. Chen X, Affinati AH, Lee Y, Turcu AF, Henry NL, Schiopu E, Qin A, Othus M, Clauw D, Ramnath N, Zhao L. Diabetes Care. 2022 May 1;45(5):1170-1176. doi: 10.2337/dc21-2213. PMID: 35238899 FULL TEXT

  • Comparative Effectiveness of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccines Against the Delta Variant. Risk M, Shen C, Hayek SS, Holevinski L, Schiopu E, Freed G, Akin C, Zhao L. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 24;75(1):e623-e629. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac106. PMID: 35137006 FULL TEXT

  • Successful use of secukinumab in two melanoma patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammatory arthropathy. Ma VT, Lao CD, Fecher LA, Schiopu E. Immunotherapy. 2022 Jun;14(8):593-598. doi: 10.2217/imt-2021-0274. Epub 2022 Apr 13. PMID: 35416067 FULL TEXT

  • Sustained and improved guselkumab response in patients with active psoriatic arthritis regardless of baseline demographic and disease characteristics: pooled results through week 52 of two phase III, randomised, placebo-controlled studies. Ritchlin CT, Mease PJ, Boehncke WH, Tesser J, Schiopu E, Chakravarty SD, Kollmeier AP, Xu XL, Shawi M, Jiang Y, Sheng S, Wang Y, Xu S, Merola JF, McInnes IB, Deodhar A. RMD Open. 2022 Mar;8(1):e002195. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002195. PMID: 35296534 FULL TEXT

  • COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against omicron (B.1.1.529) variant infection and hospitalisation in patients taking immunosuppressive medications: a retrospective cohort study. Risk M, Hayek SS, Schiopu E, Yuan L, Shen C, Shi X, Freed G, Zhao L. Lancet Rheumatol. 2022 Aug 16. doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(22)00216-8. Online ahead of print. PMID: 35991760 FULL TEXT
  •  * Only publications in the past two years have been listed. 
Irina Madera Acosta, MD
  • Bucur P, Weber M, Agrawal R, Madera-Acosta AI, Elam RE. Pulmonary-Renal Syndrome from Levamisole-Adulterated Cocaine-Induced Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)-Associated Vasculitis: A Systematic Review. Pharmaceuticals. 2023; 16(6):846. FULL TEXT
  • Madera-Acosta A, Johnson-Wall H, Carbone LD, Meszaros A, Berman AE, White J. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil toxicity mimicking extraglandular complications of Sjögren's syndrome. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2021 Feb 27;5(1):rkab010. doi: 10.1093/rap/rkab010. PMID: 33748661; PMCID: PMC7962723. FULL TEXT

  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel
Adam Meszaros, MD
  • Madera-Acosta A, Johnson-Wall H, Carbone LD, Meszaros A, Berman AE, White J. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil toxicity mimicking extraglandular complications of Sjögren's syndrome. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2021 Feb 27;5(1):rkab010. doi: 10.1093/rap/rkab010. PMID: 33748661; PMCID: PMC7962723. FULL TEXT
Christopher Rice, MD
  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel
Stephen Bell, MD
  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel
Anam Qureshi, MBBS
  • "Sex and racial differences in systemic lupus erythematosus among U.S. adults in the All of Us Research Program" by Rice, Christopher; Nag Ayyala, Deepak; Shi, Hong; Madera-Acosta, Adria; Bell, Stephen; Qureshi, Anam; Carbone, Laura; Coughlin, Steven; Elam, Rachel

 * Only publications in the past two years have been listed.