November 2023

RHEUMATOLOGY

NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE RHEUMATOLOGISTS AWARDED NIH R01 GRANTS

Featuring: Yvonne C. Lee, MD, Thomas J. Schnitzer, MD, PhD,

Yvonne C. Lee, MD, and Thomas J. Schnitzer, MD, PhD, of Northwestern Medicine Rheumatology, have been awarded prestigious R01 grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Lee’s project titled “CNS Pain Mechanisms in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for the Acute to Chronic Pain Transition” aims to understand the development of chronic pain in rheumatoid arthritis. Focusing on the critical first year post-diagnosis, the study will identify modifiable clinical factors and neurobiological pathways associated with pain centralization. Using innovative multimodal approaches, — including patient-reported measures, quantitative sensory testing and neuroimaging — the research intends to pave the way for intervention design and future trials, ultimately leading to a paradigm shift in managing pain in systemic inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Schnitzer’s research titled “Brain-Based and Clinical Phenotyping of Pain Pharmacotherapy in Knee OA” aims to identify specific biomarkers in individuals with osteoarthritis (OA) pain to define responder phenotypes for various therapeutic interventions. A prospective randomized trial will treat individuals with moderate to severe OA pain using naproxen, duloxetine or a placebo, collecting a diverse set of biomarkers including demographics, clinical outcomes, patient-reported measures, neurosensory status, and imaging. By characterizing responder phenotypes to different treatments, the research aims to enable personalized medicine, enhance therapeutic success and streamline the development of new therapeutic agents for OA pain.​
Yvonne C. Lee, MD, Helen Myers McLoraine Professor of Rheumatology, Associate Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) and Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology)
Thomas J. Schnitzer, MD, PhD, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anesthesiology and Medicine (Rheumatology)

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