August 2025
WOMEN LEADERS AND INNOVATORS IN RHEUMATOLOGY
In honor of Women in Medicine Month, we are spotlighting women rheumatologists who have shaped the Northwestern Medicine Division of Rheumatology and are transforming the field. Learn more about a few of these inspiring rheumatologists and the work they are doing to advance patient care and scientific research.
“At Northwestern Medicine, we are dedicated to enhancing patient care through diverse perspectives and a more inclusive approach to health care,” says Harris R. Perlman, PhD, chief of Rheumatology at Northwestern Medicine. “The women in our field serve as role models and mentors for the next generation of physicians, encouraging more women to enter and thrive in the field of rheumatology. Our women faculty members help drive the field of rheumatology forward through their research, leadership and commitment to better care.”
“At Northwestern Medicine, we are dedicated to enhancing patient care through diverse perspectives and a more inclusive approach to health care,” says Harris R. Perlman, PhD, chief of Rheumatology at Northwestern Medicine. “The women in our field serve as role models and mentors for the next generation of physicians, encouraging more women to enter and thrive in the field of rheumatology. Our women faculty members help drive the field of rheumatology forward through their research, leadership and commitment to better care.”
Meet a Few of the Women Leading the Way in Rheumatology at northwestern medicine
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Irene Blanco, MD
Irene Blanco, MD, MS, is a professor of Rheumatology and co-director for the Clinical Research Ethics and Equity Consultative Service, part of the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute. Her research interests focus on addressing health disparities and adverse social determinants of health in rheumatology. As the co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Sub-Committee of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), Dr. Blanco is working to diversify the field of rheumatology. She believes that bringing people from traditionally marginalized groups into medicine and the biomedical sciences can help address patient needs. She is currently developing graduate medical education curriculum addressing disparities and health equity. The ACR recently recognized Dr. Blanco as a Rheumatology Change Maker. |
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Carla Marie Cuda, PhD
Carla Marie Cuda, PhD, is the Solovy/Arthritis Research Society Research Professor and assistant professor of Rheumatology. Her research work has involved discovering the causes of detrimental systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-driven pathologies and interrogating the role of innate immune cells in the pathogenesis of this debilitating autoimmune disease. She was awarded a K01 grant from NIH NIAMS to investigate the role of caspase-8 in DC activation in SLE. Those discoveries laid the groundwork for her current research program, interrogating underlying causes of neuropsychiatric SLE (NP-SLE). She received grant awards from the Dixon Translational Initiative at Northwestern Medicine, the Lupus Research Alliance and Rheumatology Research Foundation that cemented her research program. Her basic and translational program specifically centers on dissecting cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric manifestations of SLE. |
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She is now engaging in a translational program to determine microglial contributions to NP-SLE by investigating a microglia-like population shown to reside in patient cerebrospinal fluid.
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Anisha B. Dua, MD
Anisha B. Dua, MD, is an associate professor of Rheumatology, director of Northwestern Medicine Vasculitis Center and director of the Northwestern University Rheumatology Fellowship Program. In addition, Dr. Dua is co-chair of the ACR Workforce Solutions Committee, on the board of directors for the Vasculitis Foundation and a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Rheumatology Research Foundation. As part of an expert panel, Dr. Dua recently helped develop several ACR guidelines for vasculitides published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. |
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Yvonne Lee, MD
Yvonne C. Lee, MD, MMSc, is the Helen Myers McLoraine Professor of Rheumatology and associate professor of Epidemiology. Dr. Lee is also associate director of the Rheumatology T32 training grant and associate director of the Methodology Core of the Northwestern University Core Center for Clinical Research. In addition, she is a member of the ACR Research and Publications Subcommittee. Her research focuses on understanding the pain experience in people with systemic rheumatic conditions and identifying the relationship between these experiences and pain pathways. Dr. Lee is an expert on the effects of CNS modulation of pain in rheumatoid arthritis. She has contributed novel insights into the role of CNS modulation of pain using novel techniques such as quantitative sensory testing and neuroimaging. |
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Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, MD
Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, MD, is director of the Northwestern Medicine Lupus Program and the Gallagher Research Professor of Rheumatology. She is also chair of the ACR Collaborative Initiatives (COIN) Special Committee and a member of the Lupus Society of Illinois' medical advisory board. Dr. Ramsey-Goldman studies genetic risk factors for disease severity/susceptibility; collaborates on investigations studying disease pathogenesis and develops disease classification criteria, flare assessments, nephritis guidelines and assessment of patient outcomes. Many of these clinical investigations incorporate analysis of lupus in multiethnic cohorts that examine clinical-, lab- and health-related outcomes. |
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She is currently primary investigator on an R01 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to test the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing program intervention to reduce fatigue in patients with lupus. Dr. Ramsey-Goldman was recently awarded a grant from the same institute to design, implement and evaluate an intervention that trains community leaders in Black communities with rheumatic conditions to disseminate vaccine-related information through their social networks to promote vaccine uptake.
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Carrie Richardson, MD
Carrie Richardson, MD, is an assistant professor of Rheumatology and co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Scleroderma Program. She specializes in treating scleroderma and has a background in clinical and translational research in scleroderma. Over the past several years, the Scleroderma Program has enlisted clinicians and investigators devoted to preventing and curing scleroderma. It collaborates nationally and internationally to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and effective therapy. |
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Leena Sharma, MD
Leena Sharma, MD, is the Chang-Lee Professor of Preventive Rheumatology and professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) and Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology). Dr. Sharma is also director of the FIRST-DailyLife Center, one of ten Core Centers for Clinical Research (P30) funded by the NIAMS. She also serves as director of the NUCATS (Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute) Mentored Research Career Development Program in Clinical and Translational Science. Her research program aims to advance novel approaches to prevent disease and disability development and progression in people at high risk for or with knee osteoarthritis. Through large-scale, longitudinal studies of people at high risk, Dr. Sharma seeks to shift the initiation of disability prevention efforts to earlier stages, when individuals are well enough to execute them, before the whole-organ downward spiral of osteoarthritic disease progression. Her team has examined the role in osteoarthritis disease progression and functional decline of an array of factors and potential targets. |
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