World Arthritis Day Webinar | Session 3

Section of Rheumatology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, USA;Dr. Philip Cohen received his M.D. degree in 1972 from the Yale University School of Medicine where, under the direction of Dr. Richard Gershon, he contributed to the initial discovery of regulatory T cells. After medicine residency (Columbia) and further training at NIH and the University of Texas, he held faculty positions at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently Emeritus Chief of Rheumatology and Professor of Medicine at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Dr. Cohen’s research accomplishments include the discovery of IL-1 in RA synovial fluid, numerous mechanistic studies of autoimmunity in mouse models, the molecular basis of antinuclear antibody production, the significance of apoptosis and debris clearance in autoimmunity, clinical studies of SLE and Sjogren’s syndrome, and abnormalities of interferon signaling in lupus. He has trained numerous fellows and students and cared for rheumatic patients for many years.

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA;Dr. Fox is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. Following an internal medicine residency and a rheumatology fellowship at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1985. Dr. Fox is Professor of Internal Medicine and, from 1990 to 2018, was Chief of the Division of Rheumatology. In 2013, Dr. Fox became the Frederick G. L. Huetwell and William D. Robinson, M.D. Professor of Rheumatology. He is currently a Deputy Director of the Immune Tolerance Network. Dr. Fox’s research focuses on defining and characterizing pathways of human T-cell activation, determining the role of these pathways in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, investigating T-cell interactions with synovial fibroblasts, and exploring novel approaches to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. His laboratory recently discovered that a shed form of the cell surface CD13 ectoenzyme mediates profound inflammatory effects through binding to the bradykinin 1 receptor. His laboratory is also studying CD6 as a new target for cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Fox is an author of more than 300 scientific papers and book chapters. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. Fox served as the seventy-first President of the American College of Rheumatology and the sixth ACR President from the University of Michigan.

Heersink School of Medicine, Medicine University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA;Dr. John D. Mountz is a distinguished rheumatologist, physician-scientist, and internationally recognized leader in the study of autoreactive B-cell biology and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). His research integrates mechanistic studies of SLE with translational investigations in patients, with particular focus on pathways that regulate B-cell tolerance and offer new therapeutic strategies. Dr. Mountz’s current research has identified an important role for interleukin-4 (IL-4)–AHR signaling in restraining autoreactive B-cell responses, including mechanisms that counter TLR7- and interferon-driven immune activation. His studies combine sophisticated SLE mouse models, human patient samples, single-cell transcriptomics, and metabolomics to define how endogenous pathways can restore immune tolerance. A practicing rheumatologist, Dr. Mountz brings extensive clinical and scientific expertise to these investigations. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians and has received the ACR Distinguished Basic Investigator Award and the ACR Master Award. He holds the J. W. & Virginia Goodwin–Warren D. Blackburn, Jr. Research Chair in Rheumatology and has served as a leader of major biomedical core facilities and the UAB Rheumatology T32 Training Program.