I have spent my career caring for children with autoimmune disorders and immune dysfunction. I have focused my work caring for children with juvenile dermatomyositis and auto inflammatory disorders. I have overseen a research program for 24 years studying the genetics and cause of human autoimmune disease, focused on dermatomyositis in children and adults. The long-term goal of my research team is to develop new biomarkers of diseases to identify those predisposed to develop disease, as well as monitor disease activity and response to treatment. My team makes extensive use of genomics, gene expression, protein expression and immunohistochemical techniques to study the inflammatory and non-inflammatory aspects of dermatomyositis diseases. Other autoimmune disease processes, including systemic lupus and vasculitis, have been focused on as well.
