Cristina G. Arriens, MD, MSCS, is a clinical assistant member of Arthritis & Clinical Immunology and principal investigator at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Dr Arriens received her medical degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. She completed an internal medicine residency at University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a clinical fellowship in rheumatology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, where she also received a master’s degree in clinical science and completed a postdoctoral clinical research fellowship.

Her research interests in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) involve a molecular investigation of biomarkers and use of this knowledge to assist guidance of therapy. She is a member of numerous medical societies, including American College of Rheumatology, Lupus Nephritis Trials Network, and Lupus Clinical Investigator Network-SLE Treatment Acceleration Trials.

She is a frequent presenter at medical meetings and has published in peer-reviewed journals, including Lupus Science & Medicine, Rheumatology (Oxford), International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, and Clinical Immunology.

Dawn J. Caster, MD, FASN, is assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology at University of Louisville (UofL) in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr Caster received her medical degree from University of Louisville School of Medicine, where she went on to complete an internal medicine residency, nephrology fellowship, and research fellowship. She is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

She is director of the University of Louisville Glomerular Disease Clinic. Her areas of expertise include lupus nephritis and management of glomerular diseases. She is a member of numerous medical societies and committees, including Greater Louisville Medical Society, American Society of Nephrology, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Glomerular Disease Controversies Conference Steering Committee, Standardised Outcomes in Nephrology – Glomerular Disease (SONG-GD) Steering Committee, and the Lupus Foundation of America Medical Scientific Advisory Council. She conducts translational research in lupus nephritis and is the recipient of an NIH K08 career development award.

Dr Caster is a frequent presenter at medical meetings. She has published book chapters, abstracts, and posters as well as articles in many peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease, and Kidney International.

Walter Winn Chatham, MD, FACP, is professor of medicine and associate division director for clinical services in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Birmingham, Alabama. He is also a staff physician with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UAB Highlands Hospital.

Dr Chatham received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. He completed his internal medicine residency at University of North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his fellowship in clinical immunology and rheumatology from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

He is board certified in internal medicine. His research interests include lupus, immunodeficiency associated autoimmunity, and macrophage activation syndrome. He is also an associate scientist with the UAB Multipurpose Arthritis Center.

Dr Chatham is a member of numerous medical societies including American College of Rheumatology, American College of Physicians (fellow), Alabama Society for the Rheumatic Diseases, and Association of Subspecialty Professors.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards including the American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award (2017) and the Louis W. Heck Clinical Scholar in Rheumatology (2010-present). Dr Chatham has published more than 15 books and book chapters, as well as more than 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as Lupus, Arthritis & Rheumatology, and The Journal of Rheumatology.

Joshua M. Kaplan, MD, is associate professor of nephrology and hypertension in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, at New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

Dr Kaplan received his medical degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He completed his residency in internal medicine at New York University/Bellevue Hospitals followed by a fellowship in nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

He is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology and is a member of the American Society of Nephrology. His clinical interests include renal replacement, nocturnal hemodialysis, and acute renal failure.

He is an editorial board member of the Nephrology Self-Assessment Program (nephSAP^®), American Society of Nephrology. nephSAP is a learning vehicle for clinical nephrologists to refresh their clinical knowledge and diagnostic and therapeutic skills.

Dr Kaplan has published book chapters and abstracts as well as articles in numerous journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, among others. He also presents at medical meetings.

Alfred H. Kim, MD, PhD, is assistant professor of medicine, pathology, and immunology in the Division of Rheumatology, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also the co-director of the Lupus Clinic.

Dr Kim received his medical and doctoral degree of immunology from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is board certified in rheumatology.

Dr Kim runs an independent research group with several clinical and translational projects addressing the major unmet needs of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). He also manages a diverse cohort of patients assembled through the Washington University Lupus Clinic. Finally, Dr Kim’s team also manages a Lupus Registry, which includes data for disease activity assessment, laboratory values, socioeconomic factors, and a wide variety of patient-reported outcomes related to quality of life.

He is a member of the American College of Rheumatology and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Rheumatology Research Foundation. He is also on the board of directors of the Lupus Foundation of America, Heartland Chapter, and is president of the Saint Louis Rheumatology Association. Dr Kim is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Rheumatology Research Foundation Investigator Award.

He has published in numerous journals, including JCI Insight, Arthritis & Rheumatology, The Journal of Immunology, and Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Emily Littlejohn, DO, MPH, is clinical assistant professor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and is on the medical staff in the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases at Cleveland Clinic. She directs the Cleveland Clinic Lupus Cohort (CCLC), a longitudinal bio repository that banks blood and urine of lupus patients and is co-director of the Lupus Clinic.

Dr Littlejohn received her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from Boston University of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, and went on to receive her medical degree from Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) in Pomona, California, where she was awarded a research fellowship in the Department of Biotechnology. She completed her internal medicine residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, and a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Michigan where she worked closely with lupus patients. She is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology.

Donald E. Thomas, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR, RhMSUS, CCD, is a rheumatologist and principal investigator at Arthritis and Pain Associates of Prince George’s County, in Maryland, and also is an associate professor of clinical medicine, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland.

He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed his rheumatology fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology.

He authored The Lupus Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Families from The Johns Hopkins University Press. Dr Thomas is a chair emeritus of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Lupus Foundation (DC/MD/VA Chapter), was a member of the Medical Advisory Council of The Arthritis Foundation Mid-Atlantic Chapter, was president of the Rheumatism Society of the District of Columbia (2016-2017), and is chair of the national board of directors of the Sjogren’s Foundation.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the “Lupus Hero Award” in 2016 from the Lupus Foundation of America DC/MD/VA Chapter.

James A. Tumlin, MD, is a professor of medicine in the Renal Division at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr Tumlin received his medical degree from University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. He completed his internal medicine residency and his nephrology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

His basic science research includes understanding the role of calcineurin in regulating glomerular and tubular function. His clinical research efforts have focused on sepsis and include acute kidney injury, immune complex glomerulonephritis, and racial differences in renal allograft survival. He is an invited committee member of the DEVINE Team, a multinational research initiative for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and IgA nephropathy. He is also active in many medical societies, including American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American Society of Nephrology, American Society of Clinical Investigators, and International Society of Nephrology.

Dr Tumlin has received numerous awards, including the “Best Doctors in America” (2009 to present), “Who’s Who in American Medicine” (2010 to present), and the American Men and Women of Science (2014 to present). In 2009, Dr Tumlin created the NephroNet Clinical Trials Consortium, which is a 501 C3 nonprofit focused on medical education and conducting clinical research that improves the lives of patients with chronic kidney disease.

He has publications in book chapters, abstracts, and more than 110 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochemical Biophysical Research Communications, The American Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, and Kidney International. He is a frequent speaker at medical meetings.