Faculty
Scientific thought leaders in the management and treatment of Lupus
Gerald B. Appel, MD
Professor of Medicine
Division of Nephrology
Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons
New York, NY
Gerald B. Appel, MD, is Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Director of Clinical Nephrology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Attending Physician at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. He earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and served an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, followed by fellowships in Nephrology at the same institution and at Yale-New Haven Medical Center in Connecticut.
Among his many honors, Dr. Appel received the Distinguished Teacher Award of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Albert Douglas Award of the Medical Society of New York State and is listed in Best Doctors in America. He is a reviewer for numerous medical journals, including Kidney International, JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Appel is on the Medical Advisory Board of the Lupus Foundation of Westchester, the National Kidney Foundation and The Kidney and Urologic Foundation of America. In addition, he has been the Chairperson or Director of many regional and national educational programs. He is extensively published and has over 200 articles to his credit covering treatment of glomerulonephritis, novel therapies and the role of socioeconomic status and race in prognosis of proliferative lupus nephritis.
Jill P. Buyon, MD
Professor of Medicine
New York University School of Medicine
Director of Lupus Clinic
Hospital for Joint Disease
New York, NY
Jill P. Buyon, MD, is Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and Vice Chairman, Department of Rheumatology in New York City. She received her medical education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, and was then a resident and intern in Internal Medicine at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and finally a fellow in Rheumatology at New York University Medical Center. Prior to her current post at NYU, Dr. Buyon was Instructor in Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, and held the positions of both Assistant and Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU.
In 1985, Dr. Buyon founded the Lupus Clinic at the Hospital for Joint Diseases (HJD) in New York, which she currently directs, along with her position of Director of the Lupus Study Group. She is also an investigator at the Institute of Molecular Immunology at the HJD.
Dr. Buyon is widely published, with over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, 12 proceedings, and 50 reviews/chapters to her credit, along with one book. She has received grants for ongoing basic and clinical projects in SLE, from the National Institutes of Health, as well as the American Heart Association. She is a member of the American College of Rheumatology, the American Federation for Medical Research, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and serves on the editorial board of Lupus Now.
Andrew G. Franks, Jr., MD, FACP
Professor of Clinical Dermatology
New York University School of Medicine
New York, NY
Dr. Franks is Clinical Professor of Dermatology and the Director of the Connective Tissue Disease Section of The Skin & Cancer Unit at New York University Medical Center and continues to train other dermatologists, rheumatologists, and students in this specialty.
Dr. Franks is one of the few physicians in the country who hold board certification in Dermatology, Rheumatology, and Internal Medicine. Over the past twenty five years he has earned a distinct reputation in the area of “skin manifestations of autoimmune disease” with particular emphasis on lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, morphea, dermatomyositis, Raynaud´s syndrome and related disorders. He is regarded as a leading clinical expert in this field and has published numerous articles and textbook chapters and lectured extensively during the course of his career.
Dr. Franks has received numerous honors including the NYU Alpha Omega Alpha Distinguished Clinical Teaching Award, and is also listed repeatedly in Best Doctors by Castle Connelly and New York Magazine. He is a Diplomate of the American Boards of Dermatology, Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Rheumatology, and the American Academy of Dermatology. He is also a Founding Fellow of the American Rheumatism Association.
Joan T. Merrill, MD
Medical Director, Lupus Foundation of America
Professor of Medicine
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Oklahoma City, OK
Joan T. Merrill, MD, is the Medical Director of the Lupus Foundation of America. She is currently Head of the Clinical Pharmacology Research Program at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), OMRF Professor of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in New York City. She received her medical training at Cornell University Medical College, New York, NY, followed by an internship and residency at St. Luke´s/Roosevelt Hospital Center, a fellowship in rheumatology at NYU Medical Center and a basic research fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University.
Dr. Merrill´s research focus is the study of genetics and pathophysiology relevant to atherosclerosis risk in lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome, for which she has received multiple foundation and NIH grants. She has numerous publications in journals such as the Journal of Immunology, the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. She is a sought-after speaker at clinical symposia both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Merrill is a member of the Lupus Foundation of America´s Medical Scientific Advisory Council. She is the Co-Chair of the American College of Rheumatology´s Study Group and member of the Food and Drug Administration´s Arthritis Drugs Advisory Committee, in addition to many other active professional appointments.
Ignacio Sanz, MD
Professor of Medicine, Microbiology & Immmunology
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Rochester, NY
1980-1982 — Resident in Internal Medicine, National Center for Medical Research, Madrid, Spain
1982-1984 — Senior Resident in Internal Medicine, Arthritis Division and Postdoctoral Fellow in Immunology, National Center for Medical Research, Madrid, Spain
1984-1988 — Postdoctoral Fellow (Don Capra’s lab) University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX
1989-1991 — Rheumatology Fellowship. UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX
1991-1995 — Assistant Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Structural Biology, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX
1995-1996 — Associate Professor of Medicine and Cellular & Structural Biology, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, TX
1996-present — Associate Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology.
Chief, Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology Unit. Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY
1997-2003 — Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY
2003 — Director, Rochester Autoimmunity Center of Excellence
2004 — Professor of Medicine (Tenured), University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, NY.
2005 — Director, Rochester Center for Biodefense of Immunocompromised Populations