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REF Preceptorship Award Recipients

  |  Issue: August 2007  |  

Of the numerous training and research opportunities the REF offers, it is the Preceptorship Awards that best illustrate its commitment to ensuring the future of rheumatology.

By connecting a medical student with a mentor (preceptor) for a hands-on, real-world learning experience focused on rheumatology, the REF Preceptorship Awards give rheumatology professionals and medical students an opportunity to improve rheumatology’s future. Visit www.rheumatology.org/ref/awards for information about REF award and grant opportunities.

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Please join use in congratulating the 2007–2008 Preceptorship Award Recipients, who began their award terms in July.

Medical Student Research Preceptorship

  • Aimee K. Angle-Zahn, Preceptor: Jane E. Salmon, MD, Hospital of Special Surgery
  • Christopher P. Deibert, Preceptor: Joseph M. Ahearn, MD, University of Pittsburgh
  • James M. Kelley, Preceptor: Robert P. Kimberly, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  • Robert W. Koschik II, Preceptor: Thomas A. Medsger, Jr., University of Pittsburgh
  • Eleni Nackos, Preceptor: Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Thomas M. Penoyar, Preceptor: Peter A. Simkin, MD, University of Washington, School of Medicine
  • Balvinder Rehal, Preceptor: Nancy E. Lane, MD, University of California, Davis
  • Robert Lee Salazar, Preceptor: Barry L. Myones, MD, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor
  • Xueyuan Shelly Wang, Preceptor: Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Daniel M. Wells, Preceptor: Leonard L. Dragone, MD, PhD, National Jewish Medical and Research Center
  • Sophie L. Woolston, Preceptor: David Sherry, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
  • Daniel C. Windels, Preceptor: Susan A. Boackle, MD, University of Colorado HSC
  • Jeremy J. Zimmermann, Preceptor: Calvin B. Williams, MD, Midwestern University

Medical Student Clinical Preceptorship

  • David R. Carrier, Preceptor: David George, MD, Reading Hospital and Medical Center
  • Jennifer C. Cooper, PharmD, Preceptor: Robert V. Janson, MD, Denver VA Medical Center
  • Brandi D. Eastman, Preceptor: Marcy Bolster, MD, Medical University of South Caroline
  • Brian H. Horner, Preceptor: David H. Collier, MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine
  • Erin E. Meschter, Preceptor: Thomas M. Harrington, MD, Geisinger Medical Center
  • Marisa C. Mizus, Preceptor: Joan M. Bathon, MD, Johns Hopkins University
  • Elizabeth G. Riccardi, Preceptor: Hom Neupane, MD, Upstate Medical Center
  • Megan L. Shparago, Preceptor: R. Deaver Collins, Jr., MD, Arthritis Associates of MS
  • An T. Tran, Preceptor: Daniel George Arkfeld, MD, University of Southern California

Health Professional Graduate Student Preceptorship

  • Steffany Haaz, MFA, Preceptor: Susan J. Bartlett, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
  • Cynthia W. Karlson, Preceptor: Michael Rapoff, PhD, University of Kansas
  • Deepak Kumar, PT, Preceptor: Katherine T. Rudolph, PhD, University of Delaware
  • Mei Yang, MA, Preceptor: Yuqing Zhang, DSc, MPH, Boston University School of Medicine
  • Haoyang Zhuang, Preceptor: Westley H. Reeves, MD, University of Florida

Resident Research Preceptorship

  • Shannon M. Rylee, MD, Preceptor: Ram Raj Singh, MD, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Korey L. Ullrich, MD, Preceptor: John D. Reveille, MD, University of Texas HSC

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Preceptorship Award Recipient Becomes Published Researcher

Noa Schwartz

Ever since Noa Schwartz was a child growing up in Israel, she knew that she wanted to help people. “I always had an affinity to be there for people, to help when I saw someone in need,” she recalls. When it came time to decide on a career path, Schwartz knew immediately that the healthcare industry would allow her to help in extraordinary ways.

She discovered the field of rheumatology while attending Hebrew University Medical School in Israel. “It was the first lecture series on rheumatologic diseases and I attended a lecture on periodic fevers,” Schwartz recalls. “It was an unbelievable lecture where the professor spoke about the research, the multitude of symptoms, the difficulties of diagnosis, and so on. Because these diseases involve the entire body and manifest in a variety of ways, it is like putting together a puzzle. I was hooked on the science.”

While on leave from medical school and living in New York, Schwartz volunteered at the rheumatology research lab at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Under the direction of Chaim Putterman, MD, chief of the rheumatology division there, Schwartz began to show a great aptitude for research, despite having no prior experience. After three months in the lab, Dr. Putterman told Schwartz about the ACR REF/Abbott Medical Student Research Preceptorship. “I had no idea that awards like this existed, and I was excited about the opportunity,” says Schwartz.

Schwartz and Dr. Putterman applied for and were selected to participant in the Medical Student Research Preceptorship. During her preceptorship, she remained under the direction of Dr. Putterman and became closely involved in a project studying TWEAK, a relatively new cytokind discovered in 1997. “We believe TWEAK incites [lupus nephritis (LN)] so we studied whether urinary TWEAK levels may be a useful LN biomarker.” Schwartz worked on the clinical aspects of the projects, regularly visiting lupus patients, collecting samples, and performing tests.

The project had fairly significant findings and Schwartz was just published as a lead author. Her piece, “Urinary TWEAK and the activity of lupus nephritis,” appeared in the Journal of Autoimmunity (2006;27(4):242-250). “Because of the preceptorship and the support of everyone working on the project, I was able to make the project a priority among my work at the lab and now I’m published,” says Schwartz. “This amazing experience has affirmed in my mind that I want to be both a clinician and a researcher.”

Schwartz will eventually complete medical school when she returns to Israel, but for now, she is committed to the TWEAK project and will remain at the lab to conduct further research. “The paper was just the beginning,” she says. “We want to show that over time, the amount of TWEAK levels change with respect to the disease activity and treatment that would be helpful in the clinical management of patients with [systemic lupus erythematosus].”

The ACR REF/Abbott Medical Student Research Preceptorship, part of the REF awards portfolio, is designed for students who are between the first and second year of medical school. The award introduces students to rheumatology by supporting a full-time, three-month research experience. Recipients also receive travel funds to attend the ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting. Funding for this award is made possible through the Abbott Endowment for Rheumatology Development. For more information, visit www.rheumatology.org/ref.

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