John FitzGerald, MD
Interim Chief of Rheumatology
Clinical Professor of Medicine
John D. FitzGerald, MD, PhD research focuses on gout. Dr. FitzGerald is studying the impact of gout on cholesterol and how that relationship impacts atherosclerosis. Dr. FitzGerald, working with the Ozcan lab, has a patent (pending) application that uses a lens-free polarized microscope to identify gout (monosodium urate – MSU) and pseudogout (calcium pyrophosphate– CPP) crystals. In addition to several reviews and editorials on gout, Dr. FitzGerald has been lead author for the American College of Rheumatology Gout Quality Improvement Measures and American College of Rheumatology Gout Guidelines. Learn more >
Marian Kaldas, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Dr. Marian Kaldas is a Southern California native and has been part of the UCLA family since her high school years when she won a scholarship for doing over 1000 hours of hospital volunteering. She received her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at UCLA, her medical degree from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and completed her internship, residency and fellowship in Rheumatology all with UCLA. Dr. Kaldas is interested in the treatment of the full spectrum of the rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, lupus and over 100 other conditions. Learn more >
Dr. Martin grew up in Washington State. He attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Upon graduation, Dr. Martin was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania for two years where he taught high school chemistry and biology. Later Dr. Martin attended medical school at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/Chicago Medical School, in North Chicago, Illinois, graduating in 2006. He completed residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle and Rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. Learn more >
Veena Ranganath, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Dr. Ranganath is a native Los Angelean. After graduating from Drew/UCLA Medical School and completing her residency at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in internal medicine, she returned to UCLA for Rheumatology Fellowship in 2003. She joined the UCLA faculty in 2005 and obtained a Masters in Clinical Research at UCLA in 2010. Dr. Ranganath has a strong interest in rheumatoid arthritis research. Her specific research goal is to develop a model to predict early response to therapy in RA with biomarkers, imaging markers (ultrasound and MRI), and clinical measures. Learn more >
