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UCLA Rheumatology

UCLA Rheumatology

UCLA Rheumatology
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Chief

Christina Charles-Schoeman, MD, MS
Christina Charles-Schoeman, MD, MS
Chief of Rheumatology
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Myositis, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Charles-Schoeman graduated magna cum laude with a BS degree in Chemistry from Yale University. She completed her medical degree and training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at UCLA where she also earned her Master of Science degree in Clinical Research through the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program.

Dr. Charles-Schoeman specializes in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory myositis, often treating patients with aggressive systemic disease including severe interstitial lung disease. Her research interests include the study of accelerated vascular disease and inflammatory lipoproteins as novel targets for disease treatment in RA and myositis. She also leads several clinical trials of novel therapies for RA and myositis at UCLA.

Full Time Clinicians

Thanda Aung, MBBS, MSc, FRCP
Thanda Aung, MBBS, MSc, FRCP
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Gout, Osteoporosis
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Aung graduated from the Institute of medicine (1) Burma, in 1998 and later trained in Internal medicine and Geriatric medicine in Liverpool, United Kingdom. There she specialized in Orthogeriatrics for years with strong interest in Osteoporosis, while receiving Master of Science in Geriatric medicine from Keele University School of Medicine, MRCP and FRCP titles from the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh; and subsequently worked as a consultant physician at the Nottingham University Hospitals. After 13 years of patient care, teaching, clinical research and service development activities in the United Kingdom, she perused her career path in the United States. She completed residency training in Internal medicine at St May medical center, Long Beach, California and Rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Aung is interested in the wide range of the rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, pseudo-gout, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, lupus, anti-phospholipid syndrome, polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, osteoporosis and various autoimmune diseases.
Ramandeep Bains, MD
Ramandeep Bains, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Santa Clarita
Specialty: Rheumatology
Medical Board Certifications - Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2014
Rheumatology, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2017
Fellowship - Rheumatology, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center Internal Medicine GME, 2015-2017
Residency - Internal Medicine, Alameda County Medical Center - Highland Campus, 2011-2014
Degree - St. George's University School of Medicine/Grenada, MD, 2011
Kristal Choi, MD
Kristal Choi, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Santa Monica
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Kristal Choi is a general rheumatologist who practices in Santa Monica. She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. She is also skilled in musculoskeletal ultrasound and ultrasound-guided joint and soft tissue injections. She earned her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and then completed her internal medicine residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and her rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda University.
Karla Criner, MD
Karla Criner, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Burbank
Specialty: Rheumatology
Tamara Dahhan, DO
Tamara Dahhan, DO
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology, Osteoporosis and Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Office Location: Porter Ranch
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Dahhan earned her medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and her fellowship in Rheumatology at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She practices general rheumatology and treats the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjögren's Syndrome, Osteoarthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Vasculitis, Gout, and Osteoporosis.
Dr. Dahhan also has a specialized interest in musculoskeletal ultrasound and had done training with Ultrasound School of North American Rheumatologists (USSONAR). She uses musculoskeletal ultrasound to aid in diagnosis of joint disease as well as to guide her joint injections to improve accuracy and minimize pain.
Dr. Dahhan is board certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with family.
Lauren Freid, MD
Lauren Freid, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Ventura
Specialty: Rheumatology
Medical Board Certifications - Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2017
Fellowship - Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2017-2019
Residency - Internal Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, 2014-2017
Degree - Jefferson Medical College, MD, 2014
Mark Hall, MD
Mark Hall, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location:Westlake Village
Specialty: Rheumatology
Medical Board Certifications
Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2018
Fellowship
Rheumatology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2018-2020
Residency
Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2015-2018
Degree
Texas Tech University-Paul L Foster School of Medicine, MD, 2015
Marian Kaldas, MD
Marian Kaldas, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Torrance, Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
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. She joined the UCLA Faculty practicing Rheumatology and Hospitalist medicine and is now excited to join UCLA Health practicing Rheumatology full-time. 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. Her other interests include humanism in medicine and teaching. Dr. Kaldas is board certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. In her spare time Dr. Kaldas enjoys reading, beach walks, singing and spending time with her husband and children.
Tanaz Kermani, MD
Tanaz Kermani, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Rheumatology, Vasculitis
Office Location: Santa Monica
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Kermani received her medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota. She then stayed on at Mayo Clinic and pursued an additional 2 years of clinical and research experience in the field of vasculitis through a prestigious fellowship awarded by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium. Dr. Kermani is interested in general rheumatology. She maintains a special clinical interest in vasculitis.
Yaqoot Khan, DO
Yaqoot Khan, DO
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Yaqoot Khan graduated with a DO degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2001. After completing her Internal Medicine residency and a Rheumatology Fellowship at NYU Langone Hospital- Long Island, she pursued a post-doc research fellowship at the same institution.
She subsequently worked in clinical patient care and teaching for 15 years both in Private Practice and at Northwell Health in Huntington, Long Island. Dr. Khan has recently relocated to LA to be closer to her family.
She treats a wide spectrum of conditions including Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Vasculitis, Gout, Osteoarthritis, Myositis, Osteoporosis, Connective Tissue Diseases and other autoimmune conditions.
In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her family and friends, gardening and cooking.
Maryann Kimoto, DO
Maryann Kimoto, DO
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Torrance
Specialty: Rheumatology
Medical Board Certifications - Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2017
Fellowship - Rheumatology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 2017-2019
Residency - Internal Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, 2014-2017
Degree - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill, DO, 2014
Kathleen Kolstad, MD
Kathleen Kolstad, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: intersection of rheumatology and dermatology as well as women's health and rheumatic disease
Office Location: Montecito/Santa Barbara
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Kate Kolstad is a general rheumatologist who practices in the Santa Barbara/Montecito area. She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatologic conditions. She started her career as a basic scientist, completing her PhD in Molecular Cell Biology at UC Berkeley. She received her medical degree at UCLA and completed her Internal Medicine Residency, Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Rheumatology Clinical Fellowship at Stanford University. She is thrilled to return to her home of Santa Barbara and to UCLA Medicine. Throughout her career she has had a special clinical and research interest in the intersection of rheumatology and dermatology as well as women's health and rheumatic disease.

Outside of the office, Dr. Kolstad enjoys spending time with her husband, two young sons, and dog.
Eric Liu, MD, MPH
Eric Liu, MD, MPH
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Beverly Hills
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Liu grew up here in Los Angeles and graduated from St. George's University for my medical degree. I completed my residency and rheumatology fellowship at SUNY Upstate University Medical Center. My interest is in general rheumatology and its wide variety of rheumatic diseases. I completed the USSONAR training course and have an interest in applying and incorporating musculoskeletal ultrasonography for patients. I believe in the holistic health of the patient and working in a partnership with the patient to improve their wellness.

In my spare time, I like to spend time with my family as well as participate in outdoor activities whether it be from playing sports or hiking to exploring new restaurants in Los Angeles.
William Martin, MD
William Martin, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Locations: Encino
Specialty: Rheumatology
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.
Geraldine M. Navarro, MD
Geraldine M. Navarro, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Locations: Santa Clarita
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Geraldine Navarro earned her medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She completed her fellowship in rheumatology at UCLA School of Medicine.
Sravani Penumarty, MD
Sravani Penumarty, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Sravani Penumarty practices general rheumatology at Westwood. She treats a wide spectrum of conditions, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, myositis, vasculitis, gout, and connective tissue diseases. She frequently performs joint and trigger finger injections. She also specializes in doing skin biopsies for rheumatic skin conditions.

Dr. Penumarty grew up in California, completed her internal medicine training at Baystate Medical Center, Massachusetts, and rheumatology fellowship at Rutgers University, New Jersey. After her medical training, she returned to California to settle back in her home state.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Languages: English and Telugu

Medical Board Certifications - Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine.

Rheumatology, American Board of Internal medicine

Fellowship - Rheumatology, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School 2018-2020

Residency - Internal Medicine, Baystate Medical Center-Springfield, Massachusetts 2015-2018
Olga Popel, MD
Olga Popel, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Westlake Village
Specialty: Rheumatology
Medical Board Certifications: Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1985
Rheumatology, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1988
Fellowship: Rheumatology, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 1983-1985
Rheumatology, Southern California System of Clinics California, 1985-1986
Residency: Internal Medicine, St. Mary's Medical Center, 1979-1983
Degree: University of North Dakota Medical School, MD, 1979
Rania Shammas, MD
Rania Shammas, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Burbank
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Rania Shammas is a board certified rheumatologist and an assistant clinical professor of rheumatology at UCLA. She was born and raised in Los Angeles. She completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school, where she was part of the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society and received the Joseph Garrison Parker Award for arts in medicine. She completed her internal medicine training at Albert Einstein and then her rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. She spent several years in private practice, while also actively participating in teaching and as an investigator for multiple clinical trials. In her spare time, she enjoys musical theater, playing the piano, tennis, and spending quality time with her family.
Mihaela Taylor, MD
Mihaela Taylor, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Taylor received her M.D. degree from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila in Bucharest, Romania, and completed her rheumatology fellowship at Loma Linda in June 2004. She practices general rheumatology, taking care of a variety of rheumatology conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, connective-tissue disorders, crystal arthritis such as gout and pseudogout, myofascial syndromes, polymyalgia rheumatica, and vasculitis. She performs ultrasounds of the joints and performs injections with hyaluronic acid for osteoarthritis. Her interests is in musculoskeletal sonography.
Benedict Tiong, MD
Benedict Tiong, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Santa Monica
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Ben Tiong completed medical school at New York Medical College and did his internship and residency in internal medicine at Harbor-UCLA. He completed rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Tiong completed his undergraduate education at UCLA and grew up in Los Angeles. He practices general rheumatology and treats the full spectrum of diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, Spondyloarthritis, Osteoarthritis, and Lupus.
Linh Truong, MD
Linh Truong, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Santa Monica/Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Linh Truong is a general rheumatologist practicing at UCLA Westwood and Santa Monica clinics. She enjoys She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis.
Dr. Truong grew up in San Diego and received her M.D. degree from the University of California, San Diego. She completed her internal medicine residency at University of California, Irvine and her rheumatology fellowship at University of California, Los Angeles. When she is not working, she enjoys running, biking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Suncica Volkov, MD
Suncica Volkov, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Chen Xie, MD
Chen Xie, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Chen Xie practices general rheumatology in downtown LA and at the Veterans Affairs Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center. He enjoys caring for patients with all types of autoimmune and joint conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, spondyloarthropathies, lupus, vasculitis, and scleroderma.

Dr. Xie grew up in the Pacific Northwest and received his medical degree from University of Washington. He completed his internal medicine residency at Northwestern University, followed by his rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. When he’s not working, he enjoys picnics, hikes and beach time with his spouse and toddler son.
Howard Yang, MD
Howard Yang, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Santa Monica
Specialty: Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Dr. Howard Yang is a Southern California native and grew up in Orange County. He received his medical degree from St. George's University. He completed his internal medicine training in University of Hawaii on the beautiful island of Oahu. He developed his interests in rheumatology and later completed his rheumatological training in Loma Linda University. He practices general rheumatology and treats the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, gout, and osteoporosis. Dr. Yang has a special interest in musculoskeletal ultrasound and is board certified by American College of Rheumatology (Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Certification in Rheumatology, RhMSUS). He frequently preforms ultrasound guided injection at the wrist, elbows, shoulders, hips and knees to improve accuracy. He believes in the whole well-being of the patient instead just the specialized area of the wellness. He also speaks fluent Mandarin and Taiwanese.
Lisa Zhu, MD
Lisa Zhu, MD
Clinical Instructor
Research Interest: General Rheumatology
Office Location: Encino
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Lisa Zhu is a general rheumatologist who practices in Encino. She enjoys treating the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, vasculitis, myositis, scleroderma, gout, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis.

Born and raised in San Diego, Dr. Zhu received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She received her medical degree from UCLA, then completed her Internal Medicine residency at Stanford. She returned to UCLA to complete her Rheumatology fellowship. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine.

Outside of the office, Dr. Zhu enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, baking, and reading.

Researchers/Clinicians

Sangmee Bae, MD
Sangmee Bae, MD
Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor
Research Interests: Myositis, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Office Location: Westwood
Dr. Bae received her medical degree from Yonsei University College of Medicine in South Korea. She came to UCLA where she started out her research in rheumatology and remained for her training in both internal medicine and rheumatology. Dr. Bae practices general rheumatology and treats the full spectrum of diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, Spondyloarthritis, Osteoarthritis, and Lupus and a particular interest in inflammatory myositis. She is an active researcher in inflammatory myositis and a member of the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group
Ernest Brahn, MD
Ernest Brahn, MD
Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Brahn received his MD degree with Honors from the University of Chicago in 1978, and did his internal medicine residency at the University of California Medical Center, San Francisco. He then completed a rheumatology & immunology fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women's Hospital, and continued on as a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty prior to joining UCLA in 1986. Dr. Brahn runs a biomedical research laboratory in molecular immunology as well as a clinical research program primarily interested in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. He is the chair of the Clinical Laboratories Executive Committee at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Heather Bukiri, MD
Heather Bukiri, MD
Health Sciences Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
John FitzGerald, MD, PhD
John FitzGerald, MD, PhD
Clinical Chief of Rheumatology
Clinical Professor of Medicine

Research Interest: Gout
Office Locations: Westwood, Santa Monica
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. FitzGerald is a health-service researcher who has focused on improving care for patients with gout. He also evaluates patients outcomes after joint replacement surgery with interest in gender and racial equity. Dr. FitzGerald completed his medical school at Tufts University in 1993. He completed his medical residency training in 1996 and specialty fellowship in rheumatology in 1999, both at UCLA before joining the faculty as a member in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine.
Jennifer Grossman, MD
Jennifer Grossman, MD
Director, Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome, Lupus
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Grossman's general interests include lupus, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, spine, spondylolisthesis/spondylolysis and vasculitis.
Suzanne Kafaja, MD
Suzanne Kafaja, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Scleroderma
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Kafaja received her MD in UCLA School of Medicine and completed internal medicine traing at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. She completed dermatology and rheumatology training at UCLA School of Medicine. Her research interest includes scleroderma and raynaud's phenomenon.
Jennifer King, MD, PhD
Jennifer King, MD, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Sjogren's Syndrome, Lupus, Undeifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease
Office Location: Westwood (limited)
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. King graduated from Harvard Medical School, and completed her internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. She completed her rheumatology fellowship and PhD (STAR) at UCLA. She has received multiple patient service awards for excellence in clinical care, diagnostic acumen, and bedside manner. Dr. King is a translational researcher with a special interest in B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases, including Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Her research focuses on defining new diagnostic markers to predict treatment responses and disease flares in autoimmune conditions.
Maureen McMahon, MD
Maureen McMahon, MD
Associate Chief of Rheumatology
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome, Cholesterol, Lupus
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. McMahon graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1997. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago in 2000, and also served as chief resident in medicine in 2001. Dr. McMahon completed a fellowship in rheumatology at UCLA in 2003 and received a master's degree in clinical research from UCLA in 2005. Her clinical interests include lupus, vasculitis and general rheumatology. She is an active investigator in multiple clinical trials of novel therapies for lupus. Her research interests also include the study of accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with lupus.
Veena K. Ranganath, MD, MS
Veena K. Ranganath, MD, MS
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Rheumatology, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Office Locations: Westwood, Santa Monica
Specialty: Rheumatology
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.
Ram Raj Singh, MD
Ram Raj Singh, MD
Professor of Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Clinical & Research Interests: Anti-Phopholipid Syndrome, Lupus, Myositis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scleroderma, Vasculitis
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Singh trained in autoimmune diseases at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi and in rheumatology at UCLA. He is particularly interested in managing and understanding inflammatory disorder that occurs in patients with lupus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, scleroderma, anti-phospholipid syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome, and vasculitis. Dr. Singh provides consultation for patients with these diseases. His research on lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, and scleroderma has been funded by the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Lupus Foundation of America, Arthritis Foundation, Scleroderma Foundation, and American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation. Dr. Singh has served as a regular and ad-hoc member of several NIH Study Sections, and reviews grants for Arthritis Foundation, ACR REF, Dutch Arthritis Association, Swedish Knowledge Foundation, and Arthritis Research Campaign UK. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He is a recipient of over half a dozen national and international awards and prizes, including Henry Christian Award for Excellence in Clinical Research from the American Federation of Clinical Research, Washington DC, Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award from the American College of Rheumatology, James R. Klinenberg Biomedical Science Award from the National Arthritis Foundation, Henry Christian Award in the Autoimmunity category, Science Recognition Award for New Investigators from the Clinical Immunology Society, and Carol-Nachman Prize for Excellence in Clinical and Experimental Research in Rheumatology, Wiesbaden, Germany, which is one of the largest international prize in rheumatology. s.
Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS
Elizabeth Volkmann, MD, MS
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Rheumatology, Scleroderma, Interstitial Lung Disease, Pulmonary Hypertension, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Volkmann graduated from Pomona College where she majored in Neuroscience and minored in Dance. She received her medical degree from UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and subsequently completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology at UCLA. During her fellowship, she participated in the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program and earned her Master of Science degree in Clinical Research. Her clinical interests include systemic sclerosis, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and systemic lupus erythematosus. Dr. Volkmann is an active clinical and translational researcher with a special focus on systemic sclerosis, and in particular, she investigates the pulmonary, gastrointestinal and vascular dimensions of this condition. She strives to provide humanistic and compassionate care, and she embraces complementary and alternative approaches to healing, in addition to traditional modalities.

Emeritus Professors

Roy D. Altman, MD
Roy D. Altman, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Osteoartritis, Pagets Disease
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Altman received his medical education and training in internal medicine and rheumatology at the University of Miami in Florida. He was formerly a professor of medicine and orthopedics and chief of rheumatology at the University of Miami and chief of rheumatology and clinical director of the Geriatric Center at the Miami Veterans Administration Medical Center. Since 2003, Dr. Altman has been a member of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology in the Department of Medicine. His recent research and clinical interests have been in osteoarthritis, Paget's disease of the bone and osteoporosis.\
Pojen Chen, MD
Pojen Chen, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Philip Clements, MD
Philip Clements, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Scleroderma
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Clements conducts clinical trials in scleroderma, and his research interest includes analysis of clinical features and response to therapies in scleroderma: emphasis on pulmonary interstitial disease and pulmonary hypertension.
Daniel Furst, MD
Daniel Furst, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Dr. Furst is the first Carl M. Pearson Professor in Rheumatology. He has been on a number of national committees concerned with rheumatic therapeutics, including as a member and fellow in the American College of Rheumatology and The American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Furst has published more than 400 articles and 12 books, including more than 180 research articles and more than 210 reviews or chapters, in addition to two editions of a book on scleroderma. Dr. Furst's areas of research interest include RA, scleroderma and polymyositis/dermatomyositis.
Alan Gorn, MD
Alan Gorn, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Rheumatology
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Gorn is Clinical Professor of Medicine in Rheumatology. He received his MD from the Sackler School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine training at State University of New York and rheumatology training at Harvard Medical School. His clinical interests include complex autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoporosis, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, spondyloarthropathies, vasculitis and osteoarthritis.
Bevra H. Hahn, MD
Bevra H. Hahn, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Hahn received her M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she later trained in rheumatology. She trained in internal medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Hahn heads research groups that do basic studies in the immune abnormalities that cause systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and is developing interventions that help restore the immune response to normal. She also heads a group that studies clinical problems in patients with SLE, including accelerated atherosclerosis and potential new therapies (clinical trials).
James Louie, MD
James Louie, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interest: Psoriatic Arthritis
Specialty: Rheumatology
Dr. Louie received his medical education at Washington University, St. Louis, trained in medicine at John Hopkins and in rheumatology at UCLA. He was formerly chief of rheumatology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His expertise is in infectious, post-infectious, immune mediated and inflammatory rheumatic diseases. He is co-editor of the coming text, "Targeted Treatment of the Rheumatic Diseases," Elsevier 2009.
David Yu, MD
David Yu, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Spondyloarthritis, Fibromyalgia
Office Location: Westwood
Specialty: Rheumatology
David Yu MD is an Emeritus Professor of Medicine. He specializes in two areas. The first area is spondyloarthritis which includes ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA). For his decades of study, he has been awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (APARTAN). The other area of his interest is fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia can exist by itself or in association with various arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Yu specializes in non-pharmacological and non-procedural therapy. This is especially useful in patients who have failed multiple drugs or multiple procedures. Treatment by Dr. Yu will start with a detailed explanation of the neurobiological basis and psychological basis of central pain.

Research Faculty

Antonio La Cava, MD, PhD
Antonio La Cava, MD, PhD
Professor
Professor, Director of the FOCIS Center of Excellence at UCLA. Dr. La Cava received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Federico II University of Naples, Italy, and did postdoctoral research at UCSD and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, before joining UCLA as faculty in 2001. Dr. La Cava’s research interests focus on the development of new immunotherapies in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Brian Skaggs, PhD
Brian Skaggs, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Bench Research. Basic science research in monocytes in rheumatic disease.
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