Seminar Series Provides Forum for Patients, Families

The Lupus Center of Excellence welcomes patients, their family members, and friends to attend a series of free sessions in 2009 designed to help them better understand certain aspects of their disease. Upcoming sessions will explore how exercise can help to manage symptoms and answer common questions about lupus and pregnancy. All sessions will be held at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC in the auditorium, zero level. For specific dates and topics, click here.

Center Expert Addresses Lupus and Heart Health

Amy Kao, MD, MPH, of the Lupus Center of Excellence recently participated in a web chat on the Lupus Foundation of America's website at www.lupus.org. She responded to patient questions about "Cardiovascular Health and Lupus," which is among Dr. Kao's main research interests. To view the webchat transcript, click here.

Center's Reach Growing

The Lupus Center now supports patients from 28 states and 11 countries, whether in person or by consultation with their local rheumatologists. Elaine Scanlon, Lupus Patient Concierge, recently coordinated care for patients from Rhode Island, Louisiana, and California, not to mention a patient who traveled from Columbia, South America, to visit the Center.

Golf Outing Stirs Support for Lupus Research

More than 140 golfers took part in the second annual Lupus Research Golf Outing in September in New Castle, Pa. The day began as a rainy one, but a rainbow emerged just as the golfers teed off, providing a fitting backdrop for a day designed to raise hope, awareness, and much needed funds for lupus research.

The event is a labor of love for Joe and Jan Nugent, who organize the annual outing in thanks for the care that their adult son, Curtis, has received at the Lupus Center of Excellence. The Nugents already have set the date — Saturday, September 26 — for the 2009 event.

Lupus Center Welcomes New Physician,
Appoints Patient Concierge

Kimberly P. Liang, MD, board-certified rheumatologist, has joined the Lupus Center of Excellence at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, further strengthening the Center's position as the premier multidisciplinary center in the region and the world for patients with lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

A native of Bradford, Pa., Dr. Liang comes to the Center from the Mayo Clinic, where she recently completed a rheumatology fellowship and served as an instructor in the Department of Internal Medicine. Her focus is patient care and research in the treatment of patients with lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

In addition, the Center has appointed Elaine Scanlon as its first patient concierge. Whether referring a new or returning patient, Ms. Scanlon assists physicians and support staff in making appointments to see subspecialists at the Lupus Center and coordinates patient evaluations with other specialists at UPMC deemed necessary by Lupus Center physicians. Ms. Scanlon's also coordinates visits for patients traveling to the Center from other states or even other countries.

"These changes are intended to enhance the overall quality of care that patients receive here," says Fotios Koumpouras, MD, director of medical operations.

Our Mission

The Lupus Center of Excellence will accelerate discovery of a cure for Lupus. This will be accomplished by supporting and uniquely serving a cooperative, diverse and focused group of outstanding physicians and researchers to allow free expression of their scientific and clinical skills. These physician scientists will work together to conduct superb basic and clinical research and to provide the highest quality clinical care and education, which will be unsurpassed nationally and internationally.

University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
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