News/Events
Something To Savor
Food, fund-raising create delicious combo at Savor Pittsburgh
A steamy September night set the backdrop for one of Pittsburgh's most sizzling events, as a dream team of local
culinary experts shared their wares and spread the word about another of the city's hidden treasures, the Lupus Center of Excellence.
Savor Pittsburgh: A Celebration of Cuisine, a friendly competition among Pittsburgh's top chefs, filled the SouthSide Works with the aromas of tempting appetizers, hearty entrees, and tantalizing desserts. The party began with delectable hors d'oeuvres by McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant and ice sculptures by Maestro Ice.
A panel of local food experts taste-tested spotlight recipes and awarded top honors to Chef Curiel Bose Bame (Seviche) for Best Appetizer; Chef Kevin Sousa (Bigelow Grille) for Dish of the Year and Best Entreé; and Chef Kris Barringer (Sonoma Grille) for Best Dessert. People's Choice honors went to Chef Ricky Kirsop (McCormick & Schmick's).
Patients, physicians, and friends of the Center were surrounded by food and drink, while Sounds of Synergy and No Bad Juju rocked the house. In between bites, some 500 partygoers expressed their support for the Lupus Center of Excellence, home of the perfect ingredients — research, teaching, and patient care — in the recipe to cure the devastating autoimmune disorder that affects some 1.5 million people nationwide.
Please click here to view pictures.
Endocrinology Broadens Center Umbrella
The Lupus Center of Excellence recently welcomed endocrinologist Steven Hodak, MD, expanding the multidisciplinary scope of services that patients can access under one roof through the Center's clinical practice at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
Dr. Hodak provides consultation for osteoporosis management and disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal gland that are common in patients with lupus and related autoimmune disorders. Endocrinology becomes part of a palette of services that already includes cardiology, nephrology, neurology, and pain management.
"Our patients need a team of multidisciplinary physician-scientists to treat the disease and to care for them," says Susan Manzi, MD, MPH, Center co-director. "The members of this team all should rank among the best in their field and come to the patient. Dr. Hodak is a welcome and critical addition to that team."
To access endocrinology services, call the main Center line at 412-641-7600.
Physician Takes Lupus to the Airwaves
Susan Manzi, MD, MPH, co-director of the Lupus Center of Excellence, was a guest in fall 2007 on the syndicated radio show "Patient Power," which airs nationwide on Sunday mornings. Following the segment during which she fielded calls from patients, the switchboard lit up with callers who wanted to hear more. As a result, Dr. Manzi was asked back to do a full hour on lupus less than a week later. Both segments, titled "Uncovering the Secrets of Lupus," can be accessed online at www.patientpower.info.
Gregersen Shares Clues to Genetic Links in Lupus
Renowned geneticist Peter Gregersen, MD visited the Lupus Center of Excellence recently to offer his insight on "Cracking the Code for Clues to Pathogenesis."
A professor of medicine and pathology at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Gregersen has dedicated his work to understand the underlying causes of human autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and related diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
Over the last several years, Dr. Gregersen and his colleagues have identified a number of genes for both rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, supporting the theory that these disorders have a substantial genetic component. Because each gene serves as a clue to what goes wrong and results in an autoimmune disorder, understanding these components can lead to improved diagnosis and new and more effective means of treatment.
Dr. Gregerson anticipates that a current explosive period in human genetic research will pave the way for scientists to have a catalogue of sorts of most, if not all, of the genes involved in major autoimmune disorders.
"In the near future, I expect that we will be able to approach these diseases with a more personalized approach to patients, with a more profound understanding of how they should best be treated," he says.
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