Dear colleagues,

I would like to warmly congratulate our two graduating rheumatology fellows, William Bracamonte, MD, PhD, and Abhishek Madathanapalli, MBBS, as they begin the next phase of their careers. It has been a pleasure to work alongside them and witness their growth into outstanding academic rheumatologists. We wish them much success in their respective new positions at the University of Wisconsin and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.

I'm also pleased to share that Joshua Bilsborrow, MD, MHS, and Shane Murray, BMBS, are joining the fellowship leadership team as the new associate program directors.

This spring, the section was pleased to host Valeria Navarro, MD, MSc, and Carla Villanueva, MD, from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru, who participated in a two-month research exchange and presented at our RESCUE research-in-progress seminar. This summer, we look forward to visits from Edward Mpoza, MBChB, MMed, from Makerere University in Uganda, and Xuan Yang and Rui Yu, medical students from Tsinghua University/Peking Union Medical College in China. These exchanges provide fertile opportunities for mutual learning about the care of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases and our approaches to research. Thanks to all who gave their time and shared insights with our international visiting scholars.

Finally, I would like to congratulate two of our faculty who were recently recognized for their meaningful contributions to research and education. An Emmy-nominated video highlights the inspiring work of Mark Mamula, PhD, in developing a canine cancer vaccine, and Mei Xue Dong, MD, PhD, was awarded the Edwin C. Cadman, MD, Teacher of the Year Award by the Yale Primary Care Residency Program!

I hope you enjoy reading some of the latest news from our section, including faculty awards, new research on physician education, and profiles of some of our valued staff.

Sincerely,

Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology)
Chief of Rheumatology, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
evelyn.hsieh@yale.edu