Michelene Hearth-Holmes, MD, FACP

Assistant Professor, Division of Rheumatology

Dr. Hearth-Holmes is a rheumatologist with research interests focused in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Dr. Hearth-Holmes started a lupus cohort at Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the mid-1990's. She has studied cholesterol, literacy, hormone replacement, and disease activity in SLE patients and the use of mycophenolate mofetil with lupus nephritis patients. Her cohort was funded as part of the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment (SELENA) study. She has an interest in SLE treatment, outcomes and use of new biomarkers for the activity of disease. She has organized an SLE cohort at the University of Nebraska Medical Center of 170 patients, which is a part of many clinical studies.

Her other interests include musculoskeletal exams and ultrasounds.  As a Musculoskeletal Master Educator for the VA, she participates in training primary care physicians across the U.S. in the physical exam — especially knee and shoulder. For the past six years, this has been taught to rheumatology fellows and residents rotating on rheumatology. In the past two years, the teaching modules have been taught to all first and second-year medical students alongside anatomy and ultrasound. She is active in teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound to all rheumatology fellows and manages the Omaha VA Medical Center ultrasound clinic.