Conference explored shared diseases in rheumatology, dermatology

A standing-room-only crowd of nearly 100 people attended an April 26 symposium in the Sorrell Center looking at some of the shared diseases that involve rheumatology and dermatology.

The symposium — “Cutaneous Manifestations of Rheumatic Disease” — was headed by two UNMC rheumatologists, James O’Dell, M.D., and Ted Mikuls, M.D. It marked the 13th consecutive year the UNMC Division of Rheumatology and Immunology has held a symposium.

“We’ve done it every year since we started our rheumatology fellowship,” said Dr. O’Dell, the Stokes-Shackleford Professor and chief of the rheumatology division, who noted that the fellowship is a two-year program with two fellows in each year of the program.

“A couple years ago we highlighted shared diseases involving rheumatology and pulmonary medicine. We thought it would be a good idea to highlight dermatology this year. It was a great way to kick start the research collaborations and clinical activity between the two specialties.”

The conference brought in four keynote speakers — all women — from some of the leading institutions in the country. The speakers included:

  • Ashley Crew, M.D., a dermatologist at the University of Southern California;
  • Tracy Frech, M.D., a rheumatologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine;
  • Alexis Ogdie-Beatty, M.D., a rheumatologist at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; and
  • Lisa Zaba, M.D., Ph.D., a dermatologist at Stanford University.

“There are many systemic autoimmune conditions that involve the skin and joints and multiple organs such as the lungs, liver and the GI tract,” said Dr. O’Dell, who also is vice chair of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. These conditions include scleroderma, dermatomyositis, psoriatic arthritis and vasculitis.

“Nobody is more excited about the addition of the dermatology program at UNMC/Nebraska Medicine than rheumatology is,” he said. “What has happened in dermatology in the past year, with the leadership of Dr. Wysong, has been fantastic with five new faculty members already on board and a sixth on the way.”

Ashley Wysong, M.D, who started as chair of the UNMC Department of Dermatology in May 2018, attended the symposium and expressed her appreciation for the rheumatology/dermatology collaboration.

“Dermatology was really honored to be part of the program,” she said. “Drs. O’Dell and Mikuls really put together a great conference that highlighted autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases that affect both the skin and the joints. We’re looking forward to more exciting collaborations between rheumatology and dermatology.”

She added that the symposium provided “a unique educational experience” for the numerous students, residents and fellows in attendance.

“It was amazing for our trainees to have exposure to four leading experts in psoriasis, scleroderma, and other rheum-derm conditions,” she said. “This conference highlighted and modeled the importance of multidisciplinary efforts to care for complex medical patients.”

Dr. Wysong said rheumatology and dermatology currently have a shared multidisciplinary clinic every other Monday afternoon in the Lauritzen Outpatient Center for patients with conditions involving the skin, joints, and other organ systems.

“It’s truly a one-stop shop,” she said. “Patients get rheumatology and dermatology expertise side-by-side in the same clinic, and it provides the best possible diagnostic and disease management for patients.”

For more information on the clinic, people should call 402-552-7928.

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