In this episode, Dr. Shravani Chitineni and Dr. Misti Paudel discuss their pilot study embedded within the TRUST (Treat-to-Avoid Symptoms in Gout) Trial, exploring how different methods of assessing gout flares compare. They share their findings on electronic versus telephone-based flare assessments, the challenges and opportunities of conducting research within an ongoing randomized controlled trial, and the importance of incorporating patient perspectives into clinical research. The conversation also explores their career journeys, interdisciplinary collaboration, and how their work may inform future approaches to measuring gout flares in clinical trials.

Assessing Reliability of an Electronic Gout Flare Assessment Protocol

In this episode, we explore research investigating the potential association between newer anti-diabetic medications and autoimmune diseases in patients with diabetes. Dr. Sparks and Arjun Mahajan discuss their innovative study using the TriNetX Global Collaborative Network, explaining their methods, key findings, clinical implications, and study limitations. They also share insights into the mentoring relationship that supported their research and highlight the importance of mentorship in advancing rheumatology research.

What does the gut have to do with the heart in scleroderma? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Zsuzsanna McMahan about new findings from the GENISOS cohort exploring the relationship between gastrointestinal and cardiac manifestations in systemic sclerosis, including the striking timing and strength of these associations and what they might reveal about shared disease mechanisms. Then we shift gears to the realities of academic medicine: Dr. McMahan shares lessons from moving from Johns Hopkins back to UT Houston, rebuilding clinical and research programs, forging new collaborations, and, perhaps most importantly, deciding what to say yes to and what to leave on the table

The Gut–Heart Axis in Systemic Sclerosis: Evidence From a Large Prospective Early Disease Cohort