Lucia R. Wolgast
Hematology and Coagulation<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>
Antiphospholipid Syndrome<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>
Shudan Wang
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Dr. Wang is an Attending Physician in the Division of Rheumatology at Montefiore Medical Center, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is board certified in both internal medicine and rheumatology and currently sees patients at the Montefiore Westchester Practice at Taxter Road. Dr. Wang has an expertise in lupus and lupus related kidney disease. She is also skilled to see a wide range of other rheumatologic diseases, including but not limited to antiphospholipid syndrome, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, <span style="color: black;">spondyloarthropathy</span> and psoriatic arthritis, vasculitis, myositis, polymyalgia rheumatica, scleroderma and osteoarthritis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Dr. Wang graduated from McGill University with a major in Physiology and Statistics in 2009. Dr. Wang received her medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in 2013. She subsequently completed her internal medicine residency training at New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell in 2016, followed by a fellowship in Rheumatology at New York University Hospital in 2018. Dr. Wang obtained a MS in clinical research from the Albert Einstein Clinical Research Training Program in 2021. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Dr. Wang's research interest is in lupus, focused on the role of the complement system in lupus related kidney disease. Dr. Wang is supported by the NIH KL2 Mentored Clinical Research Scholar Grant and the Rheumatology Research Foundation K-Bridge Grant to investigate complement biomarkers in lupus nephritis using various translational approaches including immunohistochemistry, urine proteomics and single cell RNA sequencing. Dr. Wang has experience working with large cohorts and databases, recruiting patients for the Einstein Rheumatic Disease Registry and serve as sub-investigator for lupus clinical trials. She has published first author papers in prestigious journals, presented her academic work at national meetings and served on NIH and CDC study sections. She was recognized by American College of Rheumatology as a Distinguished Fellow nationally for translational research and clinical excellence in 2018.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Wang Shudan</span></strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">, Wu M, Chiriboga L, Zeck B, Goilav B, Wang Shuwei, Jimenez-Londono A, </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Putterman C, Schwartz D, Pullman J, Broder A, HM Belmont. Membrane Attack Complex (MAC) Deposition in Renal Tubules is Associated with Interstitial Fibrosis/Tubular Atrophy: A Pilot Study. <em>Lupus Science & Medicine. </em>2022 Jan; 9(1). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Tagoe, CE, Wang W, <strong>Wang S</strong>, Barbour K. Association of anti-thyroid antibodies with radiographic knee osteoarthritis and chondrocalcinosis: a NHANES III study. <em>Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease. </em>2021 Aug 4; 13. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Guerrero, MS, Londono, A, Dobrowolski C, Mowrey WB, Goilav B, <strong>Wang S</strong>, Broder A. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity and Hydroxychloroquine Use Before and After End-Stage Renal Disease. <em>BMC Nephrology</em>. 2020 Oct 28; 21(1): 450.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Wang S, </span></strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Wu M, Pillinger MH, Krasnokutsky, S, and Barbour K. The Association between Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia and Knee Osteoarthritis: Data from Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. <a title="Osteoarthritis and cartilage." href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=The+Association+between+Asymp… class="highlight"><em><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Osteoarthritis</span></em></span><em> Cartilage.</em></a> 2019 Sep;27(9):1301-1308. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Wang S, </span></strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Wu M, Chiriboga L, Zeck B, HM Belmont. Membrane Attack Complex (MAC) Deposition in Lupus Nephritis is Associated with Hypertension and Poor Clinical Response to Treatment. <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2018; 48(2): 256-262.</em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Wang S, </span></strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Broder N, Marchetta P, Nowatzky J. Myelodysplastic syndrome presenting as a Behcet’s like syndrome with aortitis. <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BMJ Case Rep. 2018 March 15. </em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; color: black;">Oshima-Takane Y, <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wang S</strong>, Takane M and Takane, Y. T</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">he Acquisition of Personal Pronouns in English: Neural Network Stimulations. S<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tudies in Language Sciences. 2014, Jan: 13 (53-69).</em></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 24.0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Sleat DE, Ding L, <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wang S, </strong>Zhao C, Wang Y, Zheng H, Moore DF, Sims KB, Lobel P<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. </strong>Mass spectrometry-based protein profiling to determine the cause of lysosomal storage disease of unknown etiology. <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mole Cell Proteomics</em>. <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2009 Jul; 8(7): 1708-18.</em> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 24.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></strong></p>
Dawn M. Wahezi
<p>Dr. Wahezi attended medical school at the University of Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She completed her residency training in Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, where she stayed on as the inaugural fellow in Pediatric Rheumatology. She subsequently joined the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at Montefiore and completed a Master’s Degree in clinical research through the Einstein-Montefiore Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Program. Dr. Wahezi is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and serves as the Program Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program. </p>
<p>Dr. Wahezi has a special interest in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and was awarded the Cure JM Foundation Early Investigator Award for her research in premature atherosclerosis. She has additionally established a pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Cohort and participates in a dedicated, multi-disciplinary pediatric Lupus Nephritis Clinic. Dr. Wahezi is currently engaged in several research projects within the domains of JDM and SLE, contributing to over 40 peer reviewed manuscripts, reviews and scientific abstracts.</p>
<p>Dr. Wahezi is an active member of both the JDM subcommittee and SLE subcommittee within the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) and has participated in numerous observational and comparative effectiveness research protocols through this research consortium. </p>
<span style="color:#4d4d4d;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, source-code-pro, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, 'Courier New', monospace;font-size:16px;background-color:#ffffff;">Pediatric Rheumatology</span>
Dr. Wahezi has a particular research interest in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and was awarded the Cure JM Foundation Early Investigator Award for her research in premature atherosclerosis.
<p></p>Dawn Wahezi, MD, MS, is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology and Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. She is also Associate Professor of Pediatrics at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine.<br /><br />Dr. Wahezi received her Bachelor of Science from Loyola College and earned her Doctor of Medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and did her residency and fellowship training at CHAM.<br /><br />Dr. Wahezi’s clinical and research interests include juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). At CHAM, she established an interdisciplinary clinic and comprehensive patient registry for children with JDM and SLE.. Dr. Wahezi is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Rheumatology Advisory Board and the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA).<p></p>
Natalia Vasquez-Canizares
<p>Natalia Vasquez Canizares, MD, MS, is an Attending Physician of Pediatric Rheumatology at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine.</p>Dr. Vasquez Canizares received her Doctor of Medicine at Universidad de La Sabana in Chia, Colombia, then completed medical internships at Hospital Universitario de La Samaritana in Bogota, Colombia, and Hospital Universitario Austral in Pilar, Argentina. She completed a residency in Pediatrics at Cooper University Hospital and did her Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship at CHAM. She also completed a Master of Science in Clinical Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.<br /><br />Dr. Vasquez Canizares’s clinical focus is on pediatric rheumatic diseases, with a particular interest in children with juvenile scleroderma. She is an active member of the scleroderma work group within the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA), a collaborator with the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS) in scleroderma-related research and a recipient of two grants from CARRA and the Arthritis Foundation to study treatment therapies and outcome measures in juvenile scleroderma. She is board certified and a member of the American College of Rheumatology, the American Medical Association and the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance.<p> </p>
Clement E. Tagoe
<p>Dr. Clement Tagoe obtained his medical degree from the University of Ghana Medical School, Ghana, and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Leeds, UK. His basic science research interests included the study of the role of annexins in cell function and rheumatic diseases, and subsequently the mechanisms of disease in transthyretin amyloidosis using several animal models of transthyretin amyloidosis. His clinical work in the area of transthyretin amyloidosis has greatly illuminated our understanding of the form of amyloidosis associated with the Transthyretin V122I (pV142I) mutation, which is found in about 3 to 4% of African Americans. His current work focuses on the role of autoimmune diseases in fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain, and in particular the association of these syndromes with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). His work also explores the other musculoskeletal and rheumatic manifestations of autoimmune thyroid disease, including the association with peripheral osteoarthritis and spinal osteoarthritis. These autoimmune syndromes can occur in the absence of thyroid dysfunction and are of particular interest to physicians and patients because AITD is by far the commonest autoimmune disease.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Selected Bibliography</strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1. Clement E. Tagoe, Tejas Sheth, Eugeniya Golub, Karen Sorensen (2019) Rheumatic associations of autoimmune thyroid disease: a systematic review Clin Rheumatol. 2019 Jul;38(7):1801-1809., (1-9) DOI: 10.1007/s10067-019-04498-1</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2. Kavisha Patel, Clement Tagoe, Phyllis Bieri, Karen Weidenheim & James M. Tauras (2018): A case of transthyretin amyloidosis with myopathy, neuropathy, and cardiomyopathy resulting from an exceedingly rare mutation transthyretin Ala120Ser (c.418G > T, p.Ala140Ser), Amyloid, DOI: 10.1080/13506129.2018.1491398</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">3. Daniel R. Jacobson, Alice A. Alexander, Clement Tagoe, W. Timothy Garvey, Scott M.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Williams, Sara Tishkoff, David Modiano, Sodiomon Bienvenu Sirima, Issa Kalidi, Toure A, & Joel N. Buxbaum. The Prevalence and Distribution of the Amyloidogenic Transthyretin (TTR) V122I Allele in Africa Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine Epub 14 July, 2016 DOI: 10.1002/mgg3.231</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4. Asha Shrestha, Hillel W. Cohen, Clement E. Tagoe. Association of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease With A Higher Frequency Of Spinal Degenerative Disc Disease Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2016 Mar-Apr;34(2):296-302. Epub 2016 Feb 9. PMID: 26885680</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5. Tagoe CE, Zezon A, Khattri S. Rheumatic manifestations of autoimmune thyroid disease: the other autoimmune disease. J Rheumatol. 2012 Jun;39(6):1125-9. Epub 2012 Apr 15.</p>
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Konstantinos Loupasakis
<p>Konstantinos Loupasakis, MD, is an attending rheumatologist at Montefiore Einstein and Rheumatology Fellowship Program Director and Associate Professor, Medicine at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Loupasakis sees patients with a wide range of rheumatologic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and multisystem sarcoidosis.</p><p>In 2007, Dr. Loupasakis earned his medical doctorate at University of Crete in Greece. He later came to the United States to further his medical training, completing his medical residency at Steward St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine in 2012, followed by his rheumatology fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University in 2015 and a yearlong research fellowship at the same institution in 2016.</p><p>Dr. Loupasakis' research focus includes multisystem sarcoidosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and medical education. He is a certified facilitator, teaching relationship-centered communication in healthcare, and is particularly interested in optimization of the patient-physician relationship. Dr. Loupasakis has shared his work through peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, poster presentations and invited national and regional presentations. He is also a reviewer for scientific rheumatology journals.</p><p>Dr. Loupasakis is board certified in Rheumatology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a member of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Loupasakis has been twice recognized at Montefiore Einstein for his outstanding service and teaching, receiving an award in 2022 for his inpatient consult service and in 2024 for his outpatient service.</p>
Antonio C. Fojas, Jr.
<p>Dr. Antonio Fojas obtained his MD from De La Salle University College of Medicine in the Philippines. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Bronx and was a General Medicine Fellow and Chief Medical Resident at the same institution.</p><p>After completing his fellowship, Dr. Fojas was appointed Chief of General Medicine Ambulatory Clinic until 2003. Since December 2006 he has been an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Program at Our lady of Mercy Medical Center and now Montefiore Medical Center-Wakefield Campus.</p><p>Dr. Fojas' major interest is Primary Care Medicine both in-patient and out-patient.</p>