November 2025

Dr. Wayne Yokoyama received an endowed gift from Dr. Andrew Chee-Yuen Chan, MD, PhD, and Dr. Mary Finnorn Chan, MD, to support the Division of Physician-Scientists, in the Department of Medicine, with a lecture, educational resources, and research training initiatives aimed at encouraging and inspiring patient-facing physicians interested in pursuing research. The lectures shall be known as the Wayne Yokoyama, MD, Physician Scientist Lecture Series.

Dr. Yokoyama is the Sam and Audrey Loew Levin Professor of Medicine, Director, Medical Scientist Training Program, Associate Dean, Division of Physician-scientists. Dr. Yokoyama’s research establishes the molecular basis for target recognition by natural killer cells, which destroy tumor and virus-infected cells. Dr. Yokoyama shows that NK cells express inhibitory receptors for histocompatibility molecules on targets and that these receptors dictate NK cell specificity, creating a paradigm shift on the nature of cell recognition.

Dr. Christine Pham was recognized as Master of the American College of Rheumatology during the 2025 ACR Convergence in Chicago. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of rheumatology. Recognition as an ACR Master is one of the highest honors that the College bestows on its distinguished members.

Dr. Seth Eisen was recognized as the 2025 Medical Honoree at the annual Arthritis Foundation Gala on October 18, 2025, for his work on social determinants of health and their impact on the health outcomes of patients living with arthritis.  

Dr. Deborah Lenschow was installed as the inaugural John S. Daniels Professor in Immunology on August 7, 2025. The professorship was made possible by a gift from Noémi and Michael Neidorff and established in honor of Dr. John Daniels, a WashU associate professor of clinical medicine who specializes in endocrinology and metabolism. The professorship recognizes Dr. Lenschow’s outstanding accomplishments and contribution to immunology, rheumatology, and medicine. 

Division of Rheumatology salutes the faculty who have been selected for the 2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctors. These faculty are best-in-class healthcare providers, embodying excellence in clinical care as well as interpersonal skills. Congratulations to our Rheumatology Top Docs!

Top row: Colin Diffie, MD, Al Kim, MD, PhD, Michael Paley, MD, PhD, Deborah Parks, MD, Prahba Ranganathan, MD, MSCI, Deepali Sen, MD Bottom row: Aisha Shaikh, MD, Reema Syed, MD, Lisa Zickuhr, MD, MHPE

In July, we said goodbye to an old friend, Dr. Leslie Kahl, who was professor of medicine and associate dean for student affairs at WashU (1994-2011). She joined the Oregon Health & Science University in 2011 as Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives in the School of Medicine where she remained until her passing in July 2025. We will always remember Dr. Kahl for her outstanding patient care and teaching. But most of all, we remember her for her warmth, kindness, and quiet leadership.

In June, we said Congratulations! to our graduating fellows, Dr. Sambhawana Bhandari, Dr. Mohamad (Dave) Dimachkie, and Dr. Sarah Goodman on graduating from our Rheumatology Fellowship! We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see all of the great things you do in the future! We are particularly delighted that Dr. Sam Bhandari joined our faculty!

At the June graduation we recognized Dr. Joy Um as the Benjamin Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D. Distinguished Fellow Awardee and Dr. Deborah Parks as the 2025 Richard Brasington, M.D. Teaching Awardee.

In July, we welcomed Dr. Basma Shahid, Dr. Sarah Naids, Dr. Gavin Hall, and Dr. Hirva Joshi to our Rheumatology Fellowship program!

They participated in the annual Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Bootcamp led by Dr. Deborah Parks with adult and pediatric fellows. This year we had adult fellows from St. Louis University Rheumatology join us as well!

In August, we held our Rheumatology Division Picnic and welcomed the new additions to our division and the new Rheumatologists in the making!

In October, our division hosted a “Gourd Time with Rheum” for the Rheumatology Interest Group! We had a great time carving knees, hands and antibodies into pumpkins!

Also in October, we reconnected with so many of our alumni at the Division Reception at the annual ACR Convergence in Chicago.

During the ACR Convergence, Dr. Colin Diffie and Brendan Lally, LMSW, came up with the idea of a Food Insecurity Donation Drive to raise funds to provide direct support for our patients who were facing potential cuts in their SNAP benefits during the 43-day government shutdown. The response was overwhelming and within days the division raised more than $2,000, allowing us to purchase grocery store gift cards that will continue to be distributed to our eligible patients throughout the holiday season as many of them are still navigating financial strain and increased needs. Our social worker, Brendan, continues to raise funds through GoFundMe or Venmo. We hope to help additional families or individuals who may be experiencing financial hardship and who would benefit from a small gesture of holiday warmth. Please contact Brendan at lally@wustl.edu for any and all donations. Every dollar will go to our patients in need!

Several faculty members within the Division of Rheumatology have initiated trials to examine the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy in patients with rheumatic diseases, specifically:

· Systemic lupus erythematosus – Efforts led by Dr. Al Kim with Drs. Reema Syed, Akhil Sood, and Sambhawana Bhandari serving as sub-Investigators.

· Scleroderma/inflammatory myositis/rheumatoid arthritis – Efforts led by Dr. Prabha Ranganathan and Drs. Deborah Parks, with Deepali Sen, and Aisha Shaikh serving as sub-Investigators.

These studies complement other CAR-T efforts in the treatment of autoimmune diseases at WashU, which include multiple sclerosis (Dr. Robert Naismith) and lupus nephritis (Dr. Tingting Li). In addition, investigator-initiated studies developing a point-of-care outpatient cytokine release testing platform and a comprehensive examination of the immunologic changes that occur post-CAR-T cell therapy are being pursued.

These investigators are looking for potential participants for pre-screening activities, with an emphasis on those patients who have failed multiple standard-of-care therapies. For more information please contact akim@wustl.edu

Mailing Address: 660 S. Euclid Ave.

MSC: 8045-0043-15

St. Louis, MO 63110
Phone: 314-286-2635 | Fax: 314-286-2338