Ludeman Center Researcher Speaks at the 2014 Annual Community Luncheon about her Research on Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ludeman Center researcher Dr. Kristen Demoruelle wants to know why rheumatoid arthritis affects 3 times more men than women. With rheumatoid arthritis, joint damage occurs as a result of the immune system attacking the joints, and the disease can also adversely affect the heart and lungs. In fact, coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. More than 1 million people suffer from this devastating disease and the cause is unknown.

Dr. Demoruelle credits the Ludeman Center for the integral role that it has played in funding her work as a young investigator, in giving her a strong mentoring team, in establishing important new collaborations, and in modifying her career path so that she now has a stronger focus on understanding the role of sex differences in rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Demoruelle is a former BIRCWH scholar (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health) and with excellent mentoring by Dr. Judy Regensteiner and Dr. Mike Holers, she was recently awarded an independent research grant from the National Institutes of Health for her work on rheumatoid arthritis.