Research

The only required clinical activities of the fellow during the designated research rotations will involve attending the Lupus Clinic and 2 or 3 arthritis clinics each week and participating in the Friday morning didactic teaching sessions.

Thus, the fellow will have considerable time to plan and conduct one or more research projects. The fellow will have two months of protected time for research during the first year of fellowship, and a minimum of two months of protected time during the second year.

The details of the required research experience are outlined in the Research Curriculum and Policy for Rheumatology Fellows.

Other aspects of this research rotation will include the following: 

  • Depending upon the nature of the project, arrangements will be made to provide laboratory space, equipment and supplies for “wet bench research;”  
  • Appropriate collaborations will be sought to promote the success of the research project. For example, expertise in study design and statistical methods is available from 
    the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics located on the MetroHealth Campus. In addition, numerous investigators in the Department of Medicine and other departments;
  • at MetroHealth Medical Center have laboratory space in the Rammelkamp Research Building and are available to provide technical help, loan of equipment or supplies and discussion of experimental methods;  
  • Existing collaborations with investigators at the Cleveland Clinic and the University Hospitals of Cleveland can be taken advantage of to provide technical advice, patient referrals, and laboratory supplies or shared use of resources;  
  • For clinical projects, the fellow will be able to take advantage of the MetroHealth General Clinical Research Center. This institutional resource provides nursing, clerical, laboratory, pharmaceutical and logistics support for many of the investigator-initiated and pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical studies that are conducted at MetroHealth Medical Center. As part of their training the fellows will become CREC-certified.

All efforts will be made to ensure that the fellow’s choice of research project(s) will lead to the acquisition of data that can presented at a scientific meeting or prepared as a manuscript for publication. The fellow’s mentor will supervise the tempo of the research with these objectives in mind.

The completion of a project and preparation of a relevant abstract or manuscript is considered an important and vital aspect of the research process, and it is expected that each fellow will complete at least one such research activity during the course of training.

It is assumed that the fellow will be the first author on any abstract or publication and will have primary responsibility for preparation of slides, figures, graphs, posters and all portions of a manuscript.

 Depending on the fellow’s interest and the nature of the research project, the fellow will have the opportunity to extend his/her research activities for up to 6 months during the second year of training.  


Fellows Research

Mollaeian A, Ballou S. Osteoporosis in Elderly Men; An Underestimated and Underdiagnosed Morbid Entity [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022; 74 (suppl 9).
Osteoporosis in Elderly Men; An Underestimated and Underdiagnosed Morbid Entity - ACR Meeting Abstracts (acrabstracts.org)

Alkilany R, Einstadter D, Antonelli M. Urate-lowering therapy for patients with gout on hemodialysis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2022;25(7):769-774. doi:10.1111/1756-185X.14334
Urate-lowering therapy for patients with gout on hemodialysis - PubMed (nih.gov)

Alkilany R, Tarabichi Y, Hong R. Telemedicine Visits During COVID-19 Improved Clinic Show Rates. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022;4(2):136-141. doi:10.1002/acr2.11372
Telemedicine Visits During COVID-19 Improved Clinic Show Rates - PubMed (nih.gov)

Bittar M, Merjanah S, Alkilany R, Magrey M. Malignancy in ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional analysis of a large population database. BMC Rheumatol. 2022;6(1):44. Published 2022 Jun 30. doi:10.1186/s41927-022-00275-x
Malignancy in ankylosing spondylitis: a cross-sectional analysis of a large population database - PubMed (nih.gov)

Ross Y, Ballou S. Association of hidradenitis suppurativa with autoimmune disease and autoantibodies. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2021;6(2):rkab108. Published 2021 Dec 27. doi:10.1093/rap/rkab108
Association of hidradenitis suppurativa with autoimmune disease and autoantibodies - PubMed (nih.gov)

Singh DK, Muhieddine L, Einstadter D, Ballou S. Incidence of blindness in a population of rheumatic patients treated with hydroxychloroquine. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2019;3(1):rkz009. Published 2019 Apr 15. doi:10.1093/rap/rkz009
Incidence of blindness in a population of rheumatic patients treated with hydroxychloroquine - PubMed (nih.gov)

Singh DK, Magrey MN. Racial Differences in Clinical Features and Comorbidities in Ankylosing Spondylitis in the United States. J Rheumatol. 2020;47(6):835-838. doi:10.3899/jrheum.181019
Racial Differences in Clinical Features and Comorbidities in Ankylosing Spondylitis in the United States - PubMed (nih.gov)

Hayat S, Magrey MN. Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: Insights for the clinician. Cleve Clin J Med. 2020;87(7):417-426. Published 2020 Jun 30. doi:10.3949/ccjm.87a.19039
Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: Insights for the clinician - PubMed (nih.gov)                                                    

Bittar M, Yong WC, Magrey M, Khan MA. Worldwide Differences in Clinical Phenotype of Axial Spondyloarthritis. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2021;23(10):76. Published 2021 Sep 29. doi:10.1007/s11926-021-01043-5
Worldwide Differences in Clinical Phenotype of Axial Spondyloarthritis - PubMed (nih.gov)

Merjanah S, Igoe A, Magrey M. Mimics of axial spondyloarthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2019;31(4):335-343. doi:10.1097/BOR.0000000000000613
Mimics of axial spondyloarthritis - PubMed (nih.gov)


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