Hitting the Target with IL-23 Inhibitors in Psoriatic Arthritis

Atul A. Deodhar, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Rheumatology Clinics in the Division of Arthritis & Rheumatic Diseases at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland. He is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology and is a fellow of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and American College of Physicians.

Dr. Deodhar is a past chair of SPARTAN (Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network), an organization of North American rheumatologists dedicated to education and research in the field of axial spondyloarthritis. He serves on the steering committee of GRAPPA (Group for the Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis). He served on the ACR treatment guidelines sub-committee and as the associate editor of the Advanced Rheumatology Course by Association of Health Professionals in Rheumatology (ARHP). Dr. Deodhar has served the ACR in various other capacities as a vice chair of the annual meeting planning committee, member of the peripheral MRI task force, Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) nominating committee, and developer of the ARHP online advanced rheumatology course. He serves on the Rheumatology Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

Dr. Deodhar is the Deputy Editor of Best Practice and Research Clinical Rheumatology and a guest editor for Current Opinion in Rheumatology. He is a reviewer for Nature Reviews in Rheumatology, Arthritis & Rheumatology, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, and Annals of Internal Medicine, among several other journals. His research interests are axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. He has authored three books, over 200 peer-reviewed articles, several book chapters, and editorials. Dr. Deodhar has been a principal or co-investigator in more than 100 clinical trials mostly focused on therapies for ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

He completed his fellowship in rheumatology at Oregon Health & Science University and, before that, a research fellowship in rheumatology at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, England. Dr. Deodhar completed his residency in internal medicine and geriatrics at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, as well as in the Sassoon General Hospital and King Edward Memorial Hospital, Pune, India. He received his MBBS and MD degrees from the University of Pune, India and his MRCP from the Royal College of Physicians, London, England.

Dr. Mease received undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University and completed residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Washington. He directs the Rheumatology Research Division at Swedish Medical Center/Providence St. Joseph Health and is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. His major research interests include psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA). His work includes research on disease state, development of outcome measures, and determining the efficacy and safety of emerging therapies for these conditions. Dr. Mease has authored over 490 journal articles, numerous abstracts, and book chapters. He is past president, founding organizer, and current treasurer of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) and a member of its Collaborative Research Network (CRN) steering committee. He is also a member of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis international Society (ASAS) and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN). Dr. Mease is active in the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) organization as co-chair of the PsA and chronic pain working groups and as a steering committee member. He is the Scientific Director of the PsA and SpA arms of the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America (CORRONA) registry. Dr. Mease is co-chair of the PsA task force of the National Psoriasis Foundation, which in 2019 awarded him a lifetime achievement award for his work in advancing the field of PsA.

Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. He attended medical school at Albany Medical College and completed his medical residency and chief residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He trained as a fellow in rheumatology at the New York University Medical Center and remained as a postdoctoral fellow for 2 years, and then spent an additional year in the lab of Dr. Robin Poole in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Ritchlin joined the faculty of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1991 and in 2009 he earned an MPH degree at the University.

Dr. Ritchlin is engaged in translational research that is centered on mechanisms of bone resorption in psoriatic arthritis and on the role of the lymphatic system in joint flares observed in both rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. His laboratory has a number of ongoing projects including circulating osteoclast precursors in inflammatory joint disease and psoriasis, mechanisms of inflammatory osteolysis in psoriatic arthritis, and gene activation profiles in the blood and end organs of patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disorders. The lab is also examining the contribution of circulating dendritic cells to inflammation in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. His research is funded by the NIH, National Psoriasis foundation, Amgen, Centocor, and UCB. Dr. Ritchlin is also a co-investigator in the IPART and CORRONA registries and leads an effort to identify arthritis biomarkers in psoriasis patients. He is a member of the ACR Division Directors Special Committee and is leading efforts to provide basic science online teaching modules to fellows in rheumatology. Dr. Ritchlin also directs the mentoring of junior investigators in the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). He has published over 160 manuscripts on topics related to psoriatic arthritis, lymphatic mechanisms of joint flare, and bone remodeling.