ACR Journals on Air Podcast
Welcome to ACR Journals on Air, the ACR’s newest podcast series featuring interviews, commentary, and analysis on research from our three peer-reviewed journals: Arthritis & Rheumatology, Arthritis Care & Research, and ACR Open Rheumatology. Join us each episode for engaging discussions with authors and independent experts about recently published studies, their implications for clinical care, and how they move the field of rheumatology forward.
Whether it’s an expert analysis of a manuscript or deep dive with an author—our goal is the same—to understand the impact of the science and bring it from the bench to the bedside.
Podcast Host
Victoria Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, CCD, has clinical expertise caring for patients with autoimmune diseases, vasculitis, and chronic wounds. She has led several research studies investigating scleroderma, hidradenitis suppurativa, and the interplay of the host immune response and the microbiome in chronic wounds. Dr. Shanmugam is a frequently invited speaker at professional meetings. Her work in wound healing, hidradenitis, and scleroderma has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, such as Arthritis Care and Research, Current Opinion in Rheumatology, International Wound Journal, and Clinical Rheumatology. Connect with Dr. Shanmugam on Twitter (@VickiShanmugam).
Episodes
New episodes will be available twice a month on Tuesdays.
Episode 82 – JDM Treat to Target
Episode 81 – TNF Inhibitors and Risk of Serious Infection in Pregnancy
Episode 80 – What Are the Predictors for Difficult to Treat RA?
Episode 79 – Can Ultrasound Detect Aneurysms in Giant Cell Arteritis?
Episode 78 – Can Age-Related Assumptions Obstruct Rheumatic Care?
Browse previous episodes in the ACR Journals on Air archive.
Episode Show Notes
In this episode, we speak with Jayne MacMahon, MB BCh, BAO, FRCPCH, about an international collaborative study in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) involving pediatric rheumatology centers in Genoa, Italy, and Toronto, Canada. She discusses the study’s motivation, key disease activity measures, treatment targets, and definitions of remission, along with major findings on time to remission, steroid exposure, and treatment outcomes across cohorts. Dr. MacMahon also reflects on the study’s limitations, future research directions, her career path in pediatric rheumatology, and how international collaboration can shape the future of care for children with autoimmune diseases.
Jayne MacMahon, MB BCh BAO, FRCPCH – Jayne MacMahon, MB BCh BAO, FRCPCH, is a consultant and pediatric rheumatologist, currently based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, England.
Dr. MacMahon completed her initial pediatric training in Ireland. In 2020, she moved to Toronto to undertake a pediatric rheumatology clinical fellowship at SickKids. During this time, she became particularly interested in myositis and went on to complete a clinical research fellowship in childhood myositis, under the supervision of Dr. Brian Feldman. Her most recent publications include research on the use of interferon scores in patients with Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) and the JDM treat to target initiative.
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In this episode, we sit down with Évelyne Vinet, MD, PhD, about a new study examining whether TNF inhibitors increase the risk of serious infections during pregnancy among women with chronic inflammatory diseases. Using large real-world data from the MarketScan database, the discussion explores how pregnancy, inflammatory disease, TNF inhibitor exposure, and serious infections were defined, how confounders were addressed, and what the data reveal across pregnancy and the postpartum period. Dr. Vinet also reflects on study limitations, the impact of COVID-19, and her broader work on pregnancy outcomes and long-term child health in rheumatic diseases, offering insights for clinicians and researchers alike.
Évelyne Vinet, MD, PhD – Évelyne Vinet, MD, PhD, is an associate professor in the Division of Rheumatology at McGill and Co-Director of the McGill Lupus Research Clinic. She leads the McGill Reproductive Rheumatology Clinic. Dr. Vinet is also a medical scientist for the Centre for Health Outcomes Research at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, a member of the McGill Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, as well as member of the McGill Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical and Translational Research.
The primary goal of Dr. Vinet’s research program is to use epidemiologic methods to improve reproductive health outcomes in women with rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and their offspring. To this end, Dr. Vinet has created the world's largest cohort of offspring born to SLE women, which has driven her novel findings demonstrating that SLE offspring are at increased risk of autism spectrum disorders, congenital heart defects, and stillbirths. Dr. Vinet is also actively spear-heading research initiatives to elucidate how therapies used to treat rheumatic diseases (e.g. TNF inhibitors and other biologics) impact health outcomes in these patients and their offspring. Finally, Dr. Vinet is leading an international multi-centre prospective cohort study, the “Lupus in prEGnACY (LEGACY).” cohort, to ultimately establish early risk stratification and personalized therapy of lupus pregnancies.
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In this episode, we explore why rheumatoid arthritis matters to the broader public, with a focus on difficult-to-treat RA (D2T-RA)—what it is, how often it occurs, and why early identification is critical. Our guest demystifies common RA research terms and outcome measures, introduces the real-world data sets behind the study, and explains—in plain language—how a predictive model was developed using modern statistical tools. We discuss the key risk factors for D2T-RA, including which findings were surprising, as well as the study’s major strengths and limitations. The conversation wraps up with thoughts on how this work may shape future research, the potential role of AI in risk modeling, and practical advice for early-career researchers on balancing productivity and sleep.
Misti Paudel, PhD, MPH – Misti Paudel, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and quantitative methodologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Paudel is a member of the VERITY Methodology Core which provides biostatistical and methodological support to trainees and early investigators in the BWH Division Rheumatology and the broader rheumatological research community, and a Co-Investigator for the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Rheumatoid Arthritis Sequential Study (BRASS). Prior to joining BWH, Dr. Paudel spent several years of her professional career in a combination of academic, not-for-profit, and for-profit organizations, gaining research expertise across multiple therapeutic areas and methods. Dr. Paudel’s research at Brigham is on the epidemiology of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis and clinical risk prediction models.
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In this episode, we speak with a leading investigator in large-vessel vasculitis, Anne Bull Haaversen, MD, to clarify the full spectrum of giant cell arteritis (GCA), including its aortic involvement. We reviewed the prevalence of GCA-related aneurysms, why the team compared ultrasonography with other imaging modalities, and how the ascending aorta can be assessed with ultrasound. Dr. Haaversen summarizes the study design, key findings, and limitations, and reflects on how these results may inform future guidelines. We close by discussing the evolution of their research focus on large-vessel imaging and how rheumatologists can balance advanced diagnostics with empathetic patient care.
Anne Bull Haaversen, MD – Anne Bull Haaversen, MD, is a rheumatologist at Martina Hansen Hospital, Norway, and a PhD candidate at the University of Oslo. Her PhD work, currently under evaluation, explores the utility of vascular ultrasound in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). She has a particular clinical and research interest in GCA and vascular imaging, and much of her daily practice involves caring for patients with this condition. Through her work, she aims to integrate vascular ultrasound as a practical and accessible tool for improving patient follow-up and long-term outcomes.
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In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Smith, MD, to explore why the rheumatology community urgently needs stronger grounding in aging principles and more adaptable care strategies for older adults living with rheumatic conditions. Dr. Smith walks us through his innovative research examining the attitudes and perspectives of healthcare professionals, explains how tools like the ERA-12 help illuminate key patterns, and shares what his team learned about how clinicians approach the care of aging patients. He discusses which findings surprised him, what limitations shaped the study, and how this work opens new directions for future investigation. Near the end, Dr. Smith offers practical takeaways clinicians can apply right away and reflect on his own early-career journey, including what he hopes to accomplish between fellowship and the far future stages of his career.
Aaron Smith, MD – Aaron Smith, MD, completed his medical school and internal medicine residency training at UT Southwestern in Dallas where his main research interests focused on the care of older adults with rheumatologic disease under the mentorship of Dr. Una Makris. He is currently a 2nd year rheumatology fellow at UNC Chapel Hill where, working with Dr. Saira Sheikh, his research currently focuses on improving care for lupus related fatigue and brain fog. He is also involved with state-level medical advocacy efforts with the North Carolina Medical Society and the North Carolina Rheumatologic Association.
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