American College of Rheumatology Conference Welcomes Downstate Presenters

By Office of The President | Nov 29, 2022

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) recently welcomed Downstate presenters to this year’s ACR Convergence 22 conference in Philadelphia.

Second-year medical students Grace Shadid and Jacquelyn Xu discussed their role as navigators in Downstate’s Dermatology and Rheumatology clinics, describing how students bridge the gap between patients and their healthcare team. The presentation focused on creating a well-functioning patient-centric experience and included appointment and prescription refill reminders, home health aide sign-up, and information about additional resources.

During an “Ignite Talk,” first-year Internal Medicine resident Zeynep Erton presented an analysis of thrombocytopenia and autoimmune hemolytic anemia in antiphospholipid antibody-positive patients, using an international research network designed for large-scale, multicenter research on patients with this disorder. “Ignite Talk” was a new feature at this year’s conference—five-minute presentations of the top-ranked posters, presented in person and live-streamed.

Third-year medical student Jeremy Wilson and second-year student Raphael Kirou were honored with ACR’s Medical and Graduate Student Preceptorship Awards. Jeremy was awarded for his work as a continued patient navigator under the mentorship of Naureen Kabani, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Rheumatology. Raphael was awarded for research that assessed the extent of loss to follow-up from the rheumatology clinic and its effect on the quality of care for lupus patients, under the supervision of Ellen M. Ginzler, M.D., MPH, Distinguished Teaching Professor and Chief of Rheumatology.