The Division of Rheumatology is comprised of faculty with varied backgrounds and experiences who contribute to the clinical care, research and educational mission at WashU Medicine.
The division was previously led by John Atkinson, MD (1976-1992 and 2008-2017), Wayne Yokoyama, MD (1995-2007), and Deborah Lenschow, MD, PhD (Interim 2017-2018). Christine Pham, MD assumed the position of division chief on October 1, 2018.
The division has 6 full-time NIH-funded physician-scientists who work in a highly collaborative environment to enable innovative research to advance knowledge and improve healthcare for patients suffering from various rheumatologic diseases. To facilitate these endeavors the division successfully competed for a Rheumatic Diseases Research Resource-based Center (RDRRC) NIH P30 award, which began September 1, 2018 under the co-direction of Drs. Pham and Lenschow. In addition to expanding translational research, several faculty members have established specialized clinics to meet the challenges posed by the emerging rheumatic diseases as well as complex autoimmune conditions such as lupus and vasculitis.
Reema Syed, MD
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: systemic lupus erythematosus adult and childhood onset, juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Clinical Interests: systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, vasculitis, fever syndromes, childhood onset lupus, scleroderma
Medical School: Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan (1998)
Residency: Michigan State University – Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Michigan (2004)
Fellowship: Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri (2007)
Xiaobo Wu, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Wayne Yokoyama, MD
Sam J. Levin and Audrey Loew Levin Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Natural killer cells, innate lymphoid cells, autoimmunity
Fang “Roseanne” Zhao, MD, PhD
Instructor in Medicine
Medical School: University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Graduate School: University of Cambridge and the National Institute of Health, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Residency: BJH/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Fellowship: Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2018-2021)
Lisa A Zickuhr, MD, MHPE
Associate Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Healthcare professions education
Clinical Interests: Systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune interstitial lung disease
Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 2012
Internship: BJH/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2013)
Residency: BJH/Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (2015)
Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio (2018)
Graduate School: Master of Health Profession, University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri (2021)