Scleroderma Center

Research

The Center is home to five full-time faculty members and five research staff, with active collaborations spanning eight other divisions and departments within the School of Medicine, as well as numerous investigators at external institutions. Our extensive research infrastructure includes large longitudinal databases, serum and DNA repositories, and tissue collections from autopsies, biopsies, and lung transplants. We also maintain specialized registries for systemic sclerosis in twins, childhood-onset systemic sclerosis, localized scleroderma, and Raynaud disease.

Faculty research and clinical interests encompass the epidemiology, classification, and clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis and related disorders, with a strong focus on organ involvement, natural history, and survival. Translational research efforts address vascular stiffness and endothelial dysfunction, immune and fibroblast dysregulation, and genetic factors contributing to disease pathogenesis. Additional investigations explore mechanisms of fibrosis in skin and lung tissue, animal models of fibrotic disease, pulmonary hypertension, gastrointestinal hypomotility, cardiac involvement, and aberrant T-cell function.

Over the past four decades, the Center has produced more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and over 100 book chapters and invited works, establishing a legacy of leadership in scleroderma research and care. Our faculty have also trained six fellows who have gone on to establish their own scleroderma programs at leading institutions around the world, extending the Center’s impact globally.

Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN)

The Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) is taking another step toward its mission of supporting individuals living with scleroderma worldwide. SPIN has launched SPIN-SHARE, a new online platform that provides public access to SPIN toolkits following their evaluation through the SPIN Cohort. The first toolkit available through SPIN-SHARE is SPIN-HAND, developed to support hand function in people with scleroderma. Once logged in, users can access structured exercise programs tailored to different ability levels, along with resources to:

• Develop individualized exercise plans
• Set and monitor personal goals
• View instructional videos and images demonstrating proper techniques and common errors

Additional toolkits will be released on the SPIN-SHARE platform as they become available.

Learn more or register at tools.spinsclero.com.