Fundación Bechara established an alliance with Brigham and Women's Hospital through the
Be Brave Fund.
This fund provides financial support to Dr. Peter Andrija Nigrovic's research project, under the direction of
Michael Weinblatt, MD.
in an effort to lead important innovative discoveries in the rheumatic field.
Be Brave Fund.
This fund provides financial support to Dr. Peter Andrija Nigrovic's research project, under the direction of
Michael Weinblatt, MD.
in an effort to lead important innovative discoveries in the rheumatic field.
Michael Weinblatt, MD
Distinguished Chair in Rheumatology at BWH Professor of Medicine of Harvard Medical School |
Dr. Peter Andrija Nigrovic
Director, Center for Adults with Pediatric Rheumatic Illness at BWH Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School |
RESEARCH PROJECT
Arthritis Triggers in Adults and Children
Dr. Peter Nigrovic is interested in the ways the immune system prompts the body to attack its own joints and sustain the damaging process over time. By studying immune cells, animals (mice) and human tissue samples, he is working to unravel the biological triggers for both adult RA and its potentially devastating pediatric counterpart, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In one series of studies, Dr. Nigrovic used a drug to shut down JIA during a critical onset period (ages 1-4), when JIA most often initiates an attack. His group also found that the drug is ineffective after the onset period. A current line of investigation is seeking the mechanism that sets up the resistance to the drug, with the hope that neutralizing this barrier will allow the drug to work beyond the onset period. If successful, this would be a major breakthrough in the treatment of JIA.
Dr. Nigrovic is also committed to developing innovative mentoring opportunities to help advance the field. For example, he founded the nation’s first inter-institutional mentoring program in a sub-specialty. Called AMIGO, the program matches pediatric rheumatologists-in-training with experienced specialists at other institutions.
Arthritis Triggers in Adults and Children
Dr. Peter Nigrovic is interested in the ways the immune system prompts the body to attack its own joints and sustain the damaging process over time. By studying immune cells, animals (mice) and human tissue samples, he is working to unravel the biological triggers for both adult RA and its potentially devastating pediatric counterpart, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In one series of studies, Dr. Nigrovic used a drug to shut down JIA during a critical onset period (ages 1-4), when JIA most often initiates an attack. His group also found that the drug is ineffective after the onset period. A current line of investigation is seeking the mechanism that sets up the resistance to the drug, with the hope that neutralizing this barrier will allow the drug to work beyond the onset period. If successful, this would be a major breakthrough in the treatment of JIA.
Dr. Nigrovic is also committed to developing innovative mentoring opportunities to help advance the field. For example, he founded the nation’s first inter-institutional mentoring program in a sub-specialty. Called AMIGO, the program matches pediatric rheumatologists-in-training with experienced specialists at other institutions.
