Miriam Shelef
Credentials: MD, PhD
Position title: Assistant Professor
Email: mshelef@medicine.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-5241
Address:
4130 MFCB
1685 Highland Ave
Madison, WI 53792
Focus Groups
Immunology/Immunopathology
Education
MD, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
PhD, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Residency/Fellowship, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Research Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis, peptidylarginine deiminases, autoimmunity, inflammation, autoantibodies, neutrophils and other immune cells.
Research Detail
Dr. Miriam Shelef is a rheumatologist and an immunologist who heads a laboratory focused on understanding the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis with the long-term goal of developing novel biomarkers and therapeutics. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune, inflammatory, and destructive arthritis that affects 1% of the population and is often resistant to treatment. Two citrullinating enzymes, PAD2 and PAD4, are thought to be important for immune cell function as well as the generation of the citrullinated antigens that are targeted by pathologic autoantibodies. One of the main areas of focus for Dr. Shelef’s laboratory is shedding light on the role of PAD2 and PAD4 in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Shelef also studies how synovial fibroblasts, cells that line the joint and destroy cartilage and bone in rheumatoid arthritis, contribute to arthritis pathogenesis. Dr. Shelef’s research is funded by the Rheumatology Research Foundation and the NIH.