Providing Answers, Support and Hope in the Southeastern US

Joan T. Merrill, MD

Dr. Merrill received her medical training at Cornell University Medical College, New York, followed by an internship and residency at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center, a fellowship in rheumatology at NYU Medical Center, and a basic research fellowship at Columbia University.

As the Lupus Foundation of America’s Chief Advisor for Clinical Development, Dr. Merrill has made numerous enduring contributions to the field of lupus. As a clinical researcher, Dr. Merrill is a major leader in lupus trial design, innovating new ways to tackle the heterogeneity inherent in this complex disease. She championed the importance of building well-defined cohorts, currently leading a registry of more than 650 lupus patients which she has leveraged for participation in clinical trials. She was a major voice and writer in advocating the inclusion of exploratory analyses to tackle disappointing trial results in the hopes that data-driven hypotheses would support improved trial design. This work led to an ongoing LFA-sponsored Combined Data Analysis Initiative to look at data across trials. 

Dr. Merrill is well known for precedent setting in her Biomarkers of Lupus Disease (BOLD) study, which revealed that decreasing background medications is essential to identifying efficacy of new agents. Indeed a ground-breaking successful anifrolumab study used a steroid tapering component, confirming improved discrimination by tapering medications. 

In addition to her own studies, Dr. Merrill also works with the LFA to train investigators for trials worldwide. Presently, she is evaluating a simplified outcome measure of lupus activity. It comes as no surprise that Dr. Merrill has been well funded by the NIH and private foundations and has published numerous articles in high impact journals. In short, Dr. Merrill brings a lifetime of dedication to the management of lupus patients, a contribution to our understanding of anti-phospholipid antibodies, novel design of prospective clinical trials in SLE, and critical teaching of the proper use of activity indices.

Karen H. Costenbader, MD, MPH

Dr. Costenbader leads a multi-disciplinary group of medical experts to address unmet needs in research and professional development efforts on lupus. As Chair of the Medical-Scientific Advisory Council, Dr. Costenbader works with other lupus experts to expand the Foundation’s strategic partnerships with key opinion leaders in lupus around the world to increase the Foundation’s reach and growing impact in efforts to help people with lupus now.

She is the Director of the Lupus Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She specializes in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus and teaches at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. She is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology.

In 2009, Dr. Costenbader was the first recipient of the Lupus Foundation of America’s Mary Betty Stevens Young Investigator Prize, awarded to recognize exceptional achievements in the early part of an investigator’s career in lupus research. She received the Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award in 2011 from the American College of Rheumatology.

Dr. Costenbader is an editor for The International Journal of Clinical Practice and Arthritis and Rheumatology. She sits on several grant review committees and acts as a reviewer for multiple journals. Her research investigates risk factors associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus and outcomes among those who have these diseases.

Dr. Costenbader received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, a master’s degree from Cambridge University in England, and a master's in public health from Harvard School of Public Health. She completed an internal medicine internship and medical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, as well as training in rheumatology at both the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Costenbader is a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Topic: How to speak with a healthcare team. 

Christina McGuirk DNP, MSHA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP chief nursing officer for Health Central Hospital and AVP Orlando Health. Christina joined Orlando Health more than 30 years ago and has held various positions throughout her career. She was diagnosed with SLE almost 28 years ago. Christina has a unique perspective as a healthcare professional who is thriving regardless of her diagnosis.

Topic: How to cope with a life with lupus. 

Dr. Kwajalin Brown: Kwajalin is a buoyant married mother of two who has experienced many challenges during her SLE journey that include a delayed diagnosis and managing other co-occurring autoimmune illnesses. She finds resting frequently, exercise and internal mindfulness the most beneficial to her daily regimen. Kwajalin is an alumna of USC and Alabama. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the principal therapist and owner of Compass Rose Consulting, Therapy and Training in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Topic: How to reduce stress.

 Lizeth Santamaria is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), is known as The Lupus Coach®, and is the Founder and Owner of Discover Your Power®, LLC. Coach Lizeth is also a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200), Certified Personal Trainer, and Nutrition Coach with over 17+ years of coaching and health education experience. Lizeth is also a PhD student currently attending school at Saybrook University in the Mind-Body Medicine program where her focus is on research regarding holistic medicine for lupus health management. She takes a holistic approach to help her clients through coaching for holistic health, emotional and physical healing, purposeful living, yoga, and exercise so they can transform their lives and create the life they want!

 Topic: How do patients influence lupus research.

 I have been a lupus warrior for the past 20 years. My lupus journey has motivated me to pursue a career as a pediatric rheumatologist and I am currently in my final year of medical school. I am committed to raising awareness of lupus, addressing health disparities, and improving the quality of care for all patients with lupus.

Topic: How a community of support makes a difference.

Lupus Foundation of America Support Group Facilitator/LRAN Member/Ambassador/Advocate Former worker's compensation underwriter and 04-40 Customer Service Licensed Agent. I am an empath on a mission to help those that I cross paths with to a better version of themselves, while taming the chaos of my own life journey.