Inflammation can be found all over the body, and it is widely considered the root of some of the most debilitating diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Learn about current medical insights and assessments regarding inflammation and what can be done to decrease chronic inflammation levels, from Johns Hopkins rheumatologist Lisa Christopher-Stine.

Dr. Christopher-Stine is the Co-Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center. She is a Professor of Medicine and Neurology. She is a longstanding core faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine College Advisory Program and serves as the Co-Chair of the Johns Hopkins Institutional Review Board (IRB 5). Dr. Christopher-Stine graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College; was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, where she received her MD degree, and she attained her Masters of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her internship and residency training were completed at MCP Hahnemann University, where she also served as Chief Resident. She pursued her rheumatology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Christopher-Stine’s primary research focus is clinical research pertaining to inflammatory myopathies – specifically describing unique phenotypes, novel therapeutic approaches, and novel disease subsets among patients with inflammatory myopathies. Dr. Christopher-Stine is the principal investigator of a growing cohort of over 3000 patients evaluated clinically for confirmed or suspected muscle disease at the Myositis Center who agree to be part of the Johns Hopkins Myositis Research Registry. Dr. Christopher-Stine and her colleagues made the novel discovery of an autoimmune myopathy closely linked to statins. She has a continued interest in statins and their toxicities toward muscle, both as a direct muscle toxin as well as its contribution to autoimmune muscle injury.

Dr. Christopher-Stine and her team are currently investigating several area of interest regarding the inflammatory myopathies. They are interested in cardiovascular complications in the inflammatory myopathies, the contribution of the skin and gut microbiome to myositis phenotypes, and they remain interested in predicting clinical outcomes. In addition, they have investigated the burden of calcinosis in adult dermatomyositis by patient self-report and utilized novel imaging modalities to examine the extent of calcinosis in these patients. In addition, as patient reported outcomes are growing increasingly important, especially in the context of clinical trials, they are an increasing focus of investigative efforts at the Myositis Center. Specifically, Dr. Christopher-Stine and her team are undertaking an international effort to determine the most appropriate patient-driven outcome measures in the inflammatory myopathies.

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0:22 - Kelly Geer Ripken’s Welcome
1:44 - Dr. Lisa Christopher-Stine joins and presents on Inflammation
45:45 - Dr Christopher-Stine concludes presentation and begins Q+A Session
59:37 - Q+A Concludes, Kelly Geer Ripken Outro