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Board of Directors
Grace C. Wright
MD, PhD, FACR | President
Grace C. Wright, MD, PhD is a consultant rheumatologist in New York City. Dr Wright received her undergraduate degree at Barnard College, Columbia University, graduating magna cum laude. She earned her medical and doctorate degrees at NYU School of Medicine in 1990 and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the NYU Medical Center where she served as clinical associate professor of medicine. Dr. Wright is the recipient of the Helen R. Downes Award for academic distinction and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society.
Gwenesta B. Melton
MD, FACR | Vice President, Co-Chair Advocacy
Dr. Melton graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. Internal Medicine training was completed at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX. A Rheumatology fellowship followed and was finished at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Upon completion of her military obligation she joined the Lafayette Clinic of Fayetteville, N.C. With a private practice in rheumatology she is board certified in both internal medicine and rheumatology.
Priya Reddy
MD, FACR | Secretary and Treasurer
Dr. Priya Reddy is a private practice rheumatologist in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. She completed fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
Before opening her practice in 2010, she worked as an Assistant Professor in Division of Rheumatology at the University of South Florida and continues to teach and train Internal Medicine residents as Faculty and Curriculum Coordinator for Brandon Regional Hospital Residency Program/USF.
Gail S Kerr
MD, FRCP, FACR | Director
Dr. Gail Kerr is Chief of Rheumatology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Howard University Hospital in Washington DC. She is Professor of Medicine at Georgetown and Howard University Hospitals, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD. She is involved in clinical research in the areas of systemic vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and the spondyloarthritides.
Thaila Ramanujam
MD, FACR | Co-Chair of Global Affairs
Thaila Ramanujam, MD, is the CEO and Medical Director of Santa Cruz Rheumatology Inc., Santa Cruz, CA, where she is in solo rheumatology practice. Dr. Ramanujam received her medical degree from Stanley Medical College, University of Madras, India. She completed her residency in internal medicine at SUNY, Stony Brook, NY, followed by a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She is board certified in rheumatology. Dr. Ramanujam is a fellow of the American College of Rheumatology, the Northern California Rheumatism Association, the California Medical Society, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Medical Association. Dr. Ramanujam is listed as a Lifetime Member of Who’s Who for demonstrating leadership and for achievements in her medical profession.
Dianne Petrone
MD, FACR | Director
Dr. Dianne Petrone is an attending physician at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She completed her medical education at West Virginia Medical School with an Internal Medicine Residency at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. She then completed her rheumatology fellowship at Georgetown University Medical Center and subsequently served as a staff rheumatologist in the U. S. Air Force at Malcolm Grow United States Air Force Medical Center in Maryland. Upon completion of her service, she joined Arthritis Centers of Texas where Dr. Petrone has continued her clinical medicine and research endeavors in Dallas, Texas. Even while busy with patients and mentoring students, she has accumulated extensive experience as a Principal Investigator for multiple clinical trials.
Taraneh Mehrani
MD, FACR | Director, Chair of Local | Chapters
Dr Mehrani, the eldest of 5, was raised in the Washington DC Metropolitan area. She pursued her Internal Medicine residency at Union Memorial Hospital, University of Maryland and engaged in research at Johns Hopkins, investigating the role of anti phospholipid antibodies in patients with Lupus. She subsequently pursued these interests and completed her fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of California, Irvine.
Cynthia Lawrence-Elliot
MD, FACR | Director
Dr Cynthia Lawrence Elliott obtained her undergraduate training at Manhattanville College and her medical degree at Meharry Medical College. She completed preclinical elective studies at Johns Hopkins University and clinical electives at Harvard Medical School. This was followed by an Internal Medicine Residency at New York Medical College and a Rheumatology/Immunology fellowship at Emory University. She is the co-director of North Georgia Rheumatology Group, with her sister, Dr Theresa Lawrence Ford. North Georgia Rheumatology Group an active clinical and research Rheumatology practice with sites on the campuses of Gwinnett Medical Center, at Lawrenceville and Johns Creek/Duluth Georgia. She serves as primary investigator and sub investigator in numerous research studies concerning Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Osteoarthritis, and Gout. She is an advocate for utilizing imaging techniques with ultrasound in diagnosing and treating patients with acute and chronic arthritis.
A. Silvia Ross
MD, FACR | Co-Chair of Global Affairs
Dr. Ross is the managing partner of a single-specialty 3-physician Rheumatology private practice in Raleigh, NC, which she co-founded in 1994. She has been in NC since 1991.
Born and raised in Brazil, she completed medical school at Universidade Federal do Paraná in Brazil. She completed her internship and Internal Medicine Residency at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, IL, and Rheumatology Fellowship in the combined program of Michael Reese Hospital and University of Chicago, IL. She is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
Catherine Bakewell
MD, RhMSUS | Director
Dr Bakewell trained at the University of Washington in Seattle where she obtained her MD, Residency, and Fellowship certifications. She practiced for 2 years in Seattle with Dr. Philip Mease at Seattle Rheumatology Associates, simultaneously remaining faculty for UW at the VA Medical Center Puget sound, where she introduced musculoskeletal ultrasound to the fellowship training curriculum. She is currently practices at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sheetal Desai
MD, MSEd, FACR | Director
Dr Desai is a native of Tucson, Arizona and transplant to southern California. She completed medical school at the University of Southern California (USC) followed by Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at UCLA. She pursued a Master of Science in Medical Education from the USC Rossier School of Education.