PARASS Staff

Director and Principal Investigator – Dr. Nancy A. Shadick

Dr. Shadick is a clinical researcher and Rheumatologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is the Director of the PARASS initiative. The PARASS initiative embodies Dr. Shadick’s vision – to improve RA outcomes by providing comprehensive social support, peer counseling, and video journaling. She is a Principal Investigator for the Brigham Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry (BRASS), a 1100 patient registry of RA subjects followed over 5 years in the R.B. Brigham Arthritis Center examining health outcomes in RA. She directs the PACO Initiative, a patient-centered outcomes initiative to enhance doctor patient communication and collaborative care in Rheumatoid Arthritis. The PACO Initiative has created and tested a new model of co-management in RA at the R.B. Brigham Arthritis Center. She is a recipient of Arthritis Foundation, NIH, CDC and Industry grants and serves on a number of advisory boards and grant review committees related to rheumatoid arthritis.

Principal Investigator – Dr. Michael E. Weinblatt

Dr. Michael E. Weinblatt, the Co- Director of Clinical Rheumatology, has been at the Brigham for 27 years. His major research interest is therapeutic interventions in RA, and he has published over 130 articles and reviews, primarily focusing on RA.In 1997, he received the Arthritis Foundation Virginia P. Engalitcheff Award for Impact on Quality of Life for work on methotrexate. In 2005, he received the Carol Nachman Prize for his work on the development of methotrexate therapy for RA. He served as an Associate Editor of Arthritis and Rheumatism. In 2001, he was president of the American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Weinblatt is also an avid cyclist and has cycled across the U.S. twice.

Study Coordinator – Adel Andemeskel