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You live in Lincoln Square now; are you originally from Chicago? 
Yes, born and raised. I was born in the northern suburbs, went to Loyola Academy, then Northwestern, and then Rush for medical school. I’m super local.

When did you decide on medicine as a profession? And rheumatology in particular…
When it comes to medicine as a whole, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I knew I was good at science, and I knew I wanted to work with people, so it was a natural marriage between the two. In terms of rheumatology, my dad is a rheumatologist, so that definitely factored heavily into it. I find the immune system to be very interesting. I had great mentorship throughout my education, and I think that also played a big role.

What kinds of conditions do you treat? 
What we do is broadly grouped into two categories. One involves hyperactivity of the immune system, where inflammation builds up in the body and causes issues. Examples of that are things like lupus, scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis. We also treat conditions more broadly that affect joints in general, like gout or osteoarthritis. It’s an interesting mix which I really enjoy.

What’s your favorite part about your job?
Interacting with patients and doing a lot of problem solving. I think what makes working in a community setting really interesting is that you often have to think on the fly in terms of solving problems. It’s more hands on than a university setting.

What kinds of unique initiatives are you working on?
We are very close to enrolling Swedish Covenant Hospital in Own the Bone, a nationwide program that helps ensure that patients who’ve suffered from a fracture get the proper post fracture care. We are also developing a cancer and osteoporosis program because of the impact of cancer treatment on bone health. We’re looking for patients with breast cancer to make sure they have the proper screenings for osteoporosis and access to multidisciplinary treatments for their conditions. 

You do a lot of community outreach through hospital seminars and work with Galter LifeCenter. Why is that important to you?
When you look across a lot of our common diseases, we have great medicines and great therapies, but our outcomes aren’t that great. A lot of that is due to misconceptions on the part of both patients and physicians alike. It drives me crazy when you’ve got problems that are really solvable. That’s why I do a lot of patient outreach and education. 

What’s your favorite part about living in Lincoln Square?
It’s kind of like city living-light. We live on an idyllic street in a nice, family-centered neighborhood, but we’ve also got killer Thai food just a few blocks away. So there are city amenities with a sense of calmness, too. Also, I can’t stand commuting, so it’s nice being so close to Swedish!

Last question: Can you tell me an item on your bucket list?
I want to continue to travel. There are whole continents that I still want to travel to, like South America and Australia.