October 16, 2014
NIAMS Deputy Director Robert Carter, M.D., presents at a Congressional briefing sponsored by the Scleroderma Foundation.
NIAMS Deputy Director Robert Carter, M.D., presents at a Congressional briefing sponsored by the Scleroderma Foundation.

On May 6, 2014, NIAMS Deputy Director Robert Carter, M.D., presented at a Congressional briefing. The event was titled “Hope Through Medical Research: Advancing Our Scientific Understanding of Scleroderma and Related Autoimmune Diseases,” and was sponsored by the Scleroderma Foundation and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Robert Riggs, CEO of the Scleroderma Foundation, moderated the session and provided a brief introduction to the mission of the Foundation. Dr. Carter then presented on recent progress and future opportunities in scleroderma research. Richard Silver, M.D., Director of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina, provided a clinician perspective on caring for patients with scleroderma and the need for additional treatments. Susan Nyanzi, Dr.P.H., a patient living with scleroderma, spoke about her experience with the disease and provided a call to action.

More than 15 Congressional staff attended the briefing, along with several dozen advocates.

Last Reviewed: