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Dr. Merrill:

Dr. Merrill's CV in brief

Publications

Clinical Pharmacology Research Program

Joan T. Merrill, M.D. Member and Program Chair, Clinical Pharmacology Research Program Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences   Center Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, New York University   Medical Center

Research Interests
Heart attacks and strokes occur when fats slowly accumulate in blood vessels, causing breakdown of blood flow to arteries of the heart and brain. It is increasingly apparent that disorders in the regulation of inflammatory processes play a role in this accumulating process. Lupus is a disease characterized by flares of inflammation in the blood vessels, and lupus patients are at increased risk for premature atherosclerosis. The hypothesis underlying our work is that some of the specific disordered immune events that occur in lupus can shed light on the more low-grade inflammatory events that lead to progressive atherosclerosis in a wider, aging population.

Our research involves the study of variables that affect immune function and blood vessel regulation.  We have three projects that follow patients over time: a national registry of the antiphospholipid syndrome, the SLICC registry, which studies risk factors for premature atherosclerosis (we are one of 30 sites around the world participating in this collaborative study), and basic research linked to pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials of investigational drugs for lupus.

Our group also does basic research into the ways in which lupus immune proteins interfere with structures that help maintain a healthy bloodstream. This includes antiphospholipid antibodies (which interfere with the blood clotting system), antibodies to proteins that regulate cholesterol and antibodies to other blood vessel regulators such as platelets.

The Clinical Pharma-cology team works with several international groups to distill the complexities of lupus down to manageable and testable targets for new immune-modulating treatments. These projects range from the testing of updated disease criteria and clinical outcome measures (working with the Systemic Lupus International Collab-orating Clinics) to the validation of improved biologic tests for determining the safety and effectiveness of investigational drugs (working with the NIH-based SLE Biomarkers Working Group). We have also developed projects during 2005 which link pharmaceutical-sponsored drug trials in lupus to basic laboratory research studies, including new projects with Genentech and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.

Joined OMRF Scientific Staff in 2001.

Mailing Address
Clinical Pharmacology Research Program, MS 22
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104

Contact Information
Phone: (405) 271-7805
Fax: (405) 271-3980
E-mail: Joan-Merrill@omrf.org