Dr. Michelle Petri is a distinguished rheumatologist and internationally recognized authority on systemic lupus erythematosus. She serves as Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of the Hopkins Lupus Center, positions she has held since establishing herself as a leading lupus researcher. Dr. Petri received her medical degree from Harvard University, completed her medical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and pursued rheumatology fellowship training at the University of California, San Francisco before joining Johns Hopkins in 1986. Her career trajectory has been marked by continuous leadership in lupus research and clinical care, establishing her as one of the most influential figures in the field of autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Petri's groundbreaking work with the Hopkins Lupus Cohort, a longitudinal study of over 2,000 SLE patients funded by NIH, has fundamentally advanced understanding of disease progression, treatment outcomes, and long-term complications in lupus patients. Her research has made seminal contributions to knowledge about corticosteroid toxicity in SLE, establishing the preventive role of hydroxychloroquine and elucidating the pathogenesis of accelerated atherosclerosis in lupus patients. She played a pivotal role in clinical trials leading to the development of belimumab for SLE treatment, significantly expanding therapeutic options for patients with this challenging autoimmune condition. Her work has directly influenced clinical practice guidelines and has been instrumental in changing prescribing behavior regarding corticosteroids in lupus management.
Beyond her research contributions, Dr. Petri serves on the editorial boards of prestigious journals including the Journal of Rheumatology, Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, and Lupus, shaping the direction of scholarly discourse in the field. She co-directs the Hopkins Lupus Pregnancy Center and serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Lupus Foundation of America, where she chairs the Lupus Now Education Program. As a Master of the American College of Rheumatology, she has mentored generations of rheumatologists and continues to lead innovative research initiatives including NIH-funded studies on SLE genetics and autoantibodies. Dr. Petri remains at the forefront of lupus research, currently investigating single cell studies of lupus kidney biopsies through the Accelerating Medicines Partnership project, ensuring her ongoing impact on improving outcomes for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
