Kevin Byram, MD
2017-2018 VCRC-VF Fellow
Cleveland Clinic Center for Vasculitis Care and Research
Cleveland, Ohio
Kevin Byram, MD, graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine and rheumatology training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Beginning in July 2017, he started a one-year vasculitis fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Vasculitis Care and Research. Dr. Byram’s fellowship has been supported by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC), the Vasculitis Foundation (VF) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Caring for patients with vasculitis has been a true pleasure,” said Dr. Byram. “The opportunity to guide someone and their family through a chronic disease with such devastating potential has been a humbling honor. With the advent of novel and repurposed therapies and treatment strategies, our ability to limit the serious nature of vasculitis has improved, but much still needs to be done.”
During his time as a vasculitis fellow, in addition to gaining advanced skills in the care of people with vasculitis, Dr. Byram will be continuing research that he began at Vanderbilt under the mentorship of Dr. Michelle Ormseth. His research project has focused on examining unique expression profiles of microRNA (mRNA) in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). mRNA is a molecule that silences certain genes.
“Identification of unique mRNA expression patterns in AAV could make diagnosis easier or help in monitoring of disease activity,” said Dr. Byram. “This study could provide further information about how and why AAV occurs and relapses, which in turn could lead to more targets for treatment.”
MicroRNA is already being tested in diseases such as cancer. Small studies have identified several candidates that seem to be expressed at higher levels in patients with AAV.
“I am grateful for the financial support both the VF and VCRC have made available to me to pursue another year of training in the field of vasculitis,” said Dr. Byram. “The foundational, professional, and mentoring relationships I create will serve me well as I work toward my goals.”
At the end of his fellowship, Dr. Byram will be returning to Vanderbilt to establish a vasculitis clinic.
Editor’s Update: Dr. Byram is now the Co-director of the Vanderbilt Vasculitis Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee.