Positions

Overview

  • S. Louis Bridges, Jr., MD, PhD is Anna Lois Waters Endowed Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has served as Director of the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology since 2009. He is also the Director of the UAB Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone, and Autoimmunity Center. and Vice President of the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
    His research has been continuously funded by NIH and is focused largely on rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility, severity, and treatment response. He has authored more than 130 manuscripts, 20 book chapters, and served as Editor of Vasculitis, published by Oxford University Press. He serves as Director of the UAB T32 Training Program in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Research, PI of a Department of Defense research grant on the role of the interferon-gamma pathway in RA, and Associate Director of the UAB Investigations in Gout, Hyperuricemia, and Comorbidities (INSIGHT) Center of Research Translation (CORT). In addition, he serves as investigator on multiple research grants focused on arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases.
    He has been named to the Best Doctors in America list yearly since 2003, as well as to Castle Connolly Top Doctors. He was previously Co-Editor of Arthritis & Rheumatology (2010-17) and Chair of the NIH Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Study Section (2013-16). In addition to membership on several committees of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), Dr. Bridges served as Chair of the ACR Committee on Research and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Council and Board of Directors of the Rheumatology Research Foundation. He was named recipient of the 2008 Max Cooper Award for Research Excellence by the UAB Department of Medicine, and the 2012 Sam Brown Bridge Builder Award, UAB School of Public Health.
    As the Director of the UAB Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone, and Autoimmunity Center, I work with the Executive Committee to lead strategic planning, training and research activities, outreach, and symposia, visiting professorships, and workshops.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title Altmetric
    2023 2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Vaccinations in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal DiseasesArthritis and Rheumatology.  75:333-348. 2023
    2023 2022 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for Vaccinations in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal DiseasesArthritis Care and Research.  75:449-464. 2023
    2023 Associations of Socioeconomic Status With Disease Progression in African Americans With Early Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis Care and Research.  75:85-91. 2023
    2022 A genome-wide association study for rheumatoid arthritis replicates previous HLA and non-HLA associations in a cohort from South Africa.Human Molecular Genetics.  31:4286-4294. 2022
    2022 Effects of end-stage osteoarthritis on markers of skeletal muscle Long INterspersed Element-1 activityBMC Research Notes.  15. 2022
    2022 Genetic, social, and environmental risk factors in rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung diseaseSeminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.  57. 2022
    2022 Muscle transcriptomic circuits linked to periarticular physiology in end-stage osteoarthritisPhysiological Genomics.  54:501-513. 2022
    2022 Tapering biologic DMARDs in rheumatoid arthritisCurrent Opinion in Pharmacology.  67. 2022
    2022 Heavy Chain Constant Region Usage in Antibodies to Peptidylarginine Deiminase 4 as a Marker of Disease Subsets in Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis and Rheumatology.  74:1746-1754. 2022
    2022 Is Rheumatoid Arthritis a Causal Factor in Cardiovascular Disease?Arthritis and Rheumatology.  74:1612-1614. 2022
    2022 Perioperative assessment of muscle inflammation susceptibility in patients with end-stage osteoarthritisJournal of Applied Physiology.  132:984-994. 2022
    2022 A Crowdsourcing Approach to Develop Machine Learning Models to Quantify Radiographic Joint Damage in Rheumatoid ArthritisJAMA Network Open.  5. 2022
    2022 Association of Disease Activity and Disability With Rehabilitation Utilization in African American Adults With Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis Care and Research.  74:16-21. 2022
    2021 Higher Serum Urate Levels Are Associated With an Increased Risk for Sudden Cardiac DeathJournal of Rheumatology.  48:1745-1753. 2021
    2021 The safety and immunologic effectiveness of the live varicella-zoster vaccine in patients receiving tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapy a randomized controlled trialACP journal club.  174:1510-1518. 2021
    2021 Genetic correlations between traits associated with hyperuricemia, gout, and comorbiditiesEuropean Journal of Human Genetics.  29:1438-1445. 2021
    2021 Effect of Serum Urate Lowering With Allopurinol on Blood Pressure in Young Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover TrialArthritis and Rheumatology.  73:1514-1522. 2021
    2021 A novel Mendelian randomization method with binary risk factor and outcomeGenetic Epidemiology.  45:549-560. 2021
    2021 Fine-mapping, trans-ancestral and genomic analyses identify causal variants, cells, genes and drug targets for type 1 diabetesNature Genetics.  53:962-971. 2021
    2021 Decreased Levels of STAT1 and Interferon-γ–Induced STAT1 Phosphorylation in Rheumatoid Arthritis CD4 and CD8 T CellsACR Open Rheumatology.  3:277-283. 2021
    2021 Why women have more autoimmune diseases than men: An evolutionary perspective 2021
    2021 Diminished cytokine-induced Jak/STAT signaling is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and disease activityPLoS One.  16. 2021
    2020 Circulating microbial small RNAs are altered in patients with rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  79:1557-1564. 2020
    2020 Notch signalling drives synovial fibroblast identity and arthritis pathologyNature.  582:259-264. 2020
    2020 Allopurinol adherence and its predictors in gout: a national cohort study in US veteransLancet Rheumatology.  2:e281-e291. 2020
    2020 Gout is associated with an increased risk for incident heart failure among older adults: The REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort studyArthritis Research and Therapy.  22. 2020
    2020 HLA and autoantibodies define scleroderma subtypes and risk in African and European Americans and suggest a role for molecular mimicry 2020
    2020 Severity of Hypertension Mediates the Association of Hyperuricemia With Stroke in the REGARDS Case Cohort StudyHypertension.  75:246-256. 2020
    2019 HLA-C: An Accomplice in Rheumatic DiseasesACR Open Rheumatology.  1:571-579. 2019
    2019 Serum mir-204 is an early biomarker of type 1 diabetes-associated pancreatic beta-cell loss 2019
    2019 Disruption of the preB Cell Receptor Complex Leads to Decreased Bone MassFrontiers in Immunology.  10. 2019
    2019 Systemic levels of anti-PAD4 autoantibodies correlate with airway obstruction in cystic fibrosisJournal of Cystic Fibrosis.  18:636-645. 2019
    2019 Association of response to TNF inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis with quantitative trait loci for CD40 and CD39Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  78:1055-1061. 2019
    2019 Defining inflammatory cell states in rheumatoid arthritis joint synovial tissues by integrating single-cell transcriptomics and mass cytometryNature Immunology.  20:928-942. 2019
    2019 Ifnγ induces epigenetic programming of human t-bethi b cells and promotes tlr7/8 and il-21 induced differentiationeLife.  8. 2019
    2019 Beyond Autoantibodies: Biologic Roles of Human Autoreactive B Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis Revealed by RNA-SequencingArthritis and Rheumatology.  71:529-541. 2019
    2019 Genetic influences on susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in African-AmericansHuman Molecular Genetics.  28:858-874. 2019
    2019 Type 1 diabetes risk in African-ancestry participants and utility of an ancestry-specific genetic risk scoreDiabetes reviews (Alexandria, Va.).  42:406-415. 2019
    2019 A Novel Method to Combine Assessment of Benefit and Harm: Outcome Measures in Rheumatology 3×3 Methodology Applied to Two Active Comparator TrialsArthritis Care and Research.  71:319-322. 2019
    2019 Chronic Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Mediators of Skeletal Muscle Pathology and Physical Impairment: A ReviewArthritis Care and Research.  71:173-177. 2019
    2019 HLA-DRB1 amino acid positions and residues associated with antibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis in black south africansJournal of Rheumatology.  46:138-144. 2019
    2018 Brief Report: Whole-Exome Sequencing to Identify Rare Variants and Gene Networks That Increase Susceptibility to Scleroderma in African AmericansArthritis and Rheumatology.  70:1654-1660. 2018
    2018 Genome-wide association study of response to methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis patients 2018
    2018 Transcriptional Profiling of Synovial Macrophages Using Minimally Invasive Ultrasound-Guided Synovial Biopsies in Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis and Rheumatology.  70:841-854. 2018
    2018 The Science Behind Biosimilars: Entering a New Era of Biologic TherapyArthritis and Rheumatology.  70:334-344. 2018
    2018 Age and fecal microbial strain-specific differences in patients with spondyloarthritisArthritis Research and Therapy.  20. 2018
    2017 Repositioning drugs by targeting network modules: A Parkinson's disease case studyBMC Bioinformatics.  18. 2017
    2017 Genomics in Rheumatic Diseases: Hope for the FutureRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  43:xv-xvi. 2017
    2017 Integrative Approaches to Understanding the Pathogenic Role of Genetic Variation in Rheumatic DiseasesRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  43:449-466. 2017
    2017 Dense genotyping of immune-related regions identifies loci for rheumatoid arthritis risk and damage in African AmericansMolecular Medicine.  23:177-187. 2017
    2017 Improvement of High-Density Lipoprotein Function in Patients With Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated With Methotrexate Monotherapy or Combination Therapies in a Randomized Controlled TrialArthritis and Rheumatology.  69:46-57. 2017
    2017 Repositioning drugs by targeting network modules: a Parkinson's disease case study. 2017
    2016 Cost-Effectiveness of Triple Therapy Versus Etanercept Plus Methotrexate in Early Aggressive Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis Care and Research.  68:1751-1757. 2016
    2016 Association of anti-peptidyl arginine deiminase antibodies with radiographic severity of rheumatoid arthritis in African AmericansArthritis Research and Therapy.  18. 2016
    2016 Erratum: Crowdsourced assessment of common genetic contribution to predicting anti-TNF treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis.Nature Communications.  7:13205. 2016
    2016 Increased pretreatment serum IFN-β/α ratio predicts non-response to tumour necrosis factor α inhibition in rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  75:1757-1762. 2016
    2016 Effect of Drug Therapy on Net Cholesterol Efflux Capacity of High-Density Lipoprotein–Enriched Serum in Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis and Rheumatology.  68:2099-2105. 2016
    2016 Rationale and design of the randomized evaluation of an Ambulatory Care Pharmacist-Led Intervention to Optimize Urate Lowering Pathways (RAmP-UP) StudyContemporary Clinical Trials.  50:106-115. 2016
    2016 Crowdsourced assessment of common genetic contribution to predicting anti-TNF treatment response in rheumatoid arthritisNature Communications.  7. 2016
    2016 Development of gellan gum containing formulations for transdermal drug delivery: Component evaluation and controlled drug release using temperature responsive nanogelsInternational Journal of Pharmaceutics.  509:465-476. 2016
    2016 A genome-wide association study identifies SLC8A3 as a susceptibility locus for ACPA-positive rheumatoid arthritisRheumatology.  55:1106-1111. 2016
    2016 Differential response of serum amyloid A to different therapies in early rheumatoid arthritis and its potential value as a disease activity biomarkerArthritis Research and Therapy.  18. 2016
    2016 ReplyArthritis and Rheumatology.  68:1316-1318. 2016
    2016 ReplyArthritis Care and Research.  68:725-726. 2016
    2016 Association of Triple Therapy with Improvement in Cholesterol Profiles over Two-Year Followup in the Treatment of Early Aggressive Rheumatoid Arthritis TrialArthritis and Rheumatology.  68:577-586. 2016
    2016 Exercise Medicine for Osteoarthritis: Research Strategies to Maximize EffectivenessArthritis Care and Research.  68:288-291. 2016
    2016 Serum urate gene associations with incident gout, measured in the Framingham Heart Study, are modified by renal disease and not by body mass index 2016
    2016 Socioeconomic factors and self-reported health outcomes in African Americans with rheumatoid arthritis from the Southeastern United States: The contribution of childhood socioeconomic statusBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders.  17. 2016
    2016 2015 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis and Rheumatology.  68:1-26. 2016
    2016 2015 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis Care and Research.  68:1-26. 2016
    2016 Editorial: A Novel Genetic Association with Systemic Sclerosis: The Utility of Whole-Exome Sequencing in Autoimmune DiseaseArthritis and Rheumatology.  68:27-30. 2016
    2015 Characterization of Genetic Loci That Affect Susceptibility to Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in African AmericansGastroenterology.  149:1575-1586. 2015
    2015 New data and an old puzzle: The negative association between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritisInternational Journal of Epidemiology.  44:1706-1721. 2015
    2015 The role of genetic variants in CRP in radiographic severity in African Americans with early and established rheumatoid arthritisGenes and Immunity.  16:446-451. 2015
    2015 Comprehensive appraisal of magnetic resonance imaging findings in sustained rheumatoid arthritis remission: A substudyArthritis Care and Research.  67:929-939. 2015
    2015 Brief report: Expression of interferon-γ receptor genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with rheumatoid arthritis and its radiographic severity in african americansArthritis and Rheumatology.  67:1165-1170. 2015
    2015 Simple regression for correcting δCt bias in RT-qPCR low-density array data normalizationBMC Genomics.  16. 2015
    2014 HLA-DRB1-associated rheumatoid arthritis risk at multiple levels in African Americans: Hierarchical classification systems, amino acid positions, and residuesArthritis and Rheumatology.  66:3274-3282. 2014
    2014 Socioeconomic disparities in the health of African Americans with rheumatoid arthritis from the southeastern United StatesArthritis Care and Research.  66:1808-1817. 2014
    2014 Integration of sequence data from a consanguineous family with genetic data from an outbred population identifies PLB1 as a candidate rheumatoid arthritis risk genePLoS One.  9. 2014
    2014 Complementary and alternative medicine use in African Americans with rheumatoid arthritisArthritis Care and Research.  66:180-189. 2014
    2014 Genetic variants associated with methotrexate efficacy and toxicity in early rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the treatment of early aggressive rheumatoid arthritis trial 2014
    2014 Genetics of rheumatoid arthritis contributes to biology and drug discoveryNature.  506:376-381. 2014
    2014 CASPASE-12 and rheumatoid arthritis in African-AmericansImmunogenetics.  66:281-285. 2014
    2014 Gene-body mass index interactions are associated with methotrexate toxicity in rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  73:785-786. 2014
    2014 Immunochip identifies novel, and replicates known, genetic risk loci for rheumatoid arthritis in black South AfricansMolecular Medicine.  20:341-349. 2014
    2014 Inhibition of fucosylation reshapes inflammatory macrophages and suppresses type II collagen-induced arthritisArthritis and Rheumatology.  66:2368-2379. 2014
    2013 Editorial: Ethnic-specific genetic analyses in rheumatoid arthritis: Incremental gains but valuable contributions to the big pictureArthritis and Rheumatism.  65:3014-3016. 2013
    2013 Comparison of the disease activity score using erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein in African Americans with rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Rheumatology.  40:1812-1822. 2013
    2013 Associations of alcohol use with radiographic disease progression in African Americans with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Rheumatology.  40:1498-1504. 2013
    2013 Genome-wide association analysis of anti-TNF drug response in patients with rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  72:1375-1381. 2013
    2013 Validation of the methotrexate-first strategy in patients with early, poor-prognosis rheumatoid arthritis: Results from a two-year randomized, double-blind trialArthritis and Rheumatism.  65:1985-1994. 2013
    2013 Changes in lipoproteins associated with methotrexate or combination therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis trialArthritis and Rheumatism.  65:1430-1438. 2013
    2013 Clinical response within 12 weeks as a predictor of future low disease activity in patients with early RA: Results from the TEAR trialJournal of Rheumatology.  40:572-578. 2013
    2013 Crowdsourcing genetic prediction of clinical utility in the Rheumatoid Arthritis Responder ChallengeNature Genetics.  45:468-469. 2013
    2013 Genome-Wide Association Study and Gene Expression Analysis Identifies CD84 as a Predictor of Response to Etanercept Therapy in Rheumatoid ArthritisPLoS Genetics.  9. 2013
    2013 Gene expression patterns in peripheral blood cells associated with radiographic severity in African Americans with early rheumatoid arthritis 2013
    2012 Serum cotinine as a biomarker of tobacco exposure and the association with treatment response in early rheumatoid arthritisArthritis Care and Research.  64:1804-1810. 2012
    2012 A randomized comparative effectiveness study of oral triple therapy versus etanercept plus methotrexate in early aggressive rheumatoid arthritis: The treatment of early aggressive rheumatoid arthritis trialArthritis and Rheumatism.  64:2824-2835. 2012
    2012 Markers of treatment response to methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis: Where do we stand?International Journal of Rheumatology.  2012. 2012
    2012 Association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CCR6, TAGAP, and TNFAIP3 with rheumatoid arthritis in African AmericansArthritis and Rheumatism.  64:1355-1358. 2012
    2012 Use of a multiethnic approach to identify rheumatoid- arthritis- susceptibility loci, 1p36 and 17q12American Journal of Human Genetics.  90:524-532. 2012
    2012 Impact of interactions of cigarette smoking with NAT2 polymorphisms on rheumatoid arthritis risk in African AmericansArthritis and Rheumatism.  64:655-664. 2012
    2012 2012 update of the 2008 American college of rheumatology recommendations for the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritisArthritis Care and Research.  64:625-639. 2012
    2011 Recommendations for publication of genetic association studies in Arthritis & RheumatismArthritis and Rheumatism.  63:2839-2847. 2011
    2011 Plasma carboxypeptidase B downregulates inflammatory responses in autoimmune arthritisJournal of Clinical Investigation.  121:3517-3527. 2011
    2011 Personalized medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: Miles to go before we sleepArthritis and Rheumatism.  63:590-593. 2011
    2010 Associations of cigarette smoking with rheumatoid arthritis in African AmericansArthritis and Rheumatism.  62:3560-3568. 2010
    2010 Most common single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with rheumatoid arthritis in persons of European ancestry confer risk of rheumatoid arthritis in African AmericansArthritis and Rheumatism.  62:3547-3553. 2010
    2010 Anticitrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) in rheumatoid arthritis: Influence of an interaction between HLA-DRB1 shared epitope and a deletion polymorphism in glutathione s-transferase in a cross-sectional studyArthritis Research and Therapy.  12. 2010
    2010 A functional RANKL polymorphism associated with younger age at onset of rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  62:2864-2875. 2010
    2010 Measurement of erythrocyte methotrexate polyglutamate levels: Ready for clinical use in rheumatoid arthritis?Current Rheumatology Reports.  12:342-347. 2010
    2010 ANCA-associated vasculitis. Preface.Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  36. 2010
    2010 Generalized bone loss as a predictor of three-year radiographic damage in African American patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  62:2219-2226. 2010
    2010 Refining the association of MHC with multiple sclerosis in African AmericansHuman Molecular Genetics.  19:3080-3088. 2010
    2010 Rheumatoid arthritis risk allele PTPRC is also associated with response to anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapyArthritis and Rheumatism.  62:1849-1861. 2010
    2010 Association of IL4R single-nucleotide polymorphisms with rheumatoid nodules in African Americans with rheumatoid arthritisArthritis Research and Therapy.  12. 2010
    2010 Radiographic severity of rheumatoid arthritis in African Americans: Results from a multicenter observational studyArthritis Care and Research.  62:624-631. 2010
    2010 Genetic variants of STAT4 associated with rheumatoid arthritis in persons of Asian and European ancestry do not replicate in African AmericansAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  69:625-626. 2010
    2010 Vitamin D status and its associations with disease activity and severity in african americans with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Rheumatology.  37:275-281. 2010
    2010 A Comparison of Patient Characteristics and Outcomes in Selected European and U.S. Rheumatoid Arthritis Registries1Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.  40:2-14.e1. 2010
    2010 Genetic association of htSNPs across the major histocompatibility complex with rheumatoid arthritis in an African-American populationGenes and Immunity.  11:94-97. 2010
    2010 PrefaceRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  36:13. 2010
    2009 Skeletal health among African Americans with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  61:1379-1386. 2009
    2009 Recent advances in personalizing rheumatoid arthritis therapy and managementPersonalized Medicine.  6:159-170. 2009
    2009 REL, encoding a member of the NF-B family of transcription factors, is a newly defined risk locus for rheumatoid arthritisNature Genetics.  41:820-823. 2009
    2009 An african ancestry-specific allele of CTLA4 confers protection against rheumatoid arthritis in african americansPLoS Genetics.  5. 2009
    2009 Retraction: an African ancestry-specific allele of CTLA4 confers protection against rheumatoid arthritis in African Americans.PLoS Genetics.  5. 2009
    2009 Understanding personalized medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: A clinician’s guide to the futureTherapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease.  1:97-105. 2009
    2008 Update on pathogenic mechanisms of systemic necrotizing vasculitisCurrent Rheumatology Reports.  10:430-435. 2008
    2008 Cigarette smoking, disease severity and autoantibody expression in African Americans with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  67:1529-1534. 2008
    2008 ReplyArthritis and Rheumatism.  58:3635-3636. 2008
    2008 Pharmacogenetics of etanercept in rheumatoid arthritisPharmacogenomics.  9:1011-1015. 2008
    2008 American College of Rheumatology 2008 recommendations for the use of nonbiologic and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  59:762-784. 2008
    2008 Variable selection in logistic regression for detecting SNP-SNP interactions: The rheumatoid arthritis exampleEuropean Journal of Human Genetics.  16:735-741. 2008
    2008 The HLA-DRB1 shared epitope in Caucasians with rheumatoid arthritis: A lesson learned from tic-tac-toeArthritis and Rheumatism.  58:1211-1215. 2008
    2008 Evaluating linkage disequilibrium and recombination provides a haplotype-tagging SNP panel of the major histocompatibility complex in African AmericansGenes and Immunity.  9:271-273. 2008
    2008 Personalized medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: Hopes and challenges (Bulletin of the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases (2007) 65, 3, (174-177)) 2008
    2008 The HLA-DRB1 shared epitope is associated with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in African Americans through European genetic admixtureArthritis and Rheumatism.  58:349-358. 2008
    2008 Does gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) influence the development of chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis?Journal of Neuroinflammation.  5. 2008
    2007 Clinical and genetic risk factors for pneumonia in systemic lupus erythematosusArthritis and Rheumatism.  56:2679-2686. 2007
    2007 Personalized medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: hopes and challenges. 2007
    2006 Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody and rheumatoid factor isotypes in African Americans with early rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  54:3057-3059. 2006
    2006 Racial or ethnic differences in allele frequencies of sinqle-nucleotide polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and their influence on response to methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritisAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  65:1213-1218. 2006
    2005 Prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia among African Americans with early rheumatoid arthritis: The impact of ethnic-specific normative dataJournal of the National Medical Association.  97:1155-1160. 2005
    2005 Evidence for two phenotypes in the metabolism of methotrexate to 7-hydroxymethotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  52:356-358. 2005
    2005 The role of B cells and autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritisPathophysiology.  12:203-216. 2005
    2004 Genetic risk factors for infection in patients with early rheumatoid arthritisGenes and Immunity.  5:641-647. 2004
    2004 The influence of genetic variation in the HLA-DRB1 and LTA-TNF regions on the response to treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis with methotrexate or etanerceptArthritis and Rheumatism.  50:2750-2756. 2004
    2004 Genetic Markers of Treatment Response in Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  50:1019-1022. 2004
    2004 Update on autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis.Current Rheumatology Reports.  6:343-350. 2004
    2003 Early rheumatoid arthritis in African-Americans: The CLEAR registryClinical and Experimental Rheumatology.  21. 2003
    2003 Contribution of VH gene replacement to the primary B cell repertoireImmunity.  19:21-31. 2003
    2003 Polymicrobial septic arthritis in a patient with Wilson's disease [12]Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.  62:693-694. 2003
    2003 Screening the genome for rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility genes: A replication study and combined analysis of 512 multicase familiesArthritis and Rheumatism.  48:906-916. 2003
    2003 V(D)J recombinatorial repertoire diversification during intraclonal pro-B to B-cell differentiationBlood.  101:1030-1037. 2003
    2003 Early rheumatoid arthritis in African-Americans: the CLEAR Registry.Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology.  21:S138-S145. 2003
    2003 Molecular mechanism of serial VH gene replacementAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences.  987:270-273. 2003
    2002 Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in tumor necrosis factor receptor genes: Definition of novel haplotypes and racial/ethnic differencesArthritis and Rheumatism.  46:2045-2050. 2002
    2002 Genetic influences on rheumatoid arthritis in African AmericansImmunologic Research.  26:15-26. 2002
    2002 Polyarteritis nodosa and microscopic polyangiitis: etiologic and diagnostic considerations.Current Rheumatology Reports.  4:75-82. 2002
    2001 Expression of recombination-activating genes and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and secondary rearrangement of immunoglobulin κ light chains in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissueArthritis and Rheumatism.  44:2275-2284. 2001
    2001 Early rheumatoid arthritis: A medical emergency?American Journal of Medicine.  111:498-500. 2001
    2001 Expression of recombination-activating genes and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and secondary rearrangement of immunoglobulin kappa light chains in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue.Arthritis and Rheumatism.  44:2275-2284. 2001
    2001 A Genomewide screen in multiplex rheumatoid arthritis families suggests genetic overlap with other autoimmune diseasesAmerican Journal of Human Genetics.  68:927-936. 2001
    2001 Pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis: Role of B lymphocytesRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  27:335-353. 2001
    1999 A novel single nucleotide polymorphism and five probable haplotypes in the 5' flanking region of the IL-6 gene in African-Americans.Genes and Immunity.  1:166-167. 1999
    1999 The genetics of rheumatoid arthritis: influences on susceptibility, severity, and treatment response.Current Rheumatology Reports.  1:164-171. 1999
    1999 Web alert.Current Rheumatology Reports.  1:89-90. 1999
    1998 Enhanced expression of immunoglobulin κ light chains with unusually long CDR3 regions in patients with rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Rheumatology.  25:1067-1071. 1998
    1998 Clonally-related immunoglobulin V(H) domains and nonrandom use of D(H) gene segments in rheumatoid arthritis synoviumMolecular Medicine.  4:240-257. 1998
    1998 Frequent N addition and clonal relatedness among immunoglobulin lambda light chains expressed in rheumatoid arthritis synovia and PBL, and the influence of Vλ gene segment utilization on CDR3 lengthMolecular Medicine.  4:525-553. 1998
    1998 T-cell receptor peptide vaccination in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritisRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  24:641-650. 1998
    1997 CDR3 fingerprinting of immunoglobulin kappa light chains expressed in rheumatoid arthritis. Evidence of antigenic selection or dysregulation of gene rearrangement in B cellsAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences.  815:423-426. 1997
    1997 Perioperative use of methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing orthopedic surgeryRheumatic Disease Clinics of North America.  23:981-993. 1997
    1996 Quantitative analysis of immunoglobulin Vκ CDR3 lengths in rheumatoid arthritis: Evidence of antigenic selection or dysregulation of gene rearrangementJournal of Investigative Medicine.  44. 1996
    1995 Analysis of Immunoglobulin Gamma Heavy Chains from Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovium Evidence of Antigen‐Driven SelectionAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences.  764:450-460. 1995
    1995 Immunoglobulin gene expression in rheumatoid arthritisAgents and actions. Supplements.  47:23-35. 1995
    1995 Somatic mutation and CDR3 lengths of immunoglobulin κ light chains expressed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in normal individualsJournal of Clinical Investigation.  96:831-841. 1995
    1994 Overexpression of zinc-finger transcription factor Z-225/Egr-1 in synoviocytes from rheumatoid arthritis patientsJournal of Immunology.  152:5940-5948. 1994
    1994 Erratum: Overexpression of zinc-finger transcription factor Z-225/Egr-1 in synoviocytes from rheumatoid arthritis patients (Blood (June 15, 1994) 152:12 (5940))Journal of Immunology.  153:5347. 1994
    1994 Evidence of antigen receptor-influenced oligoclonal B lymphocyte expansion in the synovium of a patient with longstanding rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Clinical Investigation.  93:361-370. 1994
    1993 Analysis of immunoglobulin gamma heavy chain expression in synovial tissue of a patient with rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  36:631-641. 1993
    1993 Is silent ischemia on the routine admission ECG an important finding?Journal of Electrocardiology.  26:131-136. 1993
    1992 A rheumatoid factor from a normal individual encoded by VH2 and VkII gene segmentsArthritis and Rheumatism.  35:900-904. 1992
    1992 The immunoglobulin kappa light chain repertoire expressed in the synovium of a patient with rheumatoid arthritisArthritis and Rheumatism.  35:905-913. 1992
    1991 Should methotrexate be discontinued before elective orthopedic surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?Journal of Rheumatology.  18:984-988. 1991
    1989 Methotrexate-induced liver abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritisJournal of Rheumatology.  16:1180-1183. 1989

    Chapter

    Year Title Altmetric
    2018 Rheumatoid arthritis.  183-199. 2018
    2018 Spondyloarthritis.  201-220. 2018
    2017 Polymyalgia Rheumatica.  735-737. 2017
    2017 Seronegative Spondyloarthritis.  729-734. 2017
    2004 Therapeutic Dictionary of Rheumatology and Immunology 2004

    Research Overview

  • Dr. Bridges' research interests include the role of B lymphocytes and autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), particularly immunoglobulin gene expression and antibody repertoires. In addition, his research has focused on pathogenesis of RA, and genetic influences on RA susceptibility and severity, particularly in African-Americans, and on biomarkers of treatment response in RA.
    In his role as Associate Director of the INvestigationS In Gout, Hyperuricemia, and comorbidiTies (INSIGHT) Center of Research Translation (NIH/NIAMS P50 AR060772, K. Saag, PI), he is involved in strategic planning and execution of the projects, training and outreach, and pilot projects. He also serves on the Executive Committee and as Director of the Pilot Component of the UAB P2C National Resource Center for High-Impact Clinical Trials in Medical Rehabilitation, called the Rehabilitation Research Resource to Enhance Clinical Trials (REACT) Center led by Dr. Marcas Bamman. He also serves as co-PI with Dr. Bamman on a clinical study of progressive resistance exercise training plus adjunctive functional mobility training after total hip or knee arthroplasty to restore muscle mass and mobility function in patients with osteoarthritis and TWEAK (TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis)-mediated muscle inflammation.
  • Principal Investigator On

  • A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase II, Randomized Study of Lovastatin Therapy in the Treatment of Mildly Active Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by Duke University
  • A National Center for Digital Health Informatics Innovation  awarded by Oregon Health & Science University
  • ACE Protocol ARA08: Strategy to Prevent the Onset of Clinically-Apparent Rheumatoid Arthritis (StopRA)  awarded by University of California, San Francisco
  • ARA08 - Strategy to Prevent the Onset of Clinically-Apparent Rheumatoid Arthritis (StopRA)  awarded by Emory University
  • Continuation of the Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African-American with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CLEAR)  awarded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/NIH/DHHS
  • Dissection of the ACPA Response in African-Americans with Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Does Aggressive Treatment in Early RA Reduce Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Risk?  awarded by University of California, Los Angeles
  • Evolving Adaptive and Effector Mechanisms from Pre-RA Through Established Disease  awarded by Northwestern University
  • Genome Research in African American Scleroderma Patients (GRASP Study)  awarded by Scleroderma Research Foundation
  • Genome-Wide Association Study in African-Americans With Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Interferon Gamma in Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by RHEUMATOLOGY RESEARCH FOUNDATION
  • Lipids and Inflammation  awarded by VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
  • Molecular, Functional and Structural Analyses of Anti-PAD Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Multi-Cytokine Profiling and Correlates with Outcome Measures and Treatment Responses in TETRAD  awarded by Stanford University
  • NIAMS Multidiscipllinary Clinical Research Center - Project 3  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • National Resource Center for High-Impact Clinical Trials in Medical Rehabilitation: Pilot Projects Component  awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS
  • Private Grant  awarded by AMGEN, INC.^
  • Private Grant  awarded by NODALITY, INC.
  • Private Grant  awarded by EXAGEN
  • Private Grant  awarded by Pfizer Inc., U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group
  • Private Grant  awarded by Pfizer Inc., U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group
  • Private Grant  awarded by Pfizer Inc., U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group
  • Private Grant  awarded by Pfizer Inc., U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group
  • Private Grant  awarded by REGENERON GENETICS CENTER
  • Private Grant  awarded by BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium International (RACI)  awarded by FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
  • Serum Interferon Alpha/Beta Ratio as a Predictor of Response to Anti-TNF Alpha Therapy  awarded by MAYO CLINIC
  • The Rheumatoid Arthritis Responder Challenge  awarded by SAGE BIONETWORKS
  • The Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Tissue Network (REASON)  awarded by Northwestern University
  • The Role of the Interferon-Gamma-Jak/STAT Pathway in Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by DOD - ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
  • Training Program in Rheumatic Diseases Research  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Training Program in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Research  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Treatment Efficacy and Toxicity in Rheumatoid Arthritis Database and Repository (TETRAD)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAB Autoimmunity Center for Excellence: Core B - Immunomodulatory Studies Core  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAB Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (P60)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAB Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center - Core A (Administrative Core)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAHSF General Endowment Fund Scholar (HSF-GEF)  awarded by UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA HEALTH SERVICES FOUNDATION
  • Investigator On

  • Arthritis Patient Partnership With Comparative Effectiveness Researchers (AR-Power PPRN)  awarded by GLOBAL HEALTHY LIVING FOUNDATION
  • Building and InnovatinG: Digital heALTH Technology and Analytics (BIGDATA)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Building and InnovatinG: Digital heAlth Technology and Analytics (BIGDATA) - Administrative Core  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Centers of Research Translation (CoRT)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Centers of Research Translation (CoRT) - Administrative Core  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Centers of Research Translation (CoRT) - Project 3  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Control of B Cell Differentiation by IFNg Induced Transcription Factors  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Discovering Novel Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for RA in African Americans  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Functional and Integrative Omics of Hyperuricemia to Gout and Recurrent Flares  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Genetic Architecture of Rheumatoid Arthritis in African-Americans  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • INvestigations In Gout, Hyperuricemia, and ComorbidiTies (INSIGHT) Center of Research Translation (CORT)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • INvestigations In Gout, Hyperuricemia, and ComorbidiTies (INSIGHT) Center of Research Translation (CORT) - Administrative Core  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Integrating Genomic Risk Assessment for Chronic Disease Management in a Diverse Population  awarded by National Human Genome Research Institute/NIH/DHHS
  • Molecular Mechanisms of Multiple Sclerosis Disease Severity in African Americans  awarded by NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES/NIH/DHHS
  • NIAMS Multidiscipllinary Clinical Research Center  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • NIAMS Multidiscipllinary Clinical Research Center - Administrative Core  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • NIAMS Multidiscipllinary Clinical Research Center - Project 1  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • National Resource Center for High-Impact Clinical Trials in Medical Rehabilitation: Admin Oversight Component  awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS
  • Overcoming TWEAK Signaling to Restore Muscle and Mobility after Joint Replacement  awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS
  • Private Grant  awarded by Pfizer Inc., U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group
  • Rehabilitation Research Resource to Enhance Clinical Trials (REACT)  awarded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/NIH/DHHS
  • Rheumatic Diseases Research Core Centers (P30)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Rheumatic Diseases Research Core Centers - Core A: Administrative Core  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Safety and Effectiveness of Live Zoster Vaccine in Anti-TNF Users (VERVE Trial)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Skeletal Muscle in Rheumatoid Arthritis  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • TLR7 and TLR9-Directed Plasma Cell Formation: Dissecting the Molecular Basis for their Differential Dependence on IFN-Induced Signals  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Tissue and Organ Specific Human B Cell Immunity  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Tissue and Organ Specific Human B Cell Immunity - Project 1: Development and Maintenance of Human Glycan and Phospholipid Antibody Repertoires  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Tissue and Organ Specific Human B Cell Immunity - Core B: Human Tissue Collection, Processing and Repository Core  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Tissue and Organ Specific Human B Cell Immunity - Core B: Human Tissue Collection, Processing and Repository Core  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAB Autoimmunity Center for Excellence  awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • UAB Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (P60)  awarded by National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases/NIH/DHHS
  • Teaching Overview

  • Dr. Bridges is highly committed to mentoring trainees in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases research through his role as PI of the Training Program in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Research (NIH/NIAMS T32 AR069516). This program brings together the expertise of faculty and staff in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, and multiple other Divisions, Departments, Schools, and Research Centers at UAB. He also provides clinical teaching in the outpatient rheumatology clinics at UAB, as well as didactic lectures on RA and other rheumatic diseases.
  • Education And Training

  • University of Texas Medical Branch Internal Medicine, Chief Resident
  • University of Texas Medical Branch Internal Medicine, Internship
  • University of Texas Medical Branch Internal Medicine, Residency
  • UAB Hospital, Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, University of Alabama at Birmingham 1995
  • Doctor of Medicine, Louisiana State University System : University of New Orleans 1984
  • Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of Notre Dame 1980
  • Full Name

  • S. Louis Bridges