(gentle music)
- Hi, I'm Nadia Morgan.
I'm a physician scientist and clinical investigator
in the division of rheumatology
here at Johns Hopkins.
My specific expertise lies in a condition
called systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma,
which literally means hard skin.
The hallmark of this condition is there's
tightening and scarring, or fibrosis, of the skin
but it's so much more than skin deep
because the internal organs can be affected as well
leading to overall disfunction.
(upbeat music)
There are so many things that I love
about the field of rheumatology.
For one, I really love interacting with my patients
and as a rheumatologist it allows for continuity of care.
Our patients have what we would consider to be
more chronic or long-standing conditions
and so it allows you the chance to get to know them,
to build a rapport, to build trust,
as you kind of follow them in their journey
towards helping to get them better
and another aspect that I love about rheumatology
is it really requires a lot of investigative work
with a lot of kind of cognitive thinking
because it can present in so many ways.
There are many faces, if you will, to it.
So it requires a great attention to detail,
taking into account all the different differentials
of what could be occurring, to ensure that you provide
the correct treatment at the right time.
(upbeat music)
I'm actually originally from Jamaica
so I'm kind of far away from home
but it is in many ways a dream come true for me
to be here and I think one of the great things
about Hopkins is that is, not just the opportunity to see
patients with these conditions
but to also have the opportunity to apply research
and corroborate with the patients,
with the scientists, with all their physicians,
to make a meaningful difference
and a breakthrough in treating their disease.
(upbeat music)
Honestly for me, a lot of this is about my patients.
They really do make it worthwhile.
Systemic sclerosis or scleroderma,
the condition that I treat, can in some cases
be very aggressive, very severe,
and for many of our patients who are leading normal,
healthy lives before this kind of came about,
so I value greatly the opportunity
to kind of help be a part of them understanding
what's going on and helping to get them better.
I also, especially being here at Johns Hopkins,
value the opportunity to kind of take my research
and the work I'm doing from the bench to the bedside
to apply it to clinical practice
and help inform the care of my patients.
(upbeat music)
So, my research is centered around looking at the fibrosis
or scarring component of scleroderma or systemic sclerosis
because this condition you can have scarring
you can also have the vessels being affected too
but the scarring aspect of staffer fibrosis
can definitely affect the overall quality of life,
affect functioning, and in some severe cases
lead to mortality.
So, my research is looking at particular proteins
in the blood called cytokines,
which we're hoping to use as what we would call
biomarkers of disease so we can better predict
which patients will down the road
have more severe, aggressive disease
with the ultimate goal to be to provide the right treatment
to the right patient at the right time.
I'm also fortunate in that I've been working
with a wonderful group of colleagues
both at John Hopkins and throughout the United States
and we're looking at inherited or genetic factors
that may predispose patients with scleroderma
who have African ancestry towards having
riskless scleroderma especially in its more rare forms.
So, we're kind of at the cutting edge of things
and we're very excited about what lies on the horizon
with that.
(upbeat music)