Dr. Sivia Lapidus is a full-time Pediatric Rheumatologist at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, Hackensack Meridian Health, with a passion for translational science research, particularly focused on autoinflammatory diseases. She has been the leader of the CARRA PFAPA/Autoinflammatory Disease Work Group since its inception in 2013 and is also actively involved in the CRMO, Kawasaki Disease, and JDM Work Groups.
Dr. Lapidus’ path to Pediatric Rheumatology was shaped by her early interest in nephrology, but her true passion emerged during her pediatric internship, where she was inspired by Drs. Ilowite, Gottlieb, and Eberhard while caring for a young lupus patient. Her career is also a tribute to her grandmother, who passed away from Rheumatoid Arthritis in the pre-DMARD and pre-biologic era.
Outside of work, Dr. Lapidus enjoys spending time with her teenage sons and their puppy, embracing family life with all its challenges and joys. She also loves walking, reading, theater, music, and, of course, sipping a hot cup of cinnamon tea. Fun Fact: Dr. Lapidus graduated from a school in the Washington, DC area, where she attended from 1st through 12th grade. Remarkably, four of the school’s graduates, including two from her own class of just 45 students, went on to become pediatric rheumatologists, all of whom are now involved with CARRA!
As the leader of the CARRA PFAPA/Autoinflammatory Disease Work Group, Dr. Lapidus has led critical efforts in developing Consensus Treatment Plans (CTPs) for PFAPA. Dr. Lapidus is particularly proud of her work in developing the Consensus Treatment Plans (CTPs) for PFAPA, an initiative that began as an international effort through CARRA, bringing together multidisciplinary perspectives and patient voices. Building on this work, she has contributed to advancing the study of PFAPA CTPs through comparative effectiveness research, including validating the Autoinflammatory Disease Activity Index in PFAPA, supported by a large CARRA grant awarded to Nadine Saad.
More recently, Dr. Lapidus has been involved in the PETALS (PFAPA Evaluation of Treatment ALgorithms Study) collaboration with CARRA and PReS, led by early investigators Samira Nazzar Romero and Mehmet Yildiz. This ongoing research is expected to provide crucial data to guide treatment for the most common recurrent fever syndrome in North America. Dr. Lapidus envisions a future of deeper international collaborations and hopes to develop a funded infrastructure to study recurrent fever syndromes’ therapies and mechanisms. She hopes to expand partnerships with societies such as the International Society of Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases (ISSAID), the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS), and the Translational Autoinflammatory Research Network (TARN) to expand research capabilities in rare diseases with limited resources.
Her unwavering commitment to pediatric rheumatology, coupled with her leadership in CARRA, continues to make a profound impact on the field, helping shape the future of pediatric rheumatology research and patient care.
– Bailey Parker, Membership Coordinator
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