Thank you for your interest in and support of our APS Program! We continue to pursue personalized, proactive treatments for APS with a long-term goal of a cure. We do this work to make lives better, and we hope we can use these emails to build a community of others who want the same. We’re all in this together!

APS PROGRAM UPDATE TURNS ONE

We are proud to announce that the Michigan Medicine APS Program Update is one year old this month! Our newsletter now reaches thousands of readers, and we appreciate everyone who has shared it with friends and family. We have enjoyed the opportunity to talk about our work and have appreciated the awesome feedback. We look forward to continuing to grow this community!

Rogue Antibodies Make Cells “Sticky” to Trigger Blood Clots in COVID-19 Patients

Hui Shi, MD, PhD, former member of the Knight Lab, leads team in discovering that “rogue” antibodies found circulating in the blood of COVID-19 patients have the potential to cause cells to lose their resistance to clotting. Read more.

Kids with Rare Autoimmune Disease Show These Symptoms Before Blood Clots

Jacqueline Madison, MD and team discover that children with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) regularly experience additional symptoms not formally associated with APS in adults. Read more.

RESEARCH & CLINICAL TRIALS

Queen Anne’s Lupus, COVID-19, and the Pursuit of Personalized Medicine for APS

Jason Knight, MD, PhD talks about the history of APS, its connection to COVID-19, and one of the goals of the Michigan Medicine APS Program at the Hospital for Special Surgery, Rheumatology Grand Rounds in January 2022. Listen to the lecture.

APS 101: APRIL 2022

APS 101, written by Dr. Jacqueline Madison, takes you through the ins and outs of APS, providing facts and key information to help you better understand the disease. In this month’s edition, Dr. Madison discusses what medications are available to treat and prevent blood clots. Read more.

Our lab is comprised of many talented and dedicated researchers all working towards the common goal of making the lives of APS patients better. This month we are highlighting one of our research laboratory technicians, Sherwin Navaz, BS.

Meet Sherwin Navaz, BS

Sherwin Navaz, BS, a research laboratory technician working under the supervision of Dr. Ray Zuo, began pursuing his undergraduate education at the University of Michigan in 2016. Sherwin graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a Minor in Music. Sherwin obtained a position in the Knight Lab in 2021 where he researches blood clotting mechanisms in antiphospholipid syndrome and COVID-19. Read more.

As you may recall, Sparky is a 5-year-old beagle. My family and I adopted him after he was found wandering the streets by a Good Samaritan when he was a puppy.

Did you know that my family and I live in a house that is right next door to my school? Like, literally. The school yard is on the other side of a tall chain-link fence at the edge of our backyard. No one has a shorter walk to school than me.

When we first moved into this house, the fence was breaking down. Sparky used this opportunity to furtively slip through the fence and escape onto the school's property. We were eventually able to get Sparky back to our house, but not before he had an “adverse event” (my dad’s term) with the groundskeeper. We built a stronger fence, so Sparky couldn't escape anymore. It has now been two years and so far, so good. Well, except for his adverse event with the groundhog that I wrote about last summer. If your name starts with “ground,” it is probably best to stay clear of Sparky.

Since we are in the middle of a pandemic, the school makes everyone go outside a lot more than usual. When everyone is outside, Sparky likes to hang out with all the kids. Some kids race him to see who is faster. Some kids like to talk to him about their own pets. Some kids give Sparky a few bits of their lunch food. The last group are the kids Sparky likes the very best.

When Sparky barks, it is so loud. I will be inside the school in the middle of class, and I'll just hear Sparky’s barks. I know it is him because it is not a normal bark, but a beagle arrooo.

I tend to walk Sparky around the block, but my dad likes to take him to the school grounds in the evenings. Sparky likes this because he can hunt around the picnic tables to see if his beagle nose can lead him to any leftover food.

That's all for now. Thanks for coming to my Spark Bark!