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Deana Lazaro, M.D., is Professor of Clinical Medicine at º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿Ëù Downstate Medical Center and serves as Chief of Rheumatology and Chief of General Internal Medicine at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System in Brooklyn and Interim Chief of Rheumatology at º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿Ëù Downstate Medical Center. A graduate of the NYU School of Medicine with fellowship training in Rheumatology at Rutgers–New Jersey Medical School, she has dedicated over three decades to advancing rheumatologic care for U.S. Veterans. Since 2003, Dr. Lazaro has also directed the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿Ëù Downstate Rheumatology Fellowship Program, where she has expanded training capacity, modernized curricula, and championed innovative teaching methods in musculoskeletal medicine and clinical professionalism.

Dr. Lazaro’s scholarly contributions span clinical research, medical education, and collaborative multicenter studies. She has been a long-standing investigator in the Veterans Affairs Rheumatoid Arthritis (VARA) Registry, contributing to numerous peer reviewed publications that examine genetic and clinical factors influencing outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. Her collaborations with the Brooklyn VA cardiovascular research group have yielded important insights into autoimmune related cardiac conduction abnormalities, while her work on ACR funded educational grants has helped define best practices in rheumatology training, including development of multimodal electives, simulation based instruction, and communication focused OSCE assessments.

A committed educator and mentor, Dr. Lazaro has trained generations of medical students, residents, and fellows, fostering careers in academic medicine and clinical rheumatology. She has been recognized for her contributions with honors such as the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿Ëù Downstate Distinguished Preceptor Award and has held leadership roles within the American College of Rheumatology, including Chair of the Clinician Scholar Educator Advisory Panel. Her service includes extensive work on institutional review boards, national teaching initiatives, and telehealth expansion efforts, all reflecting her dedication to improving rheumatologic care, medical education, and patient outcomes across diverse clinical settings.

Education

• BS, Seton Hall University, South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ – 9/78-5/82
• MD, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY – 9/82-5/86

Post-Graduate Training

• Internal Medicine Residency, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 11th and Walnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA – 7/86-6/89
• Internal Medicine Chief Residency, Morristown Memorial Hospital,100 Madison Avenue, Morristown, NJ – 7/89-6/90
• Rheumatology Fellowship, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 180 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ – 7/90-6/92

Career/Research interests

• Medical education
• Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus, particularly with regard to cardiovascular outcomes
• Veterans Health, with regard to rheumatic diseases

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• Bahouth, SW, DM Lazaro, DE Brundish, and JM Musacchio. Specific Binding of (3H-Tyr8)Physalaemin to Rat Submaxillary Gland Substance P Receptor, Molecular Pharmacology, 1985;27(1):39-45
• Lazaro, D, Elderly-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Prevalence, Clinical Course and Treatment, Drugs & Aging, 2007; 24(9), 701-715
• Berman J, Lazaro D, Fields T, Bass A, et. al. The New York City Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination: Five-year Data Demonstrates Its Validity, Usefulness as a Unique Rating Tool, Objectivity and Sensitivity to Change, Arthritis & Rheum, 2009; 61(12), 1686-1695
• Richards, JS, Cannon, GW, Hayden CL, Amdur RL, Lazaro D, Mikuls T, Reingold AM, Caplan L, Johnson DS, Schwab P, Cherascu BN, Kerr GS Adherence with Bisphosphonate Therapy in US Veterans With Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis Care & Research, 2012: 64(12):1864-70
• Caplan L, Davis L, Bright C, Kerr G, Lazaro, D, Khan N, Richards JS, Johnson D, Cannon G, Reimold A, Mikuls T, Body Mass Index and the Rheumatoid Arthritis Swollen Joint Count: an Observational Study, Arthritis Care & Research, 2013: 65(1):101-106
• Mikuls T, Padala P, Sayles H, Yu F, Michaud K, Caplan L, Kerr G, Reimold A, Cannon G, Richards JS, Lazaro D, Thiele G, Boscarino J, A Prospective Study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Disease Activity Outcomes in U.S. Veterans with Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis Care & Research, 2013:65(2):227-234
• Lazaro, Deana, Alon, L, Ramessar N, Cabas-Vargas J, Shwin K, Stefanov D. Intra-articular, Bursa, and Tendon Sheath Injections: A Survey of Practice Patterns Among Members of the American College of Rheumatology, J Clin Rheumatol 2014;20: 91-93

Books

• Krey, PK, Lazaro, DM. Analysis of Synovial Fluid in Diagnostic Studies in Rheumatology; Brandt, Kenneth D.(ed.) Ciba-Geigy Corp., Summit, NJ, 1992

Abstracts

• Lazaro, DM, Widman, D, Krey, PR. Childhood Dermatomyositis and Cerebrovascular Disease in a Patient with Klinefelter's Syndrome, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 1991;34(Suppl):R44
• Lazaro, DM, Goyal, J, Kyner, D, Blumenthal, D. Substance P Immunoreactivity in Synovial Fluid of Patients with Arthritis, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 1995;38 No.6(Suppl):R38
• Lutwick, L, Awobokun, O, Lazaro, D. Bacterial Tophitis (Infected Tophaceous Gout):Three Cases of a Difficult to Manage Entity, Abstracts of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 37th Annual Meeting,1999,No. 242.
• Lazaro D, Kumar V, Gonter N and Anderson N. Osteoporosis in a Male Veteran Population, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2003;48 No. 9(Suppl) : 698
• Berman, J, Fields, T, Reyes, C, Pillinger, M, Lazaro, D, Paget, Stephen, The New York Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (ROSCE): A Unique Tool for Assessing Trainees' Accomplishments in Humanistic and Patient-Centered Skills, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2004;50 No. 9(Suppl):611
• Berman, J, Fields, T, Azar, N, Pillinger, M, Lazaro, D, Putterman, C, Bass, A, Reyes, C, Paget, S, The Second Annual New York Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (ROSCE):Successful Expansion Demonstrates Feasibility as a Large Scale Rating Tool, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2005;52 No.9 (Suppl):1859
• Lazaro, D, Conyers, G, Ginzler, E M., A Web-Based Portfolio for Systems-Based Practice and Practice-Based Learning, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2005;52 No.9(Suppl):1100
• Berman, JR, Fields, T, Pillinger, MH, Lazaro, D, et.al. The Third Annual New York Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (ROSCE): Expansion and Validation of Fellow Assessment by Patient and Attending Raters, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2006; 54, (9 Suppl):1990, S782
• Berman, JR, Pillinger, MH, Bass, A, Fields, T, Paget, S, Weinstein, E, Lazaro, D, The Fourth Annual New York City Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (NYC ROSCE): Utility for Rating Trainee Professionalism, 2007 presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific meeting, abstract 1349, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2007;56 No.9(Suppl):S539
• Berman JR, Krasnokutsky S, Bass A, Fields T, Lazaro, D et. al. The Fifth Annual New York Rheumatology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (ROSCE): The Trainee Self-Assessment of Professionalism vs. Exam Raters, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2008; 58, (9 Suppl):79, S196
• Berman, J, Fields, T, Bass, A, Lazaro, D, et. al. Immediate Feedback During the Annual New ork Rheumaotlogy Objective Structured Clinical Examination (NY-ROSCE) Increases Intra-Exam Scores, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2009;60 (10 Suppl):S457
• Krishnamurthy A, Lazaro D, Blumenthal D, Gerber D, Flom PL, The Effect of Allopurinol on Renal Function in Patients with Hyperuricemia: A Case-Control Study, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2010;62 (10 Suppl); S68
• Leah A, Ramessar N, Cabas-Vargas J, Stefanov D, and Lazaro D, Musculoskeletal Corticosteroid and Local Anesthetic Injections; A Survey of Practice Patterns Among Members of the American College of Rheumatology, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2011 poster presentation
• Pruhs Z, Michaud KD,Erickson AR, Sayles H, Kerr GS, Gaffo A, Caplan L, Cannon GW, Lazaro D, Reimold A, Johnson D, Cherascu B, Schwab P, Khan N and MikulsT, Vascular Calcification On Hand and Wrist Radiographs Are Associated with Comorbidity and Overall Mortality In Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2011 poster presentation
• Vashisht, Sayles,Cannon, Kerr, Schwab, Lazaro, Reimold, Khan, Cherascu,Gaffo, Johnson, Mikuls and Michaud, Generalizability of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Biologic Clinical Trials. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2011 poster presentation
• Johnson, Erickson,Cannon, Kerr, Caplan, Reimold, Richards, Schwab, Lazaro, Khan, Cherascu and Mikuls, Discordant Autoantibodies and Clinical Outcomes In Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2011 poster presentation
• Scheers-Masters J, Blumenthal D, Macrae J, Avitable M, Lazaro D, A Controlled Pilot Study on the Use of Active Learning Techniques during a Rheumatology Elective for Medical Residents, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2011 podium presentation
• Cabas-Vargas J, Alon L, Ramessar N, Stefanov J, Toro J, Lazaro D, Efficacy and Safety of Joint and Soft Tissue Injections; A Retrospective Study, Arthritis and Rheumatism, 2012 poster presentation
• Jessica Berman, Juliet Aizer, Anne R. Bass, Anne Davidson, Edward Dwyer, Theodore R. Fields, Wei-Ti Huang, Jane Kang, Leslie Kerr, Svetlana Krasnokutsky-Samuels, Deana M. Lazaro, Stephen A. Paget, Ed Parrish, Julie S. Schwartzman-Morris, Michael Pillinger, A Rheumatology OSCE (ROSCE) Using Challenging Patient Scenarios Shows Trainee Use of Medical Jargon Correlates Inversely with Perceptions of Professionalism. Podium presentation, ACR San Diego October 30, 2013