Rheumatologist Recognized by Scleroderma Foundation

Maureen D. Mayes, M.D., professor of internal medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, was among four honorees recognized during the Scleroderma Foundation’s National Gala Oct. 14 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas.

Maureen D. Mayes, M.D.

“This year’s group of honorees is worthy of our adulation based on their commitment, passion and dedication toward finding a cure for this difficult disease,” said Joseph Camerino, Ph.D., board chairman of the Scleroderma Foundation.

Scleroderma is a chronic, often progressive, autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own body. It can cause thickening and tightening of the skin and, in some cases, causes serious damage to internal organs. It affects about 300,000 nationwide, mostly women ages 25-55.

Mayes, who has worked in the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunogenetics at the UT Medical School since 2002, is principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases’ Scleroderma Family Registry and DNA Repository.

She leads the Houston site of a multi-center clinical trial that is studying the effectiveness of a cancer drug and stem cell transplantation in the treatment of scleroderma. Mayes also is author of The Scleroderma Book: A Guide for Patients and Families (Oxford University Press, c1999).