Meet the Grom / Thornton Lab
The Grom/Thornton Lab focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of juvenile arthritis and associated diseases. We also conduct translational research to identify biomarkers novel for rheumatic disease. Learn more about the members of our research team:
Alexei A. Grom, MD, Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Grom’s research has mainly involved translational projects focused on systemic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. He is particularly interested in the pathophysiologic pathways leading to the development macrophage activation syndrome, a life-threatening complication of SJIA. He applies recent advances in cellular immunology and next generation sequencing to promote better understanding of disease pathogenesis, to develop new diagnostic tests and identify potential new targets for treatment. He has been a member of the team at Cincinnati Children’s since 1998.
Sherry Thornton, PhD, Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Thornton’s expertise lies in the pathogenesis of arthritis and cellular phenotyping. Her research involves the identification and characterization of genes involved in arthritis and functional analysis of these genes through in vitro functional cellular assays and in vivo animal models of arthritis. For cellular function, PBMC function from JIA subtypes are assessed along with miRNA analysis. In animal models, our research investigates the contribution of angiogenic and hemostatic factors to the pathogenesis of arthritis and the use of flow cytometry to determine cell populations in inflamed synovium and cellular autoimmune responses in animal models of inflammatory arthritis. Dr. Thornton is director of the Research Flow Cytometry Core, and director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program at Cincinnati Children’s.
Grant Schulert, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Schulert obtained his MD/PhD at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA in 2009. His pediatric residency and internship were at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. His research focus is on understanding molecular mechanisms of inflammation particularly as they relate to autoinflammatory diseases of childhood, specifically systemic JIA.
Visit the Schulert Lab.
Ndate Fall, BS, MS, Research Assistant IV
Ndate obtained her MS from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003. Her research focuses on Juvenile Dermatomyositis and Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA).
