Interstitial Lung Disease Updates: Inaugural Symposium Hosted at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Clinical Trials and More

The Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center hosted its first Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Symposium in November 2022 with great success.

Jihane Faress, MD

“ILD is an umbrella term for a diverse group of diseases that have different underlying causes,” says Jihane Faress, MD, director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “They can be autoimmune, idiopathic or result from secondary exposure. We felt there was a need to educate our broader medical community on autoimmune ILD, a rare form caused by disorders such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory myopathies.”

Sonye Karen Danoff, MD, PhD, was the symposium’s keynote speaker. She is director of the Johns Hopkins Interstitial Lung Disease/Pulmonary Fibrosis Program, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center, and professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Dr. Danoff is an expert in autoimmune ILD, and she graciously agreed to come to Cleveland as our guest speaker,” says Dr. Faress.

In addition to Dr. Danoff and Dr. Faress, other special presenters included:

• Maroun Matta,MD, Co-Director for the Advanced Lung Disease Program, and Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Training at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

• Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, MD, Director of Pulmonary Pathology at the Cleveland Clinic

Area physicians, fellows, residents, physician assistants and nurses from pulmonology, radiology and pathology attended the multidisciplinary CME symposium in person and via Zoom. As Dr. Faress continues to grow the ILD program across University Hospitals Health System, plans for similar events are in the works.

“Our first symposium was a great educational opportunity,” she says. “We plan to host three events each year that focus on rare aspects of pulmonary and critical care medicine.” 

Weekly ILD Meetings

“We hold a weekly multidisciplinary meeting to discuss ILD cases in a format similar to a tumor board,” says Dr. Faress. “When Dr. Danoff was here, she shared that our process is similar to what they are doing at Johns Hopkins.” Consensus and recommendations from the discussions generate notes in the patients’ electronic medical records (EMRs), improving the accuracy of diagnoses and guiding the management of complex ILD cases.

New Lung Transplant Program Medical Director Named

Silpa Kilaru, MD

Silpa Kilaru, MD, has been named medical director of the Lung Transplant Program at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. For the past 10 years, Dr. Kilaru has served as a pulmonologist and assistant professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. After earning her medical degree at The Ohio State University, she completed an internship and residency at Georgetown University before staying on to complete a pulmonary and critical care fellowship and serving as chief fellow.

“There is no cure for ILD, and transplant can become the only hope for many of our patients,” says Dr. Faress. “We work closely with our lung transplant colleagues and are excited to welcome Dr. Kilaru to University Hospitals.”

Upcoming Clinical Trials

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center has a rich history of research leadership and continues to pioneer new therapies through clinical trials. The Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UH Cleveland Medical Center will soon be a site for two multicenter, Phase 2 interventional trials of pharmacological interventions for pulmonary fibrosis. “These are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of medications that will hopefully lead to therapies that are safe and effective for patients living with pulmonary fibrosis,” says Dr. Faress. 

For more information, contact Dr. Faress at Jihane.Faress@UHhospitals.org.

Contributing Expert:

Jihane Faress, MD

Director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center 

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine