![[Lupus Research Association image used to promote its recognition of U of A Arthritis Center director and Rheumatology division chief C. Kent Kwoh, MD]](https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/dr.kwoh_lupus_research_alliance_1920x1280px.jpg "Lupus Research Association image used to promote its recognition of U of A Arthritis Center director and Rheumatology division chief C. Kent Kwoh, MD")
Division of Rheumatology Chief and University of Arizona Arthritis Center Director C. Kent Kwoh, MD, MACR, has been recognized as a “Champion for Health Equity” in honor of Native American Heritage Month by the Lupus Research Alliance.
The New York-based health organization seeks to find better treatments and a cure for this debilitating autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs. Lupus affects about 1.5 million people in the U.S. and upwards of 5 million globally. Among ailments brought on by lupus, simple sun exposure can trigger skin rashes, itching, burning, joint pain, weakness and fatigue.
“Coming during Native American Heritage Month, this recognition serves as a wonderful tribute to Dr. Kwoh as well as the work being done to advance arthritis care throughout Native American populations,” said Tracy Shake, Arthritis Center community outreach and education activities director.
![[C. Kent Kwoh, MD]](https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/kwoh_c._kent_md_rheum-headshot_140x210px.jpg "C. Kent Kwoh, MD")
Dr. Kwoh’s recognition centers on his and his clinical team’s work to address the disproportionate impact lupus has on Native Americans. They regularly drive 1-2 hours to provide medical attention to lupus sufferers among the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui tribal nations.
Dr. Kwoh also has sought to give Native American people from these tribes and others greater access to research via three lupus clinical trials currently underway on which he serves as the principal investigator.
That access will expand with the Rheumatology clinic now joining the Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN) overseen by Lupus Therapeutics, the clinical affiliate of the Lupus Research Alliance. The clinic’s inclusion in the network began in May.
EXTRA: About Dr. Kwoh
![[Logo for the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson ]](https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/styles/very_small_image/public/rheum_rgb_primary.png?itok=7yl1QcYf "Logo for the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson")
Dr. Kwoh joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson faculty as Rheumatology division chief and Arthritis Center director in July 2013. Previously, he served as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology and was rheumatology section chief at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his residency ![[Logo for University of Arizona Arthitis Center]](https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/styles/very_small_image/public/arthritis_center_web_logos_2x.png?itok=lA-UYlNq "Logo for University of Arizona Arthitis Center")
training at the University of Illinois Hospitals and his fellowship training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. He also was a scholar with the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale University School of Medicine. He currently holds The Charles A.L. and Suzanne M. Stephens Chair of Rheumatology at the U of A.
ALSO SEE:
“Arthritis Center Director C. Kent Kwoh, MD, Named Master of the American College of Rheumatology” | Posted Nov. 7, 2023
“New UArizona Health Sciences Study to Focus on Link Between Knee Aging and Osteoarthritis” | Posted Jan. 27, 2022
“Dr. C. Kent Kwoh Recognized with College of Medicine – Tucson Mentoring Award” | Posted June 23, 2020