John Varga, MD, FACP, MACR
Frederick G L Huetwell Research Professor of Rheumatology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Professor of Dermatology and Section Head
Division of Rheumatology

Available to mentor

John Varga, MD, FACP, MACR
Professor
  • About
  • Links
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
  • About

    John Varga MD attended Columbia University in New York, and obtained his medical degree from New York University. He completed Internal Medicine Residency at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and Rheumatology Fellowship at Boston University. Following post-doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, he was on the faculty of the University of Illinois and Northwestern University in Chicago, and recently was recruited to Chief of Rheumatology at the University of Michigan. For the past three decades, Varga’s research has focused on fibrosis and the application of precision medicine approaches to improve patient outcomes. His lab, continuously funded by the NIH, investigates immunological and cellular mechanisms of fibrosis. He has served as a charter member of the NIH ACTS Study section and Co-Editor of Arthritis and Rheumatology, and is a member of the ACR Board of Directors. He is the author of more than 380 journal articles and book chapters and three textbooks. He has mentored over 20 post-doctoral MD and PhD trainees, many of whom have gone on to develop successful academic or industry careers.

    Links
    • John Varga Sclerolab
    Qualifications
    • Post-doctoral Research Fellow, T32
      University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1987
    • Rheumatology Fellow
      Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, 1985
    • Intern and Resident in Medicine
      Rhode Island Hospital/Brown, United States, 1983
    • MD
      New York University School of Medicine, New York, 1980
    • BA
      Columbia University, New York, 1975
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics
    Research Overview

    My lab studies inflammation and metabolism in the context of chronic autoimmune and fibrotic diseases. We use mouse models, patient samples, genetics and genomics to identify mechanisms of disease and novel targets for therapy. Our research is patient-oriented and we embrace of a tight "bench-to-bedside-to bench" approach. Our Michigan Scleroderma Program afford unique access to patients including genetics and biological specimen, for our research, including early-stage clinical trials.

    Visit the John Varga Sclerolab website: https://medresearch.umich.edu/labs-departments/labs/sclerolab

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Inhibiting triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 signaling to ameliorate skin fibrosis.
      Bale S, Verma P, Yalavarthi B, Bajželj M, Hasan SA, Silverman JN, Broderick K, Shah KA, Hamill T, Khanna D, Sigalov AB, Bhattacharyya S, Varga J. JCI Insight, 2024 Dec 6; 9 (23): DOI:10.1172/jci.insight.176319
      PMID: 39418109
    • Journal Article
      Elevated neutrophil extracellular traps in systemic sclerosis-associated vasculopathy and suppression by a synthetic prostacyclin analog.
      Kortam N, Liang W, Shiple C, Huang S, Gedert R, Clair JS, Sarosh C, Foster C, Tsou P-S, Varga J, Knight JS, Khanna D, Ali RA. Arthritis Res Ther, 2024 Jul 25; 26 (1): 139 DOI:10.1186/s13075-024-03379-6
      PMID: 39054558
    • Journal Article
      Protocol for the development of a tool to map systemic sclerosis pain sources, patterns, and management experiences: a Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network patient-researcher partnership.
      Dal Santo T, Golberg M, Nassar E-L, Carrier M-E, Hu S, Kwakkenbos L, Bartlett SJ, Fox RS, Lee YC, Varga J, Benedetti A, Thombs BD, Scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network Pain Patient Advisory Team . BMC Rheumatol, 2024 Jun 21; 8 (1): 28 DOI:10.1186/s41927-024-00398-3
      PMID: 38907303
    • Journal Article
      Senescence and tissue fibrosis: opportunities for therapeutic targeting.
      O'Reilly S, Tsou P-S, Varga J. Trends Mol Med, 2024 Dec; 30 (12): 1113 - 1125. DOI:10.1016/j.molmed.2024.05.012
      PMID: 38890028
    • Journal Article
      Systems-based identification of the Hippo pathway for promoting fibrotic mesenchymal differentiation in systemic sclerosis.
      Ma F, Tsou P-S, Gharaee-Kermani M, Plazyo O, Xing X, Kirma J, Wasikowski R, Hile GA, Harms PW, Jiang Y, Xing E, Nakamura M, Ochocki D, Brodie WD, Pillai S, Maverakis E, Pellegrini M, Modlin RL, Varga J, Tsoi LC, Lafyatis R, Kahlenberg JM, Billi AC, Khanna D, Gudjonsson JE. Nat Commun, 2024 Jan 3; 15 (1): 210 DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-44645-6
      PMID: 38172207
    • Chapter
      Trimethylamine N-oxide: a meta-organismal axis linking the gut and fibrosis.
      Jang JW, Capaldi E, Smith T, Verma P, Varga J, Ho KJ. Mol Med, 2024 Aug 23; 30: 128 DOI:10.1186/s10020-024-00895-8
      PMID: 39180015
    • Journal Article
      Challenges and solutions for cellular therapy development in autoimmune diseases.
      Volkmann ER, Varga J, Blazar BR, Pavletic SZ. Lancet Rheumatol, 2024 Nov; 6 (11): e740 - e743. DOI:10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00274-1
      PMID: 39332423
    • Journal Article
      Curating Genetic Associations With Rheumatologic Autoimmune Diseases to Improve Patient Outcomes.
      Bridges SL, Shapira R, Aksentijevich I, Mack SJ, Merriman TR, Klein CJ, Bowen BM, Klein TE, ClinGen Rheumatologic Autoimmune Disease Clinical Domain Working Group . Arthritis Rheumatol, 2024 Nov; 76 (11): 1577 - 1581. DOI:10.1002/art.42943
      PMID: 38965695
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