# A Personalized, Patient-Centered Approach to Optimizing Lupus Care

> **NIH NIH K23** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $174,960

## Abstract

Candidate: April Jorge, MD is an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and an Assistant in
Medicine in the Rheumatology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). After graduating from the
University of Maryland magna cum laude, she received her MD from Georgetown University, and she
completed her internal medicine residency at Northwestern University. She completed her rheumatology
fellowship at MGH, during which she also completed the Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Research
Academy and began working with Hyon Choi, MD, DrPH. Dr. Jorge's prior work has resulted in 15 peer-
reviewed original papers, with 13 as the first author or co-first author. Her goal is to become an independent
investigator and innovative leader in patient-oriented research of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Mentorship, Training Activities, and Environment: Dr. Jorge will conduct the proposed project at MGH
under the mentorship of Hyon Choi, MD, DrPH and co-mentorship of Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH and Karen
Sepucha, PhD. Dr. Choi is a world-renowned, NIH-funded physician scientist in advanced clinical epidemiology
of rheumatic conditions, ranging from common disorders to rare but serious disorders (e.g., SLE). He has
served as a mentor for several prior K awardees. Dr. Costenbader is a clinical investigator and expert in SLE
who is also an experienced mentor of K awardees. Dr. Sepucha is a leading expert in patient-centered
decision science. Dr. Jorge's research will also benefit from the specific expertise of her key collaborators,
including advanced clinical epidemiology methods, machine learning prediction algorithms, and decision-
analytic modeling. In addition to receiving excellent mentorship, she will acquire new skills through didactics in
advanced clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology, risk prediction, eliciting patient preferences with a
mixed methods research approach, and decision-analytic modeling.
Research: SLE carries increased risks of multiple comorbidities and double the risk of death compared to the
general population. Current treatment is limited in part by few proven medications and adverse treatment
effects. The central goal of this research is to improve long-term SLE outcomes by integrating personalized
risks of potential harms and benefits with patient preferences to guide the personalized, patient-centered use
of key lupus medications. To achieve this goal, she will risk stratify patients for potential harms of treatment,
i.e., hydroxychloroquine retinopathy and infection with belimumab use versus other immunosuppressants, and
other adverse outcomes, i.e., severe COVID-19 infection (Aim 1). She will elicit patient preferences for SLE
treatment through a discrete choice experiment (Aim 2a) and will integrate patient preferences with
personalized risks through a multi-criteria decision analysis to determine the optimal hydroxychloroquine dose
in SLE care (Aim 2b). Completion of this proposal and training p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10377522
- **Project number:** 5K23AR079040-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** April Jorge
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $174,960
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10377522

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10377522, A Personalized, Patient-Centered Approach to Optimizing Lupus Care (5K23AR079040-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10377522. Licensed CC0.

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