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Rheumatology doc receives Arthritis Investigator Award Jim C. Oates, M.D., received the Arthritis Investigator Award of the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation. The award will support his research project aimed at the development of more targeted and less toxic therapies for lupus and its related inflammatory kidney disease. Oates is an assistant professor of medicine in MUSC's Division of Rheumatology and Immunology “We are extremely proud that one of our faculty members is the only investigator in the country chosen to receive this highly competitive and very prestigious award,” said Richard M. Silver, M.D., director of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.   The purpose of the Arthritis Investigator Award is to encourage young physicians to pursue a career devoted to research in rheumatology. Recipients are individuals who have completed at least one year of a rheumatology fellowship, have embarked on a career in academic medicine and have demonstrated great potential as  investigators. The awards are based on previous training and accomplishments as well as their proposal of scientific research. About a third of lupus patients develop nephritis. This condition is potentially serious as it can lead to kidney failure. Presently corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs are used to treat this condition, but these therapies are controversial because of the serious side effects associated with their use. Oates' award of $75,000 per year for three years will support his research into how nitric oxide plays a role in a chain of events leading to inflammation and reduced kidney function in lupus patients. An understanding of this process could lead to more targeted and less toxic therapies. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Oates received his postdoctoral training at Duke University Medical Center and MUSC. He has been on the faculty of the Medical University since 1997.  He also serves an associate investigator at the Charleston Veteran's Administration Medical Center where he was a recipient of the Associate Investigator Award of the Department of Veterans Affairs.