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Final Program


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Melissa Cunningham, MD, PhD

Medical University of SC
Charleston, SC, United States

Melissa Cunningham, MD, PhD, was raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters degree in Molecular Medicine from Boston University. She earned both her PhD (2004) and MD (2006) at The Pennsylvania State University. After receiving her degrees she entered the ABIM’s clinician-scientist track at The Medical University of South Carolina, where she completed her residency and fellowship training in June 2012, and subsequently joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology. She was promoted to associate professor in 2019.

Dr. Cunningham has an interest in women’s health issues with a focus on sex bias in autoimmunity. Under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Gilkeson, her post-doctoral research focused on the female predominance in SLE. She investigates the role of estrogen receptor alpha on modulation of Toll-like receptor signaling and the inflammatory response, with a specific interest in innate immune cells. She was among 10 nationally to receive a Distinguished Fellow Award from the American College of Rheumatology in 2012. She recently completed a 5yr mentored career development K08 award and is currently supported by her first R01 through NIAMS.

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