By Merin C. MacDonald
In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Karen Salomon-Escoto, MD, associate professor of medicine and clinician-researcher in the Division of Rheumatology. Dr. Salomon-Escoto's work primarily focuses on musculoskeletal ultrasonography, with a research interest in inflammatory arthritis disease. Her interest in inflammatory arthritis has led to national and international collaboration with senior investigators that focus on the quantitative assessment of disease.
Dr. Salomon-Escoto has also collaborated with investigators from the NIH’s Accelerated Medicines Partnerships (AMP) and performed ultrasound-guided synovial biopsies, which supported studies aimed at understanding genetic and cellular signals that will provide new insights into rheumatoid arthritis. She is an active investigator in the UMass Rheumatology Clinical Trials Program and is the site Principal Investigator of an international multicenter study focused on developing a sonographic scoring system for enthesitis in psoriatic arthritis (GRAPPA DUET Study). Additionally, from 2011-2015, Dr. Salomon-Escoto served as the United States coordinator for an international rheumatoid arthritis database (METEOR), which focused on disease activity assessment.
Dr. Salomon-Escoto earned her medical degree from Universidad Nacional Pedro H. Urena in the Dominican Republic. She completed her internship at Drexel University, her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology, both at UMass Chan. In 2008, she joined as faculty in the Division of Rheumatology at UMass Chan, where she is currently an associate professor of medicine. She is the founding director of the Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Rheumatology Clinic at UMMH and developed an ultrasound curriculum for the Rheumatology fellowship program. Dr. Salomon-Escoto is a member of the American College of Rheumatology, the Ultrasound School of North American Rheumatologists, and the Arthritis Foundation. In 2021, Dr. Salomon-Escoto was appointed as the UMass Health Specialty Pharmacy Champion, where she educates about the services provided by the specialty pharmacy, supports workflow, clinical research, and new specialty prescriptions.
We are grateful for Dr. Salomon-Escoto’s leadership and innovative approach to clinical investigation, patient care, and medical education, and thank her for her diverse contributions to the Department of Medicine.