We are thrilled to introduce the Blue Ribbon Panel for RheumMadness 2025: The Innovation Invitational.  This panel of distinguished rheumatologists will vote to determine which teams advance in the tournament.  The more your predictions match those of the panel, the more points you will get in the tournament!  Learn more about our panelists below.

Attending panel members:

• Anastasiya (Stacy) Bagrova, MD completed internal medicine residency at Duke, rheumatology fellowship at the University of South Florida, and is now a practicing rheumatologist in Clearwater, FL. Similar to her clinical practice, her clinical interests in rheumatology are broad.  Follow her on X at @asbagrova.
• Eric Dein, MD, is currently living in Jersey City, NJ – hometown of the March Madness great Cinderella St Peter’s Peacock team. He is currently practicing rheumatology at Atlantic Health System at Overlook Hospital in Summit and West Orange, NJ, after completing medical school, residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins. He is a USSONAR alumnus who utilizes musculoskeletal ultrasound in diagnosis and management of rheumatic disease. He is currently serving as ACR committee member on the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and enjoys advocacy trips to DC with Advocates for Arthritis. He has been a reporter for RheumNow at rheumatology conferences for the past 5 years. Follow him on X at @ericdeinmd.
• Rebecca Grainger, MB ChB (Dstn), PhD, FRACP, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand. A University of Otago medical graduate, she undertook rheumatology training in Melbourne and her PhD examined inflammatory mechanisms in gout. Dr. Grainger’s clinical work focuses on assessment and management of inflammatory arthritis and her particular clinical interests include inflammatory arthritis, gout, and scleroderma. Dr. Grainger’s academic interests are wide but she aims to undertake research in clinical rheumatology, health professions education and technology.  Follow her on X @Drbeckyg and on Bluesky at @profbeckyg.bsky.social.
• Lakshmi Jayaram, MD, is a clinician educator and Assistant Professor in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University. Her academic interests are mainly in medical education, quality improvement, patient safety and social determinants of health. As a clinician, she is a general rheumatologist with special interests in myositis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, and vasculitis.
• Michele Meltzer, MD, MBE, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She attended Hahnemann Medical School and rheumatology fellowship at Temple University Hospital. In 2007, she completed a Master’s of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Meltzer has been a ACR committee member of Rheumatologic Care and Ethics and Conflict of Interest committees. She serves as President and founding member of Rheumatology for All, a nonprofit whose mission is to increase access to rheumatology care in resource limited areas. She loves that RheumMadness makes learning about rheumatology fun and is accessible to students worldwide. Follow her at @mmeltz.bsky.social.
• Lisa Traboco, MD, is a rheumatologist with a passion for digital health, social media, telemedicine, and medical education. She likes to integrate technology into clinical practice and training, as well as participate in systems implementation. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Health Informatics while working at St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City in the Philippines. She is also actively involved in APLAR & has been an exchange scholar to Japan and the ACR. Her interests include learning languages, watching K-dramas & visiting historical museums. Follow her on X at @rheumarhyme and Bluesky at @rheumarhyme.bsky.social.

Fellow panel members:

This year, two fellows from the University of South Florida will work together to submit one collective vote for each matchup.

• Noor Bazerbashi, MD, is a second-year rheumatology fellow at the University of South Florida. She has a strong interest in interstitial lung disease and the applications of cellular therapy in rheumatic diseases.
• Molly Leavitt, MD, MBA, is a first-year rheumatology fellow at the University of South Florida. Her interests include medical education and reproductive health for patients with rheumatic diseases.