Rhea Bhargava, MD Assistant Professor at Tulane University
My Journey till now as a developing physician scientist .
What do I do at Tulane? As a physician-scientist, my work in lupus
nephritis focuses on advancing our understanding and treatment of
this complex disease. At Tulane University School of Medicine, I
balance clinical care with research aimed at improving outcomes for
patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
How important is educating to you? I am committed to medical
education, serving as the Mechanism of Disease Renal Module
Director and a member of the Clinical Competency Committee for
Nephrology. I believe the path that I chose in my career stemmed
from having phenomenal mentors incredibly early in medical school
and my hope is for everyone entering medicine to find that
professional family.
About my research – My research explores the interaction between
the immune system and kidney resident cells with the hope of
deciphering specific organ mechanisms that build tolerance against
autoimmunity in lupus nephritis. I have been fortunate to receive
funding from the NIH/NIAID K99/R00 Pathway to Independence
Award, the Deep South KUH PRIME ESTEEM program, Paul Teschan
Research Fund and the COBRE in Sex-Based Medicine initiative,
enabling me to investigate how aberrant kidney cells signaling can
instigate organ involvement in SLE with an approach that integrates
energetics , glycobiology and immunology.
What I have learned – As physicians, our role extends beyond treating
patients—we must continuously ask questions. It is through looking at
the unmet needs of our patients that we discover what works and
what does not. These inquiries spark chain reactions, leading to new
scientific breakthroughs. Also, science and medicine is hard! But they
are necessary and too important to let setbacks deter us from our
goal. They should bring us close and build collaborations with the
eventual goal of fulfilling an unmet need for at least one patient.