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Randy Cron

Randy Cron, MD

Pediatric Rheumatology

Accepting New Patients
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Highlights

Age Groups Seen

  • Pediatrics
  • Teenagers

Languages

  • English

About Randy Cron

Biography

My research training began at the NIH (as a HHMI scholar) and continued with a PhD in Immunology following my mentor, Dr. Jeff Bluestone, to the University of Chicago, where I characterized murine peripheral TCR T cell repertoire, phenotype, and effector function. I completed medical school at UCLA and did a Pediatrics residency at Stanford where I gained an interest in Rheumatology. This was followed by a fellowship at the University of Washington in Pediatric Rheumatology. I returned to the lab to study human CD4 T cell effector function regulated at the transcriptional level with Dr. David Lewis. Following Dr. Lewis to Stanford, I completed an HHMI post-doctoral fellowship exploring CD154 dysregulation in systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as HIV-1 transcriptional regulation by NFAT transcription factors. This was the basis for my own lab’s studies at the University of Pennsylvania. I was recruited to UAB in 2007 to begin a division of Pediatric Rheumatology. In general, my lab studies CD4 T cell transcription in primary human CD4 T cells. As such, we have adapted or developed an array of useful methodologies/technologies for studying gene transcription (CD154, HIV-1, and others) in primary murine and human CD4 T cells. In addition, we are exploring the role of the Treg transcription factor, FoxP3, for its ability to inhibit HIV-1 transcription, and for Tregs to inhibit HIV-1 expression in neighboring CD4 T cells and macrophages. In collaboration with the Kutsch lab, we continue to explore transcriptional control of HIV-1 latency. Lastly, we are studying the effect of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) patient mutations for their ability to decrease perforin-mediated cytolytic activity in NK cells. Many MAS patients have single copy mutations in familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis genes, and these mutations function as partial dominant negative proteins to inhibit cytolysis.

Title

Director of Pediatric Rheumatology

Research Interests

Functional Genetics of Macrophage Activation Syndrome
Temporomandibular Joint Arthritis

Publications

Awards & Recognition

AWARDS/HONORS:
1985 Watkins Award (outstanding male graduate), University of California at Riverside
1985 Summer Externship/Scholarship, Riverside Medical Clinic/University of California at Riverside, Biomedical Sciences Department
1986 Graduate Scholarship, The International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta
1986 Research Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute/National Institutes of Health
1988 Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust recipient, University of Chicago
1988 Dean's Fund recipient, University of Chicago
1991 Outstanding Performance in the Field of Immunology, University of Chicago
1996 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
1997 Travel Award, American College of Rheumatology Research & Education Foundation
1997 Senior Scholar Award, American College of Rheumatology/Merck
1998 Child Health Research Center Scholar, Stanford University Medical Center
1999 Arthritis Foundation Investigator Award
1999 Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Scholar
2000 Child Health Research Center Scholar, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
2000 Junior Clinical Investigator Award, General Clinical Research Center, CHOP
2000 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Clinical Research Scientist, alternate recipient
2000 Searle Scholar, representative of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School
2000 MAPS-CHRC National Meeting, invited presenter
2001 Mary L. Smith Charitable Trust grant recipient
2001 Junior Faculty Exchange Program with EULAR, American College of Rheumatology/Merck
2002 Society for Pediatric Research Young Investigator Travel Award
2002 American Association of Immunologists Junior Faculty Travel Award
2002 Arthritis National Research Foundation grant recipient
2002 Dorough Lupus Foundation grant recipient
2002 Society for Pediatric Research (SPR), elected member
2003 Arthritis Foundation, Travel Award, Arthritis Research Conference
2004 Nickolett Family Awards Program for JRA Research grant recipient
2004 The Ethel Brown Foerderer Fund for Excellence fellow/grant recipient
2005 Nickolett Family Awards Program for JRA Research grant recipient
2006 American Association of Immunologists Junior Faculty Travel Award
2006 Keynote Speaker, UMDNJ Department of Medicine Residents Research Day
2006 Kassie McMullen Biglaw Memorial Research Award, Lupus Foundation of America
2007 Inaugural Holder of Arthritis Foundation, Alabama Chapter Endowed Chair in Pediatric Rheumatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
2007 Invited Lecturer, 52nd Annual Lowe Conference on Rheumatic Diseases, Camp McDowell, AL
2008 Invited Lecturer, ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Chicago, IL
2008 Established Kennedy Family Endowed Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship slot ($1.5M)
2009 Invited Lecturer, Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 Ralph V. Platou, MD, Lecturer, Pediatric Grand Rounds, Tulane SOM, New Orleans, LA
2011 Invited Lecturer, Pediatric Rheumatology: An Update for Clinicians, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY
2011 Invited Lecturer, EUROtmJOINT, 3rd International Conference of TMJ Arthritis in Children with JIA, Kiel, Germany
2011 Invited Lecturer, Venenum Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series, HUMIGEN, Hamilton, NJ
2011 American College of Rheumatology REF/AMGEN Pediatric Rheumatology Visiting Professor
2011 Nominee, Council member of Society for Pediatric Research (SPR)
2011 UAB Health Care Leadership Academy, selected member
2012 UAB Health Care Leadership Academy, elected to advisory board
2012 Alabama Society for Rheumatic Diseases, elected as President
2012 Senior Host, ACR/EULAR Exchange Program
2012 selected by peers as “Super Doctor” (~top 5% of physicians in region) [superdoctors.com]
2012 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award
2013 Established Kennedy Family Endowed Pediatric Rheumatology Invited Lectureship ($100K)
2013 Rud Polhill/Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI) grant recipient
2013 Invited Lecturer, EuroTMjoint Meeting, Aarhus, Denmark
2013 Alabama Society for Rheumatic Diseases, re-elected as President
2013 selected as a Top Rheumatologist in Birmingham, AL by Internat. Assoc. of Health Care Profess.
2013 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award
2013 Invited Lecturer, AAOMS (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons) Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL
2013 Invited Lecturer, 10th Annual Lectureship in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, UAB
2014 American College of Rheumatology RRF/AMGEN Pediatric Rheumatology Visiting Professor
2014 Invited Lecturer, EuroTMjoint Meeting, Tampere, Finland
2014 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Medical Education Award
2014 Invited Lecturer, 30th Annual Histiocyte Society meeting, Toronto, ON
2015 American Pediatric Society (APS), elected member
2015 Invited Lecturer, 8th Annual Conference of the Rheumatology Nurses Society, Orlando, FL
2015 selected as Castle Connolly Top Doctor, America’s Top Doctors
2015 selected as Top Doctor by B-Metro Magazine
2015 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award
2016 Rud Polhill/Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI) grant recipient
2016 APS International Travel Grant Program (ITPF) recipient to attend the European Academy of Paediatric Societies (EAPS) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland
2016 selected member, American Board of Pediatrics Content Development Team, Peds. Rheum.
2016 selected member, ACR RRF Scientific Advisory Council
2016 selected as Top Doctor by B-Metro Magazine
2016 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award
2016 UAB/HudsonAlpha Center for Genomic Medicine grant recipient
2017 Histiocytosis Association, grant recipient
2017 Key Note Lecturer, 5th Annual James and Nancy Cassidy Endowed Lecture in Pediatric Rheumatology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
2017 American College of Rheumatology RRF/AMGEN Pediatric Rheumatology Visiting Professor
2017 Chair, ACR Pediatric Rheumatology Visiting Professorship program
2017 Invited Lecturer, NextGen Meds in SJIA & MAS Conference, Washington, DC
2017 Nominee, UAB Department of Pediatrics, Research Achievement Award
2017 Department of Pediatrics Excellence in Teaching Award
2018 Invited Lecturer, Arizona United Rheumatology Alliance (AURA) annual meeting, Sedona, AZ
2018 Invited Lecturer, 6th Annual James and Nancy Cassidy Endowed Lecture in Pediatric Rheumatology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Memberships

American Association of Immunologists
American College of Rheumatologists
American Pediatric Society
Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA)
EuroTMJoint Network

View Academic Profile

Expertise

Education

  • Fellowship: Howard Hughes Fellow, 1999
  • Fellowship: University of Washington Medical Center, 1997
  • Residency: Lucille Salter Packard Childrens' Hospital, 1994
  • Medical Education: UCLA School of Medicine, 1991
  • Graduate School: University of Chicago School of Medicine, 1990

Board Certifications

  • Pediatric Rheumatology: American Board of Pediatrics, 1998