Description of Research Expertise

Dr. Rhee’s research program spans clinical and translational studies in humans that seek to understand disease pathogenesis and disease heterogeneity of multiple types of autoimmune vasculitis. Currently her research focuses on the role of the human microbiome in vasculitis and the identification of novel biomarkers in vasculitis.

Dr. Rhee led the development of a biorepository of nasal swab samples from patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis and healthy patients and is combining both culture-independent advanced molecular sequencing and bioinformatics with culture-dependent approaches to understanding how microbes interact with the immune system in autoimmune vasculitis.

Dr. Rhee is also part of a multi-disciplinary team that is studying the utility of vessel wall MRI in giant cell arteritis. She co-led the development of the Penn Giant Cell Arteritis Fast-Track Program and works with investigators in radiology and ophthalmology to develop improved diagnostics and markers of disease activity in giant cell arteritis.

Selected Publications

Rhee RL, Lu J, Bittinger K, Lee JJ, Mattei LM, Sreih AG, Chou S, Miner JJ, Cohen NA, Kelly BJ, Lee H, Grayson PC, Collman RG, Merkel PA: "Dynamic Changes in the Nasal Microbiome Associated with Disease Activity in Patients with Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis" Arthritis & Rheumatology : 2021.

Willett K, Sreih A, Rhee R, Lee V, Kwong B, Tamhankar MA: "Giant Cell Arteritis Associated with Multiple Cranial Neuropathies" Journal of Clinical Rheumatology : 2020.

Smith RM, Jones RB, Specks U, Bond S, Nodale M, Aljayyousi R, Andrews J, Bruchfeld A, Camilleri B, Carette S, Cheung CK, Derebail V, Doulton T, Forbess L, Fujimoto S, Furuta S, Gewurz-Singer O, Harper L, Ito-Ihara T, Khalidi N, Klocke R, Koening C, Komagata Y, Langford C, Lanyon P, Luqmani R, Makino H, McAlear CA, Monach P, Moreland L, Mynard K, Nachman P, Pagnoux C, Pearce F, Au Peh C, Pusey C, Ranganathan D, Rhee R, Spiera R, Sreih A, Tesar V, Walters G, Weisman M, Wroe C, Merkel PA, Jayne DRW: "Rituximab as Therapy to Induce Remission After Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis" Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases : 2020.

Quimson L, Mayer A, Capponi S, Rea B, Rhee RL: "Comparison of Aortitis Versus Noninflammatory Aortic Aneurysms Among Patients Who Undergo Open Aortic Aneurysm Repair" Arthritis & Rheumatology : 2020.

Rhee RL, Sreih A, Najem CE, Grayson PC, Zhao C, Bittinger K, Collman RG, Merkel PA: "Characterisation of the Nasal Microbiota in Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis" Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 77 (10): 1448-53,2018.

Rennie L. Rhee, Cecile TJ Holweg, David Cuthbertson, Simon Carette, , Gary S. Hoffman, Nader A. Khalidi, Curry L. Koening, Jeffrey Krischer, Carol A. Langford, Carol A. McAlear, Paul A. Monach, Larry Moreland, Christian Pagnoux, Philip Seo, Ulrich Specks, Antoine Sreih, Steven R. Ytterberg, and Peter A. Merkel for the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium: "Serum Periostin as a Biomarker in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis." PLoS ONE 13 (10): e0205768,2018.

Rhee RL, Davis JC, Ding L, Fervenza FC, Hoffman GS, Kallenberg CGM, Langford CA, McCune WJ, Monach PA, Seo P, Spiera R, St Clair EW, Specks U, Stone JH, Merkel PA: “The Utility of Urinalysis in Determining the Risk of Renal Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis” Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 13 (2): 251-7,2018.

Rhee RL, Grayson PC, Merkel PA, Tomasson G: “Infections and the Risk of Incident Giant Cell Arteritis: a Population-Based, Case-Control Study" Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 76 (6): 1031-5,2017.

Sanges S, Launay D, Rhee RL, Sitbon O, Hachulla E, Mouthon L, Guillevin L, Rottat L, Clerson P, Cordier JF, Kawut SM, Simonneau G, Humbert M.: “A Prospective Study of the 6-Minute Walk Test as a Surrogate Marker for Hemodynamics in Two Independent Cohorts of Treatment-Naïve Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.” Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 75 (8): 1457-65,2016.

Rhee RL, Hogan SL, Poulton CJ, McGregor JG, Landis JR, Falk RJ, Merkel PA: “Trends in Long-Term Outcomes Among Patients with ANCA-Associated Vasculitis with Renal Disease.” Arthritis & Rheumatology 68 (7): 1711-20,2016.

Academic Contact Information

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Dept. of Medicine/Rheumatology
3400 Spruce Street
5th Floor, White Building
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366