Kristen Mengwasser, MD, PhD, physician-scientist and Assistant Adjunct Professor of Rheumatology at UCSF — and SAA’s 2025 Early Career Investigator Award winner — joins us to discuss her research on how the immune system triggers axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Susan Murphy, ScD, OTR, introduces the SAA-funded RENEW Study, a new University of Michigan research initiative focused on fatigue, energy management, and resilience in people living with spondyloarthritis.

Adam Seth Mayer, MD, Assistant Professor of Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology at Hackensack University Medical Center and the Center for Discovery and Innovation — and SAA’s 2025 Jane Bruckel Early Career Investigator Award winner — joins us to discuss his research on using existing abdominal and pelvic CT scans to help detect axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) earlier in people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Leadership expert Donzel Leggett, Author of Make Your Destiny Happen, joins Spondycast to share practical approaches for building confidence and advancing both personally and professionally while managing a chronic illness.

Dr. Mohamad Bittar, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University — and SAA’s 2025 Early Career Investigator Award winner — discusses his research on pain mechanisms and brain connectivity in people living with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Dr. Heidi Prather returns to Spondycast to explore the six pillars of lifestyle medicine and how each can support people living with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Dr. Sang Taek Kim, MD, PhD of Yale Medicine discusses the complex overlap between cancer, immunotherapy, and spondyloarthritis.

Dr. Norma Biln, Norma Biln, PhD, MBA, BSc, NACD.DC, one of the founders of Augurex, explains how new biomarkers, patient questionnaires, and tools like SPINEstat aim to shorten the long diagnostic delay in spondyloarthritis by improving early detection and referral accuracy, especially in primary care settings.