Cure JM Virtual Summit on JIIM Research & Care – June 2026

june summit

Cure JM’s June Virtual Summit on JIIM Research & Care convened an international panel of clinicians and researchers to cover the latest findings in JM clinical outcomes, risk factors, and early‑life influences, along with new research models and tools that are shaping the next generation of myositis discovery.

Session Agenda
3:00pm-3:10 | Introduction
Andrew Heaton, PhD
Introduction Andrew Heaton, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Cure JM Foundation

Session 1: Clinical Outcomes Updates

Chair Person: Brian Feldman, MD, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, CN (Chair, Cure JM Medical Advisory Board)

3:10-3:35 | Toward a Treat-to-Target Strategy in Juvenile Dermatomyositis: What Are the Suitable Targets and Optimal Timing of Their Achievement?

Jayne MacMahon, MD, Consultant Pediatric Rheumatologist; Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, England

3:35-4:00 | Prenatal and Early-Life Environmental Exposures in Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases including Juvenile Myositis

Takuma Ohnishi, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, National Hospital Organization Saitama Hospital, Saitama, Japan

4:00-4:25 | Risk Factors for Calcinosis in JM

Adam Huber, MD, Division Head of Pediatric Rheumatology, Dalhousie University, CanadaSession 2: New Tools for JM Research


Chair Person: Andrew Mammen, MD, PhD (NIH, Johns Hopkins, Cure JM Medical Advisory Board member)

4:25-4:50 | A Human 3D Skeletal Muscle Model for Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Lauren Covert, MD, Assistant Professor, Duke University School of Medicine

4:50-5:15 | T-cell differentiation and T-reg/Th17 balance in a myosin-induced mouse model of experimental autoimmune myositis

Sara Sabbagh, DO, Assoc. Prof Medical College of Wisconsin

5:15-5:40 | Targeting immune and non-immune mechanisms in a mouse model of myositis

Melissa Morales, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Binghamton University

Presentation Summaries:

optimizing-care-turnier-web

Pioneering JM Care – Integrating Research With a Multidisciplinary Approach to Care

Dr. Jessica Turnier of the University of Michigan / Mott’s Children’s Hospital is dedicated to creating new directions for JM research and wider perspectives on how it is treated. About the University of Michigan, she states, “When I came to Michigan, there were a lot of myositis patients, and I just developed a really strong connection with those patients.”

Affordable and Accessible Treatments for JM

Affordable and Accessible Treatments for JM

Two special guest speakers, Michelle Vogel, MPA, IV Solutions RX, and Laurel Cherwin, BSN, RN, IgCN, Octapharma, shared information on navigating affordable treatments and care for JM patients.

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