Ellen M Gravallese, MD

Dr. Ellen M. Gravallese is Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation and Immunity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is the Theodore Bevier Bayles Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She served nationally as the 83rd President of the American College of Rheumatology, 2019-2020. Dr. Gravallese received her MD degree from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a residency in both Internal Medicine and Pathology, followed by a fellowship in Rheumatology, all at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is nationally recognized as an expert in the pathogenic mechanisms of inflammatory arthritis and her basic science laboratory studies fundamental mechanisms of inflammation and joint destruction in rheumatic diseases, with a focus on rheumatoid arthritis. Through pathologic and molecular techniques, murine models of disease and clinical investigation, her research has provided an understanding of key pathways by which inflammation impacts bone in the rheumatic diseases. Her current studies also focus on innate immune pathways in inflammation and bone remodeling in rheumatic disease, including the cytosolic DNA sensing pathways. 

Dr. Gravallese has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Board of Scientific Directors at the National Institutes of Health (NIDCR), the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Board of Directors of the Rheumatology Research Foundation of the ACR. Dr. Gravallese is the recipient of the Sandoz Award for medical research, the Marion Ropes Award from the Arthritis Foundation, the Steven Krane Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (2017) and the international Carol Nachman Prize for exceptional contributions to research (2019). She lectures nationally and internationally and currently also serves as an Associate Editor for the New England Journal of Medicine.