John Varga, MD

Proteomic & Clinical Core PI

John Varga MD is the John and Nancy Hughes Distinguished Professor in Rheumatology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, and Director of the Northwestern Scleroderma Program, in Chicago.

Dr. Varga studies fibrosis in the skin, lungs, kidney and heart in scleroderma and related inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Scar formation is a significant health problem and a major unmet medical need. The Varga lab pursues integrated clinical and laboratory-based investigation to decipher the basis of fibrosis and identify novel strategies for its treatment. The studies have been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Scleroderma Research Foundation, and the Scleroderma Foundation.

Dr. Varga is the author of more than 30 book chapters, 3 books and more than 240 journal articles published in Arthritis and Rheumatism, Journal of Clinical Investigation, New England Journal of Medicine, and the American Journal of Pathology and others.

Dr. Varga received the “Fifty Heroes” award in 2001 from the Arthritis Foundation, and, in 2007, was elected as member of the Association of American Physicians. Prior to joining the Northwestern faculty, he served on the faculty at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, and as Director of Rheumatology at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Institution: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Medical school: New York University/MD/1980

Academic rank: John and Nancy Hughes Distinguished Professor in Rheumatology

Mailing address: M300 McGAW Pavillion, 240 E Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611

Phone: 312.503.8003

Email: j-varga@northwestern.edu

Summary of academic interest: Fibroblast and matrix biology; biomarkers; drug discovery; animal models; clinical trials