Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis expert Andrew J. White, M.D., has been named the Division Director of Pediatric Rheumatology and Immunology.
“Andy White is one of our most talented clinicians and teachers,” says Alan L. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.D., head of the Department of Pediatrics and the Harriet B. Spoeher Professor. “He has a passion for clinical medicine and conveys it to those around him, most notably medical students, residents and fellows. He serves as a role model, clinician and educator.”
White succeeds Jonathan D. Gitlin, M.D., the Helene B. Roberson Professor of Pediatrics, who will continue as the interim director of pediatric genetics.
White is known for his role in the study of new drugs for the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
As division director, he aims to increase the University’s national and worldwide participation in clinical trials of novel pharmacotherapeutics (new drugs) for the treatment of rheumatoid and autoimmune diseases.
White says these new medicines allow us to treat — and possibly even cure — many pediatric autoimmune and rheumatologic cases.
A 3-year-old girl, who couldn’t walk or move her knees, recently came to White after several doctors mislabeled her condition as cerebral palsy. When White examined the little girl, he determined she had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Four months later, she was walking.
According to White, as many as 400 children in St. Louis are diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis annually. The disease, which most often affects kids ages 1-3, causes the immune system to malfunction and attack the joints. Patients often have stiff and swollen joints, making it difficult to walk or move.
He explains that the first thing that comes to most parents’ minds when they learn their child has juvenile arthritis is “wheelchair” or “crippled.”
“What gives me the most satisfaction is telling them that’s not the case,” he says. “Most of the time, I can help my patients have normal lives again. We know so much about medicine these days, but we really have no idea what causes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I want to find a way to understand it, treat it and fix it.”
During his pediatric residency at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, White treated a few patients with a rare, puzzling skin disease called scleroderma en coup de sabre. The condition gets its name — the stroke of the saber — from an indented stripe that forms down the face, affecting the skin, muscle, bone and sometimes brain.
“What fascinates me is that we can’t understand why the disease looks exactly the same from person to person,” says White, who adds that the mysterious condition — which mostly affects teenage girls — is what drew him to the field. “We have no clue what causes it and no medicines appear to treat it.”
An excellent educator
As division director, White says he aims to make the pediatric rheumatology fellowship training program the top in the nation. While advancing the fellowship program, he will also continue overseeing the general pediatrics residency program, in which he mentors more than 70 residents every year.
When he’s not teaching students or treating patients, White breeds and raises freshwater fish, from cichlids to catfish. He has more than 500 fish in 12 tanks at home. He writes stories about fish and also sells fish on Web sites like aquabid.com — some for more than $100.
“My wife says I have a fish problem,” White jokes. He met his wife, Hilary Babcock, M.D., an instructor of medicine and an infectious disease physician, on the first day of medical school at the University of Texas, Southwestern. The couple lives in Webster Groves and has 6-year-old twins, Hannah and Jackson.
White came to St. Louis Children’s Hospital for a general pediatric residency in 1994 and also completed a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology and immunology in 1997. He joined the University as an instructor of pediatrics in 2000 and became an assistant professor of pediatrics in 2001.
He is also the director of rheumatology services at Shriner’s Hospital.
“What I love most about this field is that most of the time we can help patients get better,” he says.
“It’s rare when patients don’t respond to drugs and need to be in a wheelchair or can’t walk or play sports. We can treat, and often cure, many patients — and that’s extremely rewarding.”