Tuesday, October 20, 2026

2 PM ET/1 PM CT/12 PM MT/11 AM PT

Join Lisa Rider, MD, Pediatric Rheumatologist, NIH/NIEH and Julia Agafonova, MS, CCRC, to learn more about the Fatty Acid Supplementation Trial for Dermatomyositis (FAST for DM).

Lisa Rider, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist, is Head of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Rider’s research spanning more than 25 years has focused on juvenile and adult myositis, in which she has led studies that have defined the major clinical and autoantibody subgroups, identified genetic and environmental risk factors, led the international development of outcome measures and clinical trial response criteria for myositis, and led clinical trials of new biologic therapies.  She co-chairs the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group (IMACS), a consortium of myositis researchers and clinicians aiming to improve patient outcomes.  Dr. Rider is the Principal Investigator of the FAST for DM clinical trial, which will be discussed in today’s session.

Julia Agafonova is a federal contractor from DLH supporting NIH clinical trials and working alongside Dr. Rider for 6 years. Julia is experienced in managing rare disease clinical trials, specifically in autoimmune and cardiac genetic diseases.