Mary Anne Dooley, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, is retiring from the UNC Health Care System after 23 years of devoted service to our patients, our referring physicians, the UNC School of Medicine, and the people of North Carolina.
Mary Anne Dooley, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, is retiring from the UNC Health Care System after 23 years of devoted service to our patients, our referring physicians, the UNC School of Medicine, and the people of North Carolina.
She has made many contributions to the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, as well as to the Thurston Arthritis Research Center during her time at UNC. She has cared for many of our patients over the years, especially those with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), vasculitis, and other autoimmune conditions. In addition to patient care, Dr. Dooley and her research team have led many clinical trials to find better and more advanced treatment options for autoimmune conditions, particularly for lupus and lupus nephritis.
Dr. Dooley received her medical education here at UNC, where she held the prestigious Holderness Fellowship, and also completed a Masters degree in Public Health. She then completed her internship, residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts before returning to North Carolina for a fellowship in Rheumatology and Immunology at Duke University Medical Center.
She joined the faculty at UNC in Rheumatology and Immunology in 1991 and has had an impressive career, wearing many hats in the Division and in the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center. She expanded the Sanford Rheumatology Outreach Clinic and served as Clinic Director for our UNC Rheumatology Clinic for many years, launching and overseeing a huge expansion in our Infusion Clinic. She also served as Acting Division Chief of the Division for four years.
Dr. Dooley is an internationally recognized expert and has been a vital contributor to, and leader in, many national and international lupus initiatives, including the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) and the Lupus Clinical Trials Consortium. Her seminal paper in Kidney International in 1997 was one of the first to cast doubt on the efficacy of cyclophosphamide for lupus nephritis in African Americans in the South. Most recently, her paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011 detailed the superiority of mycophenolate mofetil over azathioprine in maintaining remission in lupus nephritis.
Dr. Dooley has taught countless medical students, residents, and Rheumatology and Nephrology fellows, and cared for hundreds on patients with SLE. We deeply appreciate the contributions Dr. Dooley has made to our Division and Center. We are grateful that we have had the opportunity to provide exceptional medical care to all of our patients and look forward to continuing to care for all of Dr. Dooley’s patients in the future.
Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH
Joseph P. Archie, Jr. Eminent Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Director, Thurston Arthritis Research Center