Nora Singer named director of the University of Arizona Arthritis Center
Dr. Singer is a nationally recognized leader in rheumatology with extensive experience in clinical care, research and academic leadership.
Kris Hanning
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson welcomes Nora G. Singer, MD, as director of the University of Arizona Arthritis Center, and professor and chief of the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine, effective August 3. With these appointments, Dr. Singer will receive the Charles A. L. and Suzanne M. Stephens Endowed Chair in Rheumatology.
A highly regarded clinician, Dr. Singer specializes in rheumatology care and research for persons of all ages, with clinical expertise spanning autoimmune and autoinflammatory rheumatic disease, osteoporosis and ultrasound-guided therapeutic musculoskeletal interventions. She is board certified in both rheumatology and pediatric rheumatology.
Dr. Singer’s academic work focuses on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, with particular emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome. Her current research program explores immune dysregulation in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease, including investigator-initiated studies on mesenchymal stem cells to induce tolerance in early rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile arthritis and in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Her sponsored work includes use of CAR-T and bispecific antibodies to treat a variety of rheumatic disease. She has contributed to foundational discoveries in T-cell co-stimulatory signals, including identification of a novel ligand involved in immune response, and continues to advance translational and clinical research through national clinical trial networks focused on rheumatic disease and lupus.
Dr. Singer earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Union College and her medical degree from Albany Medical College. She completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, as well as fellowship training in adult and pediatric rheumatology, at the University of Michigan.
She is an active member of the American College of Rheumatology, where she has served in multiple leadership roles, including past chair of the Committee on Publications, which is among several standing committees. She currently serves on the abstract oversight committee of the ACR.
Dr. Singer previously served as the director of clinical science for the MetroHealth Research Institute and director of hub research capacity for the MetroHealth site of the NIH-funded Case Western Reserve University Clinical Trials and Science Collaborative, and was the director of rheumatology at the MetroHealth System and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.