Jeff Berman

I have had an interest in Pulmonary Immunology for over 20 years. I began by looking at basic mechanisms of lymphocyte accumulation in response to cytokine signals, and I have gradually turned my interest to clinical and translational research. In the past ten years I have divided my time between basic and translational investigations involving the novel cytokine, osteopontin, and clinical research involving patients with Sarcoidosis.

My interest in osteopontin (Opn) began upon hearing a report that OPN was the most prevalent message upregulated in macrophages upon exposure to mycobacterium. It is an odd duck amongst cytokines, in that it is prominently expressed in bone and is involved in disparate processes such as bone remodeling, wound healing, inflammation, and tumor metastasis. I have been interested in the immunologic and inflammatory aspects of Opn, and my laboratory has been involved in research linking Opn to T cell function, granuloma formation and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.

My interest in Sarcoidosis rose out of my 20-year involvement in the Tuberculosis Clinic at the Boston City Hospital and an affiliated homeless shelter. Viewing Sarcoidosis as a “companion” disease to TB, I was intrigued by the mysteries behind this granulomatous disease. I gradually built a Sarcoid population within the TB clinic and 10 years ago spun off my current Sarcoid Clinic. My colleague, David Serlin, and I see approximately 150 new patients each year, some referred for second opinions and other referred for ongoing diagnosis or management. We have a number of clinical research projects ongoing, including the examination of the impact of atopy and nasal disease on Sarcoid clinical course, the use of nasal lavage and brushing for biopsy and prognostication in Sarcoidosis, diagnosis of cardiac disease, and management of calcium and bone metabolism in Sarcoidosis. We share clinic space and collaborate with Dr. Hap Farber and the Pulmonary Hypertension Center in the diagnosis and care of patients with Sarcoidosis who develop pulmonary arterial hypertension. We hope to soon be involved in a large national study of Sarcoidosis in African American women with Sarcoidosis.

Research

Identification of Serologic Biomarkers in Sarcoidosis 04/01/2011 - 03/31/2012 (PI) Medical Discovery Partners, Inc.

Immunopathology of the Nasal Mucosa in Sarcoidosis 09/15/2004 - 06/30/2007 (PI) NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 5 R21 HL77498 02

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Infliximab (Remicade) in Subjects with Chronic Sarcoidosis with Pulmonary Involvement 09/01/2003 - 09/01/2005 (PI) Centocor, Inc.

Role of Osteopontin in Granulomatous Inflammation 09/30/1999 - 08/31/2005 (PI) NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 5 R01 HL63339 05

The Role of Osteopontin in Early Granuloma Formation 04/12/2000 - 03/31/2005 (Dept Sponsor) NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 5 K08 HL04343 03

Role of Fas Ligand in the Pathogenesis of Lung Granuloma 08/13/2002 - 08/12/2004 (Dept Sponsor) NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 5 F32 HL71388 02

The Role of Osteopontin in Early Granuloma Formation 04/12/2000 - 03/31/2004 (Co-PI) NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute 5 K08 HL04343 04

A 12 week Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Parallel Group Study to Investigate the Effect of Ariflo (15 mg twice daily) on Trapped Gas Volume in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 09/01/1999 - 08/31/2000 (Co-PI) PI: Helen M. Hollingsworth, MD SmithKline Beecham

Publications

Cozier YC, Govender P, Berman JS. Obesity and sarcoidosis: consequence or contributor? Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2018 09; 24(5):487-494.View Related Profiles. PMID: 29979212.

Raghu G, Berman JS, Govender P. Treatment of Sarcoidosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2018 Mar 15; 197(6):P9-P10.View Related Profiles. PMID: 29543101.

Ahmadian A, Pawar S, Govender P, Berman J, Ruberg FL, Miller EJ. The response of FDG uptake to immunosuppressive treatment on FDG PET/CT imaging for cardiac sarcoidosis. J Nucl Cardiol. 2017 Apr; 24(2):413-424.View Related Profiles. PMID: 27457527; DOI: 10.1007/s12350-016-0490-7;.

Govender P, Berman JS. The Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis. Clin Chest Med. 2015 Dec; 36(4):585-602.View Related Profiles. PMID: 26593135; DOI: 10.1016/j.ccm.2015.08.003;.

Grayson PC, Steiling K, Platt M, Berman JS, Zhang X, Xiao J, Alekseyev YO, Liu G, Monach PA, Kaplan MJ, Spira A, Merkel PA. Defining the nasal transcriptome in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's). Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015 May; 67(8):2233-9.View Related Profiles. PMID: 25939343; PMCID: PMC4519398; DOI: 10.1002/art.39185;.

Article has an altmetric score of 3 Cozier YC, Coogan PF, Govender P, Berman JS, Palmer JR, Rosenberg L. Obesity and weight gain in relation to incidence of sarcoidosis in US black women: data from the Black Women's Health Study. Chest. 2015 Apr; 147(4):1086-93.View Related Profiles. PMID: 25411869; PMCID: PMC4388117; DOI: 10.1378/chest.14-1099;.

Ahmadian A, Brogan A, Berman J, Sverdlov AL, Mercier G, Mazzini M, Govender P, Ruberg FL, Miller EJ. Quantitative interpretation of FDG PET/CT with myocardial perfusion imaging increases diagnostic information in the evaluation of cardiac sarcoidosis. J Nucl Cardiol. 2014 Oct; 21(5):925-39.View Related Profiles. PMID: 24879453; DOI: 10.1007/s12350-014-9901-9;. 5858 total citations on Dimensions.

Berman JS, Govender P, Ruberg FL, Mazzini M, Miller EJ. Scadding revisited: a proposed staging system for cardiac sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis. 2014; 31(1):2-5.View Related Profiles. PMID: 24751447.

Tukey MH, Berman JS, Boggs DA, White LF, Rosenberg L, Cozier YC. ??Mortality among African American women with sarcoidosis: data from the Black Women's Health Study. Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis. 2013 Jul; 30(2):128-33.View Related Profiles. PMID: 24071884; PMCID: PMC3801105.

Cozier Y, Ruiz-Narvaez E, McKinnon C, Berman J, Rosenberg L, Palmer J. Replication of genetic loci for sarcoidosis in US black women: data from the Black Women's Health Study. Hum Genet. 2013 Jul; 132(7):803-10.View Related Profiles. PMID: 23543185; PMCID: PMC3746966; DOI: 10.1007/s00439-013-1292-5;.