Agustin Escalante, M.D.

I joined the Department of Medicine in 1992 as an assistant professor, received Tenure in 2000, and was promoted to professor in 2003. During this time, I have studied the genetic and environmental determinants of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) phenotype, basing most of my observations on a multi-ethnic RA cohort that my colleagues and I assembled in San Antonio. I have also examined ethnic disparities among patients with rheumatic diseases, and have considerable experience in the cross-cultural adaptation of research instruments. I have published my research in peer review journals, and have received RO1 and K24 grants from the NIH, as well as grants from the Health Care Financing Administration (now Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services), the Arthritis Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I am a past Harold Amos scholar. I have served on advisory and grant review committees for the NIH, the American College of Rheumatology, the Arthritis Foundation, and several universities. I am former associate editor of Arthritis & Rheumatism, and current associate editor of Arthritis Care and Research. As a board certified rheumatologist, I have provided ongoing care to rheumatic disease patients at the Brady-Green clinic (now University Health Center Downtown) since 1992. I grew up in Mexico City, where I completed my undergraduate education and attended medical school. I did my residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and my fellowship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.