Overview
Dr. Megan Clowse is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology; she also holds joint appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Population Health Sciences. Her clinical research focuses on the management of rheumatic diseases in pregnancy. She has cared for over 1000 pregnancies in women with rheumatic disease, collecting information on these pregnancies initially in the Duke Autoimmunity in Pregnancy Registry and Repository, and the MADRA (Maternal Autoimmune Disease Research Alliance) registry and repository. She served on the Core Leadership Team for the inaugural American College of Rheumatology's Reproductive Health Guidelines, published January 2020. Dr. Clowse created www.LupusPregnancy.org and www.ReproRheum.Duke.edu, websites dedicated to improving pregnancy planning and management for patients and rheumatologists.
Dr. Clowse was the founding director of the Duke Lupus Clinic, where she continues to see patients each week and mentor junior faculty researchers. The team has developed a new approach to lupus classification and management and is currently collecting and analyzing patient- and physician-reported measures to better clarify this construct.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Bringing Reproductive Health Guidelines Into Fellowship Training: A National Survey of Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology Fellows and Program Directors.
Journal Article Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) · March 2025 OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to assess rheumatology fellows' (RFs') and program directors' (PDs') interests in different educational tools and methods and to facilitate curriculum development for reproductive health related to rheumatic disease. METHODS: Co ... Full text Link to item CiteDevelopment and Pilot Testing of a Patient-Centered Reproductive Decision Aid for Pregnancy-Capable People With Rheumatic Diseases.
Journal Article ACR Open Rheumatol · March 2025 OBJECTIVE: Although women with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are at an elevated risk for adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes, some report that they lack access to resources that support informed reproductive decision-making. We develop ... Full text Link to item CiteSecond (2nd) Trimester Kidney Function and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes among Patients with Lupus.
Journal Article Kidney360 · February 14, 2025 BACKGROUND: Kidney function is not routinely assessed during pregnancy. Several studies have proposed antepartum kidney function, particularly 2nd trimester kidney function, as a potential predictor of adverse pregnancy outcomes. It has been previously est ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Advancing Reproductive Rheumatology through Research Mentoring
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029Cervical Cancer Screening in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
ResearchMentor · Awarded by Rheumatology Research Foundation · 2025 - 2028Improving patient-provider communication and medication adherence in systemic lupus erythematosus
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2028View All Grants