Christy Avery

Fulbright-University of Leeds Distinguished Scholar Award

Christy Avery is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Christy is an identical twin and has always been interested in genetics. Being a global leader in genetic medicine, the UK is the ideal place for Christy to pursue this research interest.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Christy will study polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arthritis (GCA), two debilitating immune-mediated inflammatory disease with major unmet clinical needs. She will examine whether genetic data can help identify PMR and GCA patients at highest risk of glucocorticoid-induced cardiovascular disease. If Christy and her University of Leeds partners can identify high risk patient subgroups, these patients can be prioritized for alternative therapies that may be cardioprotective but are rarely used in the UK or US due to their cost.

Christy’s husband, Justin, and their two daughters, Bryn and Logan, will join her in this adventure. They are excited to explore Yorkshire and beyond, enjoy great local music, and squeeze in a tennis match or two on the UK’s fabled grass courts.