Research
Research and Publications
Rigorous research underpins Dr. Shulman’s
medical practice and his writing.
Rigorous research underpins Dr. Shulman’s medical practice and his writing. He is a physician-scientist with both an MD and a PhD, has published as a first author in Cell, and has spent years studying how cells read and respond to molecular signals. That scientific foundation shapes his approach to a child’s illness, focusing on underlying mechanisms rather than labels, and lends authority to his writing on pain and disease. What follows reflects that dedication.
Andrew Shulman, MD, PhD, is a pediatric rheumatologist and author. He serves as Division Chief and Medical Director of Pediatric Rheumatology at Rady Children’s Health Orange County (formerly CHOC) and cares for children and teens with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, as well as chronic pain that does not always have a clear diagnosis. As an author, he writes about what those conditions reveal: how the body and brain produce pain, why it can be so hard to measure, and what it takes to keep living fully when there is no clear cure.
His work draws on an uncommon combination: rigorous scientific training, the daily clinical experience of a pediatric rheumatologist, and life with a chronic health condition of his own. That personal experience gives his research a particular urgency; the questions he pursues are not only clinical but ones he has lived.
In recent years, his research has grown directly from the clinic, driven by the need to find better, more targeted treatments for children with rare autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. What has stayed constant is the habit of mind: asking how something actually works.
Research Interests
Dr. Shulman’s research and academic interests include:
Physician-Scientist Training
Dr. Shulman earned his MD and a PhD in cell regulation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where his doctoral work in the laboratory of his friend and mentor, David Mangelsdorf, of blessed memory, examined how nuclear receptors communicate at the molecular level. That first-author research was published in Cell. His scientific training continued with postdoctoral work at Harvard and the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, and it still informs how he approaches a difficult case: as a mechanistic problem waiting to be understood.
Selected Publications
A selection of Dr. Shulman’s published and co-published research articles
Science, Clinic, and the Page
Dr. Shulman’s scientific training, clinical practice, and writing are continuous with one another. In the clinic, he cares for children with rheumatic, autoimmune, inflammatory, and pain related conditions, including juvenile arthritis, lupus, juvenile dermatomyositis, vasculitis, autoinflammatory disease, dysautonomia, and pain amplification syndromes. On the page, that same work becomes writing about how science explains pain, how medicine navigates uncertainty, and how a patient’s story reveals what tests and imaging cannot.
Teaching
Dr. Shulman educates pediatric residents, rheumatology fellows, and medical audiences on topics such as pediatric rheumatology, juvenile arthritis, vasculitis, rheumatologic emergencies, biologic therapies, and complex inflammatory diseases. His teaching reflects a broader dedication to the academic and research community, fostering the development of future clinicians and scientists.
Learn More
To learn more about Dr. Shulman’s background and authorship, visit the About page. For interviews, expert commentary, or speaking engagements, visit the Media or Speaking pages.