Rheumatology chief: UK CCTS provides the backbone for cutting-edge clinical trials
Dorothy Ross, M.S., CCTS research coordinator and senior research development director; clinical trial participant Angela Rondón-Colón; and clinical trial principal investigator Paramarajan Piranavan, M.D., during one of the study visits. Carter Sloss | UK Creative Services
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 26, 2026) — When Paramarajan Piranavan, M.D., arrived at the University of Kentucky in 2021, the rheumatology division was small, with just three faculty members, two advanced practice providers, and no clinical trials underway. Piranavan envisioned expanding the division's research capacity and turned to UK’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science for clinical trial infrastructure.
Five years and several studies later, CCTS is providing critical support for Piranavan in a clinical trial for a novel CAR-T cell therapy for lupus. This week, UK HealthCare announced one of its patients is only the second patient in the US to receive the investigational treatment.
“UK is the strongest academic center for the state of Kentucky and surrounding regions, making it a major referral center. We have the patient population that really needs these types of studies and is willing to participate,” Piranavan said. “If we don't participate in these autoimmune clinical trials, when they become FDA-approved, we may not be able to offerk12 them to our patients.”
Piranavan now serves as UK HealthCare’s division chief of rheumatology, which has grown to include a team of nine faculty, five advanced practice providers, and a portfolio of clinical trials, several of which have used CCTS support.
“The CCTS has been very positive in terms of expanding research within rheumatology at UK,” he said, noting that a single clinical division simply cannot replicate what a centralized research hub like the CCTS can offer.
The CAR-T trial for lupus, for example, is highly complex. There are extensive regulatory requirements alongside the sponsor’s high expectations for study sites. The investigational treatment itself involves multiple areas across both UK’s research enterprise and hospital system, combining standard patient care with the clinical trial. Piranavan says the many steps involved in the study – screening, leukapheresis, chemotherapy, a two-week hospital stay, and many outpatient visits – require a multidisciplinary, creative and highly dedicated team.
"All of these steps require a high level of coordination. Even if you have a division coordinator, you really need a seasoned research coordinator who has managed many studies to pull this through. This is where CCTS was very helpful for us in putting everything together."
“It has truly involved a herculean effort, and we are all so committed to the success of this clinical trial — not just for this patient but also to bring CAR-T forward as a cutting-edge treatment beyond oncology and thus open up the doors for so many other therapeutic areas,” said Dorothy Ross, MS, PMP, CCRP, research coordinator and senior research development director for the CCTS.
Working with UK CCTS, which has provided regulatory, budgetary, clinical and study coordination support for the CAR-T trial, has been a positive experience for Piranavan.
“I cannot think of any other way we could have pulled this through within a small division. Other institutions were surprised by how we managed to do this within rheumatology when they faced all kinds of roadblocks. My answer to them is simply that we have CCTS,” he said.
UK CCTS and its Clinical Research Support Office provide a broad spectrum of services, resources and expertise to assist researchers. Visit the CCTS website or contact a research navigator to get started.
- Read more on the UK HealthCare patient who becomes second patient in the US to receive experimental treatment for lupus
- Listen to Behind the Blue, an interview with Paramarajan Piranavan
- Read more on CAR-T cell therapy and research at the University of Kentucky.
Media Contact: Alexis Baker, alexis.baker@uky.edu
