Our Team

Lee Shapiro, MD, FACP

Dr. Shapiro's interest in the diagnosis and treatment of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) was fostered by his fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center under the tutelage of three of the great thought-leaders in the field, Drs. Gerald Rodnan, Thomas Medsger and Virginia Steen. He has been involved in scleroderma research since a sabbatical at the Scleroderma Clinic of the Royal Free Hospital in London in 1999. While there, he developed the now widely used "scleroderma renal crisis prevention card." He is co-director of the Pulmonary Hypertension/Scleroderma Clinic operated jointly with Albany Associates in Cardiology. Dr. Shapiro also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the Scleroderma Foundation Tristate and has been the medical advisor to the Capital District support group since its inception in 1989. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Physician Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scleroderma Foundation at its' national gala in 2007 and has served on the publications committee of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC). He is clinical professor at Albany Medical College and an adjunct instructor at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. His research activities are focused on vascular aspects of scleroderma and related disorders.

Jessica Farrell, Pharm. D.

Dr. Farrell is a pharmacist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Her teaching and scholarly activities focus on drug therapy in autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus. She is a past president and current secretary of the Northeastern Chapter of the New York State Council of Health System Pharmacists (NYSCHP), a member of the Association of Rheumatology Health Providers/American College of Rheumatology and serves as a consultant for the Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America, Inc. (CORRONA).

Dr. Farrell's contributions to scleroderma awareness and professional education were the subject of a profile in "Scleroderma Voice", the quarterly publication of the Scleroderma Foundation. She has developed a scleroderma teaching module which is now part of the curriculum of all students at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and available to serve as a model for other pharmacy schools.

Sharyn Freitas, Clinical Research Coordinator

Ms. Freitas graduated from the State University of Albany and holds a Master's degree in Education from the College of St. Rose. She has been involved with clinical research for the last 12 years, including work in the fields of neurology, cardiology and rheumatology. She assists both Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Farrell with ongoing studies, clinical trials and research coordination.