Abhijith Paladugula

Chief Fellow and Rheumatology Fellow with clinical experience across inpatient and outpatient rheumatology, care coordination, and multidisciplinary decision-making. Manages complex systemic autoimmune disease, including CTD-associated interstitial lung disease, inflammatory myopathies, SLE, and vasculitis, while contributing scholarly work on cardiovascular risk and outcomes in rheumatic disease.

• American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) — Board Certified in Internal Medicine, 2026
• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) Certification — September 2021
• USMLE Step 1: 248 (December 2019) | Step 2 CK: 254 (January 2021) | Step 3: 231 (November 2022)

• Thakkar A, Gupta S, Paladugula A, Vedantam V. Comparing Outcomes of Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump and Impella in Patients with Cardiogenic Shock Due to Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Nationwide Retrospective Observational Study. Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions. 2024;3(5):101413.
• Jagadish A, Paladugula A, Thakkar A, et al. A Case of Multiple Vein Thrombosis Following Pacemaker Implantation. Cureus. 2023;15(10):e47466. doi:10.7759/cureus.47466.
• Jagadish A, Paladugula A, Notta S, et al. A Case of Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease in an Adult Male. Cureus. 2023;15(7):e42670. doi:10.7759/cureus.42670.
• Thakkar A, Namburu L, Paladugula A, Akeel M. Squeezing the Truth: Cardiac Tamponade Revealing Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2024;209:A4644.
• Thakkar A, Paladugula A, Akeel M, Sarodia B. Serotonin-Release Assay-Negative Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia: A Rare Case. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 367:S425–S426.
• Paladugula A, Makahleh L, Nunley D, Moore S. Vascular Crossroads: Exploring the Cardiovascular Effects of Giant Cell Arteritis and Tocilizumab. Southern Regional Meeting; New Orleans, LA; February 2024.
• Kommineni SK, Paladugula A, Moore S. Reactive Arthritis Post COVID-19 Infection: Is It the New Normal? Southern Regional Meeting; New Orleans, LA; 2023.

Presentation at Myositis ILD Conference, organized by Noris Fight, 2026

Congress of Clinical Rheumatology 2024 — Destin, FL; May 2024

• Thakkar A, Paladugula A, Gupta S, Sanku K, Namburu L, Vedantam V, Blaske A. Exploring Inpatient Outcomes of Patients with Psoriasis Admitted for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Nationwide Retrospective Study.
• Thakkar A, Paladugula A, Gupta S, Sanku K, Namburu L, Vedantam V. Inpatient Outcomes of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: A Nationwide Analysis.
• Paladugula A, Thakkar A, Blaske A. Navigating Inclusion Body Myositis: Unraveling Challenges and Multifaceted Treatment Strategies.
• Paladugula A, Thakkar A, Warsha F, Thompson J, Blaske A. Muscle Mayhem: A Young Adult with Anti-HMGCR Immune-Mediated Necrotizing Myositis.

Other Posters

• Paladugula A, Shastri D, Thakkar A, Sanku K, Raafey MA, Blaske A. Anti-HMGCR Associated Immune Mediated Necrotizing Myopathy: A Rare Case and Treatment Insights. American College of Cardiology; Chicago, IL; April 2024.
• Thakkar A, Paladugula A, Thompson J, Namburu L, Kumar D. Comparing Outcomes Among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Direct Current Cardioversion Versus Catheter Ablation: A Nationwide Retrospective Observational Study. Appalachian Student Research Forum; Johnson City, TN; April 2024.
• Paladugula A, Thakkar A, Nunley D, Moore S. RS3PE Syndrome: Unveiling the Uncommon. ETSU Louis A. Cancellaro Primary Care Conference; Johnson City, TN; April 2024.
• Eftaiha A, Paladugula A, Thakkar A, Das D. Amlodipine-Induced Gingival Hyperplasia: A Rare but Important Side Effect in Hypertension Management. Southern Regional Meeting; New Orleans, LA; February 2024.
• Paladugula A, Shastri D, Blaske A, Sanders H. Don’t Rash to Conclusions! ACR Convergence; San Diego, CA; November 2023.

Upcoming

• Paladugula A, Clark C, Aggarwal P, Radhakrishnan A, Bichile T. AI-Based Coronary CTA Plaque Analysis Detects Subclinical Atherosclerosis Beyond Coronary Artery Calcium in SLE and RA. Poster presentation, ACR Convergence 2026

• Chief Fellow, Rheumatology (PGY-5) | 2026–2027 | Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA

• Connective tissue disease–associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD)
• Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
• Systemic lupus erythematosus and other systemic autoimmune diseases
• Vasculitis
• Cardiovascular risk and outcomes in rheumatic disease