Marcia A. Friedman, M.D. is an adult rheumatologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Friedman went to medical school in Syracuse, NY, where she first met and started working with Dr. Shprintzen in VCFS research. During this time she was able to meet patients and families with VCFS, and what started as a summer project quickly became a life-long passion. Struck by the diversity of patient presentations, her research focused on understanding clinical patterns seen in VCFS. Dr. Friedman credits her work in VCFS with sparking a passion for research in rare diseases, where new discoveries can be rapidly translated into improved patient care. After medical school she completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Illinois Chicago, and a rheumatology fellowship at Oregon Healthy & Science University. She currently sees adult patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular underpinnings of rare diseases, with the goal of translating these findings into new targeted therapies.