Every year the faculty are involved in teaching medical and dental students as well as medical residents either during ward rotations or rheumatology electives. Rheumatology research months are also available for residents and students interested in pursuing a career in rheumatology. Fellows are encouraged to develop continuity clinics in rheumatology in order to gain more experience and to learn more about managing patients with chronic disease.

Santhanam Lakshminarayanan, M.D., associate professor of medicine, is a graduate of the University of Poona, India and a board-certified rheumatologist. He completed his residency and fellowship at the UConn School of Medicine. He is chief of the Division of Rheumatology and director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program. He is activity director of the rheumatology continuing medical education program. He is on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) subcommittee for medical student and resident education and the ACR New England Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) program development for rheumatology fellows. Dr. Lakshminarayanan’s areas of expertise are in systemic lupus and scleroderma. He published papers on phospholipid antibody syndrome, Raynaud’s phenomenon, bone density, and systemic lupus erythematous.

John Waterman, M.D., is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the UConn School of Medicine. Dr. Waterman is a graduate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine where he received his medical degree. He completed his Rheumatology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. He is the site director for the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program as well as a rheumatologist and academic internist at the VA Medical Center, Newington, CT. He is a member of the clinical competency committee for fellowship education and the program improvement evaluation committee. Dr. Waterman is a retired Colonel USAF MC FS. Dr. Waterman’s areas of expertise are in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, joint and soft tissue injections, and fibromyalgia. Dr. Waterman has published papers on biologics in the treatment of rheumatic disease, tender point injections in fibromyalgia, and B-cell lymphoma in Sjögren's syndrome.

Dr. Aaradhana Kaul, M.D., is the Associate Program Director, an Assistant Professor of Medicine and a board-certified rheumatologist in Farmington, CT. She completed medical school at St. George’s University School of Medicine and went on to complete her internal medicine residency at Norwalk Hospital, and then completed her Rheumatology fellowship at the University of Connecticut. She specializes in systemic autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and systemic sclerosis, and practices at UConn Health / UConn John Dempsey Hospital.

Deepa Chandrasekaran, M.D., is a board-certified rheumatologist with additional certification in musculoskeletal sonography (RhMSUS) and Assistant Professor of Medicine. She serves as a faculty member in the University of Connecticut Rheumatology Fellowship program and practices at the VA Connecticut healthcare System. She is actively involved in the education and mentorship of rheumatology fellows, internal medicine residents, and medical students. As Director of the Musculoskeletal ultrasound curriculum at the VA, she has continued to expand and enhance ultrasound education for fellows. Her academic interests include medical education, musculoskeletal ultrasound, management of inflammatory and non-inflammatory arthritis.

Weishali Joshi, M.D. is the Rheumatology Section Chief at St. Francis Hospital, where she serves as the site director for the Rheumatology Fellowship. Dr. Joshi completed both her Internal Medicine Residency and Rheumatology Fellowship at UConn Health Center and she has been involved with teaching fellows in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at St. Francis for several years. While she practices general rheumatology, her specific interests are in SLE, RA, Ankylosing spondylitis and caring for patients with complex issues and problem solving in a wide array of rheumatologic pathophysiology.

Dr. Susan Stocker Giles is a board-certified rheumatologist with more than 25 years of clinical, academic, and teaching experience in internal medicine, rheumatology, and geriatrics. She currently practices with Hartford HealthCare Bone and Joint Rheumatology and serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UConn School of Medical . A graduate of Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Dr. Giles completed her Internal Medicine residency at Yale–New Haven Hospital, followed by fellowships in Rheumatology and Geriatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. Throughout her career, she has held clinical and academic appointments with Hartford HealthCare, Trinity Health of New England, Yale University School of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and UConn School of Medicine. Dr. Giles is triple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Rheumatology, and Geriatrics and is a Fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. Her professional interests include the diagnosis and management of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory arthritis, connective tissue disorders, and the care of older adults with complex rheumatologic conditions. In addition to her clinical work, she has authored and co-authored several peer-reviewed publications focusing on lupus, Lyme disease, spondyloarthropathies, hepatitis C–related cryoglobulinemia, and other rheumatologic conditions. Known for her commitment to patient-centered care, Dr. Giles combines extensive clinical expertise with a compassionate approach to helping patients manage chronic rheumatic diseases and improve their quality of life.