Jerome L. Greene Sjögren's Syndrome Center

About Our Practice:

Johns Hopkins Jerome L. Greene Sjögren’s Syndrome Center brings together the expertise of:

rheumatologists
neurologists
ophthalmologists
dentists/oral surgeons
gynecologists
otolaryngologists

The clinical program is also coupled with clinical and basic science research in the departments of Rheumatology, Neurology, Gynecology, Otolaryngology, and Ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. For the latest information from our center, please visit the new Johns Hopkins Jerome L. Greene Sjögren’s Syndrome Center web site.

Expertise and Convenience - Redefining the Model of Care

Our physicians share a passionate commitment to the treatment of Sjögren’s Syndrome , and their combined experience leads to excellent and comprehensive patient care. We are leading the way in redefining the model of patient care and service in our multidisciplinary approach to the evaluation and management of Sjögren’s Syndrome. As a patient, you will receive the comprehensive, patient-centered care that you would expect from a world-class institution.

Scheduling an Appointment:

For New Patients

Before you make an appointment, you will need:

A referral letter from your physician.
Medical records from all treating physicians and/or hospital discharge summaries.
A copy of your insurance card(s).
Photo ID

If already done, please provide:

Recent laboratory results
The original pathology slides and report from a labial gland biopsy. It is particularly important that we have the actual labial gland biopsy slides as this may be crucial for making the correct diagnosis.

To make your appointments at the Sjögren’s Syndrome Center, please call 410-550-1887.

On the day of your appointment, plan to arrive 30 minutes ahead of time for registration and vital signs. Remember to bring a copy of your insurance card(s) to the appointment. New patient evaluations in our Center typically involve appointments for multiple physicians and may take two days to complete. Our medical office coordinator will be happy to make recommendations for local hotels and transportation companies that offer discounts to our patients.

For Returning Patients

You will need to plan for a one day visit to the Center as a return patient.

Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment.
You may also be asked to complete some additional forms to allow us to bill your insurance, to review your health, and let us know how you have been doing since your last visit.
Bring a copy of your insurance cards.

Rescheduling Appointments and Cancellations

We schedule our appointments weeks in advance and are usually unable to reschedule on short notice. If you must reschedule, call us at 410-550-1887 as soon as possible. This will allow us to schedule another patient who is waiting to be seen.

What To Expect

New patients can expect the following at their first visit to the Sjögren’s Syndrome Center:

When preparing for an appointment, please arrange to have your records along with your physician's referral letter sent to the Center. Please mail documents to the address listed below. Please note this is NOT the clinic location.
Mailing Address:
Mason F. Lord Bldg., Center Tower, Suite 4000
5200 Eastern Ave
Baltimore, MD 21224
It is a requirement of the Sjögren’s Syndrome Center that our physicians review your records before being scheduled for an appointment. This enables our physicians to arrange for the appropriate evaluation and verify that you would benefit from a visit to the Center.
After the physicians review your records, and approve your appointment, our medical office coordinator(s) will contact you within 7 business days to schedule an appointment, as well as further testing if necessary. These appointments will be coordinated over a 1-2 day period of time depending on if you are a new or return patient.
For your first visit, you should plan on spending 1-2 days in Baltimore to complete your evaluation at the Sjögren’s Syndrome Center. Our medical office coordinator(s) will be able to let you know in advance how long your evaluation is expected to last.
When you arrive at the clinic, the medical receptionist will take your physician referral letter, your insurance card and copies of your medical records.
Our physicians will examine you and discuss treatment options with you. You may also undergo testing, including a salivary function scan (parotid scintigraphy), sialometry, labial gland biopsy, electromyography/nerve conduction studies, and blood work.
We are dedicated to providing care for patients with Sjögren’s Syndrome. In many cases, we will continue to follow you closely with regular return visits. However, we are also available to provide recommendations to your local physicians, particularly if you live far from our Center. For those patients who do not have Sjögren’s Syndrome, we will try to refer you to an appropriate specialist at Johns Hopkins or elsewhere.

Directions:

Direction Line Available - One phone call to 410–550–5748 provides patients or visitors with directions from the major interstates, and landmarks throughout the city. We are located in the Neurology Clinic portion of the 301 Building. DO NOT FOLLOW SIGNS TO THE MASON LORD BUILDING OR THE ASTHMA/ALLERGY BUILDING.

From Points West

Take Cold Spring Lane East, which eventually turns into Moravia Road. Continue on Moravia Road and take the Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895 South) for approximately 1.1 miles to exit 12, Lombard Street. After exiting the ramp, continue east for approximately two miles to the Hopkins Bayview campus on the right. OR
Take the Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895). After exiting the tunnel, take exit 12, Lombard Street. At the first stop light, proceed straight onto Bayview Boulevard.

From points South (including BWI Airport):

Take I-295 north to the Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895). After exiting the tunnel, take exit 12, Lombard Street. At the first stop light, proceed straight onto Bayview Boulevard. OR
Take I-95 through the Fort McHenry Tunnel to exit 59 (Eastern Avenue). Turn left onto Eastern Avenue and proceed approximately one mile to Bayview Boulevard on the right.

From points North and East:

Take I-95 south to exit 59 (Eastern Avenue). Turn right onto Eastern Avenue (west) and proceed approximately one mile to Bayview Boulevard on the right. OR
Take I-895 south to exit 12, Lombard Street. At the first stop light, turn right onto Bayview Boulevard.

Our Physicians and Faculty:

Sjögren’s Syndrome affects approximately 1 in 200 Americans. It is critical for patients who suspect they may be suffering from Sjogren’s syndrome to be evaluated by a group of experienced specialists.

The physicians at the Johns Hopkins Jerome L. Greene Sjögren’s Syndrome Center have extensive experience in diagnosing, researching and treating Sjögren’s Syndrome. Their expertise is now gathered in one center, conveniently located at the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus in Baltimore, Maryland.

Our team features a rheumatologists, neurologists, gynecologist, dentists/oral surgeon, and ophthalmologists who evaluate 200-300 new patients a year.

Meet our doctors:

Dr. Alan Baer, Director
Dr. Esen Akpek, Associate Director
Dr. Julius Birnbaum, Associate Director
Dr. Anne Burke
Dr. Thomas Grader-Beck
Dr. Jean Kim

Dr. Alan Baer, Director Dr. Alan Baer is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director of the Johns Hopkins University Rheumatology Practice at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He founded the Sjogren’s Syndrome Clinic in the Rheumatology Division at Johns Hopkins shortly after joining the faculty there in 2007. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1978 and completed his post-graduate medical training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt University Hospitals. He was a faculty member at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, from 1986 to 2007, and served as Chief of the Section of Rheumatology and Fellowship Program Director. Dr. Baer has a long-standing interest in Sjogren’s syndrome.
Dr. Esen Akpek, Associate Director Dr. Esen Akpek is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the Director of the Ocular Surface Disease and Dry Eye Clinic. A graduate of the Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey, she completed her residency in ophthalmology at the Ankara Numune Hospital and clinical fellowships at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Harvard Medical School, Boston) and at the Wilmer Eye Institute (Johns Hopkins Medical School). She has been on the faculty of the Wilmer Eye Institute since 1999. She is the recipient of the prestigious Cora Verhagen Immunology Prize, American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award and other awards and has published and co-authored numerous scientific articles.
Dr. Julius Birnbaum, Associate Director Dr. Julius Birnbaum graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, received his M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his Residency in Neurology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, a Residency in Internal Medicine at Jacobi Medical Center; Bronx, NY, and a Rheumatology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He earned his Masters in Clinical Investigation at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins. Dr. Birnbaum is the only physician in this country who is board-certified in Neurology, Internal Medicine, and Rheumatology. His clinical and research interests pertain to the neurological complications of rheumatic syndromes, with a focus on Sjögren’s Syndrome.
Dr. Anne E. Burke Dr. Anne E. Burke is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Family Planning Fellowship Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She holds special clinical and research interests in contraception, family planning and perimenopause. Dr. Burke is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Pittsburgh and a fellowship in Family Planning at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine . She earned her Master's in Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dr. Thomas Grader-Beck Dr. Thomas Grader-Beck is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. He graduated from the Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany in 1997, completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts in 2003 and his subspecialty training in Rheumatology at the Johns Hopkins University in 2006. He joined the Jerome Greene Sjogren’s Syndrome Center in 2010. His clinical and research interests are detection of early disease in Sjogren’s syndrome and patients with overlap of Sjogren’s syndrome and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Together with gynecologist Dr. Anne Burke he holds a special interest in Sjogren’s Syndrome patients with gynecological manifestations.
Dr. Jean Kim Dr. Kim is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Otolaryngology and Medicine. She earned her MD and PhD degrees from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in Pittsburgh, PA and completed a residency and post graduate training in otolaryngology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her clinical interest is sinus disease and nasal polyps. She is a clinician scientist actively performing both clinical and basic laboratory research. She directs a basic science laboratory active in the investigation of the molecular mechanisms of host defense in chronic rhinosinusitis, epithelial cell dysfunction of the upper airways, gene regulation of cytokine expression, interface between innate and adaptive immune responses in chronic rhinosinusitis and the pathogenesis of sinonasal polyposis. Dr Kim also has research and clinical interests in the autoimmune manifestations of chronic rhinosinusitis and upper airway inflammatory diseases.

Our Staff:

Caitlin Bishop

Ms. Caitlin Bishop is the Senior Medical Office Coordinator of the Jerome L. Greene Sjögren’s Syndrome Center. She has worked at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions for a number of years and has extensive experience in coordinating new patient visits to Johns Hopkins. She is responsible for ensuring that each patient in the Center has a coordinated series of appointments with the specialists in our Center and throughout the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Kelly Dudek

Ms. Kelly Dudek is one of the Senior Medical Office Coordinator of the Jerome L. Greene Sjögren’s Syndrome Center. She has worked at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions for a number of years handling patient appointments. She has strong organization skills, is a team player, helps manage multiple priorities and is customer service oriented.

Better Treatment and Finding a Cure – Ways of Giving

The Johns Hopkins Jerome L. Greene Sjogren’s Syndrome Center is dedicated to helping patients live successful and fulfilling lives despite the struggles of living with a Sjögren’s Syndrome. Our goal is to find better treatments and identify the causes of this disease. To this end, we are engaged in groundbreaking research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of the disease. In addition, we are committed to the education, support, and care of those who suffer from Sjögren’s Syndrome.

Please follow this link Ways of Giving in order to make a monetary donation to support research for Sjögren’s Syndrome.