Global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has appointed Michael P. Heffernan, M.D., a nationally recognized expert in complex medical dermatology, psoriasis and clinical trials, as a distinguished medical fellow of its autoimmune team. Alisa E. Koch, M.D., a rheumatologist who has won numerous academic awards for her extensive work in rheumatoid arthritis, also joined the team as senior medical fellow.

Most recently, Heffernan was in private practice at Central Dermatology in St. Louis, and was formerly the chair of the department of dermatology at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. A board-certified dermatologist, Heffernan has been the principal investigator for more than 80 research studies on disorders of the skin. He is also a past president and a member of the board of directors of the Medical Dermatology Society. In this new position at Lilly, Heffernan will provide scientific and medical direction to those molecules in clinical development for the treatment of psoriasis and other autoimmune dermatological conditions. He will also serve as a senior medical advisor to Lilly's advocacy and medical education efforts in these disease states.

Koch most recently served in an endowed chair position, the Frederick G.L. Huetwell and William D. Robinson, M.D. Professor of Rheumatology, at the University of Michigan Medical School. She also served as the chief of rheumatology at the Veterans Administration Chicago Health Care System, Lakeside Division, for 13 years. As senior medical fellow, her key responsibilities are to advance and support the development, launch and commercialization of the U.S. autoimmune programs. She will serve as a representative and advocate for the programs within the rheumatological professional medical community and support Lilly's overall medical education efforts in these disease states.