Dr. Colin Diffie joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology as an Instructor on July 1, 2019.
Dr. Diffie is a native Texan, and dual majored in Psychology and Neurobiology at UT Austin, where he graduated summa cum laude. He then went to medical school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. He eventually came to St. Louis for his residency in Internal Medicine at Washington University. He stayed at Washington University for fellowship in rheumatology and will be staying here as faculty as well. His foremost focus has been on providing excellent patient care on complex patients. He has special interests in vasculitis, spondyloarthropathy and in the clinical management of these conditions. He co-authored the chapters on spondyloarthropathy and ankylosing spondylitis for the Washington Manual with Dr. Lisa Zickuhr. He additionally wrote chapters on the physical exam, on septic arthritis, and on amyloid arthropathy. He also carries a special interest in vasculitis and will be one of the three physicians in the vasculitis clinic as it is expanded. The eventual goal is to get the vasculitis clinic involved in clinical trials and in a nation-wide disease consortium with other academic institutions. Dr. Diffie is additionally doing research on disease mechanisms for ANCA-associated vasculitis where patient blood samples are observed before and after a flare to help identify the inflammatory milieu that causes or which can predict disease. Finally, Dr. Diffie carries a passion for medical education and will be giving lectures to medical students, to residents, to fellows, and to allied health professionals within the pain management group.