Bio
Robert Fairchild, MD, PhD specializes in the diagnosis, evaluation and management of rheumatologic diseases utilizing rheumatologic ultrasonography with a particular interest in rheumatoid arthritis. He is the Director of Stanford’s Rheumatology Ultrasound Diagnostic and Interventional Clinic which he founded in 2017. Since that time, the ultrasound clinic has seen tremendous growth and referrals for imaging and procedural intervention are now core components of Stanford Rheumatology’s clinical practice. In addition, Dr. Fairchild developed and instituted a comprehensive rheumatology ultrasound fellowship training curriculum and is engaged in a variety of ultrasound research studies. Outside of his ultrasound pursuits, Dr. Fairchild also serves as the Medical Director for Stanford’s Value Based Care program which focuses on initiatives aimed at delivering high quality care at lower cost.
Dr. Fairchild received his PhD from Georgetown University, and his M.D. from Columbia University college of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed internship and residency in the Department of Medicine at Stanford and continued on for rheumatology fellowship training in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford. Dr. Fairchild trained in rheumatologic ultrasonography through the USSONAR program and is certified in this technique through the American College of Rheumatology (RhMSUS certification).
Dr. Fairchild’s research interests in ultrasonography focus on unique applications of ultrasonography in rheumatology disease. He has performed research in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), using ultrasound to study arthritis and tendinopathy, vascular disease, calcinosis, and skin disease. He is also focused on interstitial lung disease in adult and pediatric rheumatologic disease. Dr. Fairchild is engaged in the development of ultrasonographic outcome measures for clinical research studies and uses ultrasonographic assessments of the salivary gland to measure disease response in clinical trials in IgG4 related disease and Sjogren’s Syndrome. Dr. Fairchild is leveraging his expertise in ultrasonography and imaging in rheumatology in deep learning applications to aid in disease detection, diagnosis, and sub-typing. Dr. Fairchild also performs synovial biopsies providing an important clinical and research resource for the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology.
