Grom’s early work with outstanding mentors, who were pediatric rheumatologists, led him to pursue his clinical and research interests. During his fellowship, the unfortunate death of a patient from macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) prompted him to further study this life-threatening complication of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Currently, he focuses on identifying risk factors and new therapeutic targets in MAS. Transnational studies have identified interferon gamma (INF), a dimerized soluble cytokine, as a therapeutic target in patients suffering from MAS. This discovery provided the rationale for a new clinical trial that is currently underway.
His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA) Foundation. He has also received research grants from Sobi, Novartis and AB2Bio.