Dr Guma’s primary interest is to study mechanisms of chronic inflammation associated with inflammatory arthritis and to integrate this knowledge towards development of novel therapeutic interventions. More precisely, our research aims to understand metabolic changes in fibroblasts and macrophages, which are cells that play a critical role in the pathogenesis of different types of inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis arthritis, gout, and osteoarthritis, which should lead to novel insights into disease mechanisms. These studies also offer a novel and additional approach for combination therapy in inflammatory arthritis independent of systemic immunosuppression. Our research also aims to understand the role of circulating pro-inflammatory metabolites in synovial inflammation and how they change after therapeutic and diet interventions. Rheumatic patients often inquire about dietary interventions to improve joint symptoms and disease control, as they perceive changes in symptoms after consumption or avoidance of certain foods. A diet that combines several strategies to decrease inflammation may represent a more realistic dietician approach for those suffering from our patients. Thus, we designed the ITIS diet, an anti-inflammatory diet for a complementary therapy in rheumatic patients. Our research aims to determine whether or not an anti-inflammatory diet is a must-include therapeutic strategy by modulating microbiome and circulating metabolites.