
Professor of Medicine
Virginia Byers Kraus, MD, PhD, is the Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor of Pathology and a faculty member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute in the Duke University School of Medicine. She is a practicing Rheumatologist with over 30 years’ experience in translational musculoskeletal research focusing on osteoarthritis, the most common of all arthritides. She trained at Brown University (ScB 1979), Duke University (MD 1982, PhD 1993) and the Duke University School of Medicine (Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Rheumatology). Her career has focused on elucidating osteoarthritis pathogenesis and translational research into the discovery and validation of biomarkers for early osteoarthritis detection, prediction of progression, monitoring of disease status, and facilitation of therapeutic developments. She is co-PI of the Foundation for NIH Biomarkers Consortium Osteoarthritis project. Trained as a molecular biologist and a Rheumatologist, she endeavors to study disease from bedside to bench.
Appointments and Affiliations
- Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professor of Medicine
- Professor of Medicine
- Professor of Pathology
- Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery
- Affiliate of the Duke Regeneration Center
- Member of Duke Molecular Physiology Institute
Contact Information
- Office Location: 300 N Duke St, Carmichael Building Room 15-205, Durham, NC 27701-2047
- Email Address: kraus004@duke.edu
Education
- M.D. Duke University, 1982
- Ph.D. Duke University, 1993
- Duke University, 1986
- Duke University, 1989
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Mary Bernheim Distinguished Professorship of the Duke School of Medicine. Duke University. 2021
- Lifetime Achievement Award . Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI). 2019
- Elected Member. Association of American Physicians (AAP). 2019
- Doctor Honoris Causa (Honorary Doctorate). University of Tampere, Finland . 2018
- Kappa Delta Award. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Research Society. 2015
- Medical Honors Society. AOA. 1982
- Honors Society. Sigma Xi. 1979
Courses Taught
- PATHOL 793: Research Independent Study
- PATHOL 293: Research Independent Study
In the News
- Hope for Knee Osteoarthritis: Detecting It Before It Causes Damage (Apr 29, 202…
- New Blood Test is More Accurate in Identifying Osteoarthritis Progression (Jan …
- How Long Older Adults Will Live Comes Down to 17 Often Surprising Factors (Sep …
- Duke Awards 22 Distinguished Professorships (Jun 28, 2021)
- Humans Can't Replace Limbs, But We Can Regenerate Cartilage. Here's Why That Ma…
Representative Publications
- Kraus, V. B., B. Burnett, J. Coindreau, S. Cottrell, D. Eyre, M. Gendreau, J. Gardiner, et al. “Application of biomarkers in the development of drugs intended for the treatment of osteoarthritis.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 19, no. 5 (May 2011): 515–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2010.08.019.
- Kraus, V. B. “Osteoarthritis year 2010 in review: biochemical markers.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 19, no. 4 (April 2011): 346–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2011.02.002.
- Pells, Jennifer J., Rebecca A. Shelby, Francis J. Keefe, Kim E. Dixon, James A. Blumenthal, Lara LaCaille, Jessica M. Tucker, Daniel Schmitt, David S. Caldwell, and Virginia B. Kraus. “Arthritis self-efficacy and self-efficacy for resisting eating: relationships to pain, disability, and eating behavior in overweight and obese individuals with osteoarthritic knee pain.” Pain 136, no. 3 (June 2008): 340–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2007.07.012.
- Elliott, A. L., V. B. Kraus, F. Fang, J. B. Renner, T. A. Schwartz, A. Salazar, T. Huguenin, M. C. Hochberg, C. G. Helmick, and J. M. Jordan. “Joint-specific hand symptoms and self-reported and performance-based functional status in African Americans and Caucasians: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project.” Ann Rheum Dis 66, no. 12 (December 2007): 1622–26. https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.2006.057422.
- Shamji, Mohammed F., Helawe Betre, Virginia B. Kraus, Jun Chen, Ashutosh Chilkoti, Rajeswari Pichika, Koichi Masuda, and Lori A. Setton. “Development and characterization of a fusion protein between thermally responsive elastin-like polypeptide and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist: sustained release of a local antiinflammatory therapeutic.” Arthritis Rheum 56, no. 11 (November 2007): 3650–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.22952.
- Charles, H. C., V. B. Kraus, M. Ainslie, and M. -. P. Hellio Le Graverand-Gastineau. “Optimization of the fixed-flexion knee radiograph.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 11 (November 2007): 1221–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2007.05.012.
- Kraus, V. B., T. V. Stabler, S. Y. Kong, G. Varju, and G. McDaniel. “Measurement of synovial fluid volume using urea.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 10 (October 2007): 1217–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2007.03.017.
- Kraus, V. B., T. V. Stabler, G. Luta, J. B. Renner, A. D. Dragomir, and J. M. Jordan. “Interpretation of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels for cardiovascular disease risk is complicated by race, pulmonary disease, body mass index, gender, and osteoarthritis.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 8 (August 2007): 966–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2007.02.014.
- Allen, K. D., R. F. DeVellis, J. B. Renner, V. B. Kraus, and J. M. Jordan. “Validity and factor structure of the AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Hand Index in a community-based sample.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 7 (July 2007): 830–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2007.01.012.
- Huebner, J. L., D. R. Seifer, and V. B. Kraus. “A longitudinal analysis of serum cytokines in the Hartley guinea pig model of osteoarthritis.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 3 (March 2007): 354–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.10.014.
- Kraus, V. B., J. M. Jordan, M. Doherty, A. G. Wilson, R. Moskowitz, M. Hochberg, R. Loeser, et al. “The Genetics of Generalized Osteoarthritis (GOGO) study: study design and evaluation of osteoarthritis phenotypes.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 15, no. 2 (February 2007): 120–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.10.002.
- Huebner, J. L., and V. B. Kraus. “Assessment of the utility of biomarkers of osteoarthritis in the guinea pig.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14, no. 9 (September 2006): 923–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.03.007.
- Bauer, D. C., D. J. Hunter, S. B. Abramson, M. Attur, M. Corr, D. Felson, D. Heinegård, et al. “Classification of osteoarthritis biomarkers: a proposed approach.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 14, no. 8 (August 2006): 723–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.04.001.
- Kong, S. Y., T. V. Stabler, L. G. Criscione, A. L. Elliott, J. M. Jordan, and V. B. Kraus. “Diurnal variation of serum and urine biomarkers in patients with radiographic knee osteoarthritis.” Arthritis Rheum 54, no. 8 (August 2006): 2496–2504. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.21977.
- Kraus, Virginia B. “Do biochemical markers have a role in osteoarthritis diagnosis and treatment?” Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 20, no. 1 (February 2006): 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2005.09.001.
- Criscione, Lisa G., Alan L. Elliott, Thomas Stabler, Joanne M. Jordan, Carl F. Pieper, and Virginia B. Kraus. “Variation of serum hyaluronan with activity in individuals with knee osteoarthritis.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 13, no. 9 (September 2005): 837–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2005.05.004.
- Huebner, J. L., M. A. Hanes, B. Beekman, J. M. TeKoppele, and V. B. Kraus. “A comparative analysis of bone and cartilage metabolism in two strains of guinea-pig with varying degrees of naturally occurring osteoarthritis.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 10, no. 10 (October 2002): 758–67. https://doi.org/10.1053/joca.2002.0821.
- Clark, Amy G., Amy L. Rohrbaugh, Ivan Otterness, and Virginia B. Kraus. “The effects of ascorbic acid on cartilage metabolism in guinea pig articular cartilage explants.” Matrix Biol 21, no. 2 (March 2002): 175–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0945-053x(01)00193-7.
- Kraus, Virginia B., Janet L. Huebner, Christian Fink, Jeffrey B. King, Spencer Brown, T Parker Vail, and Farshid Guilak. “Urea as a passive transport marker for arthritis biomarker studies.” Arthritis Rheum 46, no. 2 (February 2002): 420–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.10124.