About Dr. Sarah Luebker · The Holistic Rheumatologist
About

Sarah Luebker, DO.

Board-certified rheumatologist. Vanderbilt Immunology and Rheumatology Fellowship. Building the patient-facing science your appointments never had time for.
Dr. Sarah Luebker headshot

Credentials.

Board certification
Rheumatology
American College of Rheumatology · 2023
Board certification
Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine · 2021
Fellowship
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Immunology and Rheumatology Fellowship, 2021–2023 · Mentor: Dr. Tracy Frech
Residency
Medical University of South Carolina
Internal Medicine, 2018–2021 · Charleston, SC
Medical school
Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), 2014–2018
Current role
White River Health
Rheumatologist · Medical Director · Infusion Director · Associate Faculty

Why I built this.

The longer I practiced rheumatology, the clearer one thing became: the most important conversations I have with patients don't fit in a 15-minute visit. What they eat, how they move, what they live with every day, how they sleep, how they manage stress — all of it changes the inflammation behind their disease. But there's never enough time to do it justice in clinic.

So I started building it here. Not as an alternative to specialty care — I'm a board-certified rheumatologist, biologics and DMARDs are the foundation of everything I do — but as the layer underneath that makes everything else work better. Lifestyle medicine isn't a replacement for the medications that put your disease in remission. It's how you give your body the best chance of staying there.

"The food, movement, and daily exposures that affect inflammation rarely fit inside a 15-minute appointment. So I'm taking the time here."

The goal of this site is simple: take what I would tell you across the desk if we had hours together, and put it where you can read it, share it, come back to it. With the evidence, the citations, the trial names. In language that doesn't require a medical degree to follow.

If you're newly diagnosed and looking for direction, you're in the right place. If you've been managing autoimmune disease for years and want to understand why it stays inflamed, you're in the right place. If you're a clinician who wants to share something with your patients in plain English, you're in the right place too.

Sub-specialty interests.

Within rheumatology, my deepest clinical interests are in the connective tissue diseases with significant pulmonary involvement and in the diagnostic challenges that often delay treatment.

Systemic sclerosisILD screening, pulmonary hypertension risk stratification, early disease detection
Inflammatory myositisMDA5 dermatomyositis, antisynthetase syndrome, treatment sequencing
VasculitisGiant cell arteritis, ANCA-associated vasculitis, EGPA, steroid-sparing approaches
Diagnostic excellenceIgG4-related disease, granulomatous disease, autoimmune-metabolic overlap

Where my work has been published.

Selected venues that have featured research, commentary, or talks I've contributed to:

American College of RheumatologySociety meetings & ACR Convergence
Scleroderma Research FoundationSub-specialty research community
Rheumatology (Oxford)Peer-reviewed publication
EurekAlert!Science press release coverage
DoximityPhysician network featured contributor
US News & World ReportHealth reporting

See the full media page →

Speaking.

I give talks on lifestyle medicine in rheumatic disease — nutrition, exercise, and environmental health applied to autoimmune conditions. Recent and upcoming engagements include NEA Baptist CME, and Grand Rounds at MUSC and Vanderbilt.

See the full speaking page →   ·   Press kit & booking →

Professional affiliations.

Arkansas Rheumatology AssociationBoard Member
Association of Women in Rheumatology (AWIR)Member
American College of Rheumatology (ACR)Member
Scleroderma Research FoundationAffiliated researcher

Connect.

Most of my patient-facing content lives here. I share shorter posts and updates on social — feel free to follow along.

The free guide

Start with Practical Strategies.

The handout I give my patients. Real work on food, daily exposures, and getting started.

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