Emily Filmore is an author, patient advocate, artist, and former attorney. She is an original co-founding director of Myositis Support and Understanding, a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer non-profit organization for people living with myositis and their care partners. She has published five books, including The Marvelous Transformation: Living Well with Autoimmune Disease, as well as numerous articles about healthy living and parenting. She has dealt with myositis and other comorbidities for over 26 years. Emily lives in Minnesota with her husband and daughter and credits her family, including an older son who lives out of state, with keeping her spirits up and positively affecting the course of her disease. Because of the refractory nature of myositis and the revolving door of treatments Emily feels strongly that patient-centered research is important to improve the quality of life for myositis patients.