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From the College: Building a Sustainable Foundation
As I write my final column as president of the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF), I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the advances we have made over my years of service in a leadership capacity.
Columns: Our Interdisciplinary Outlook
The ACR is a single entity made stronger by the sum of its member constituents—physicians and allied health professionals—and our shared commitment to improving care for patients living with rheumatic and autoimmune diseases. As the rheumatology practice setting becomes more varied, the multidisciplinary team has become more important. The fact that the ACR membership comprises rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals from nearly two dozen disciplines has inspired the Association of...
From the College: Within Our Reach–Funded Research Finds Highly Specific Markers of RA
A study recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatism concluded that anti–peptidyl arginine deiminase type 4 (PAD-4) antibodies are highly specific markers of RA and appear to be useful markers of disease severity. The project studied an important and previously unrecognized immune response in RA—anti–PAD-4, which is one of the major proteins that creates other common autoantigens in RA.
Columns: Productive Partnership
A recurring theme in my previous columns has been the importance of working together as a specialty and the fact that this organization has a stronger voice because it represents such a diverse group of rheumatology professionals. Another example of our strength in diversity is the alliance between the ACR and the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF). REF President Leslie J. Crofford, MD, and I are co-writing this column about the relationship between our organizations because we believe that this...
From the College: Closer to a Cure
Over the last two years, the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign has granted almost $9 million to 30 researchers in the hopes of finding a cure for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These researchers are studying an array of issues, from innovative research into the genetics of RA to new treatments that will more effectively manage the disease. With the REF’s announcement of the third round of Within Our Reach grant recipients, patients with RA are closer to a cure.
Departments: We Are All in This Together
While rheumatologists in private practice face daily concerns regarding reimbursements and certifications, the Research and Education Foundation (REF) is working behind the scenes to help improve patients’ lives. Through its balanced core awards and grants portfolio, the REF supports education, training, and career development for the future academic workforce.
From the College: Streamlined Funding Portfolio Increases Efficacy
The ACR Research and Education Foundation recently completed a comprehensive review of its core awards and grants portfolio to assure that it was effective in meeting the needs of junior or early career physician-scientists and health professionals.
From the College: Demonstrators Demand More Money for Arthritis Research—What Could Happen?
I recently came across a fictional publication called the Not Yet Gazette with a front-page story dated November 10, 2025, entitled, “Demonstrators demand more money for arthritis research.” The fictional report gave details of a crowd of 100,000, “many in wheelchairs,” confronting the health secretary of that time. The genesis of this fictional article was the observed trend towards the aging of the population and slow growth in research funding. The article stated that, “...
From the College: In America’s Recession, the REF Remains Strong
According to a survey conducted in October 2008 by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, three-quarters of the region’s leading foundations and corporate giving programs suffered a decline in assets because of plummeting returns on investments over 2008. About one-third of the respondents said they reduced grant budgets from 2007 to 2008, and about half of the organizations said they plan to award fewer grants in 2009.
Departments: New Research Yields Significant Advances in RA Detection and Treatment
F or the first time during its unprecedented initiative to find a cure for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) is releasing new information acquired from research funded by the Within Our Reach campaign.
