Today, Dr. Nelson is investigating how factors such as depression and anxiety may relate to whole-body OA. She has also received an NIH career-development grant to study how bone shape can be a risk factor in the development of hip OA, an idea borne during her early research.
“You really can’t get an award like that [NIH grant] without some pretty substantial preliminary data and publications, which I got from the Rheumatology Research Foundation grant,” says Dr. Nelson, who noted that the coursework toward her Master of Science in Clinical Research degree, an important step toward her research career, was also supported by funding and protected time made possible by the Foundation grant.
For more information about the Foundation’s Awards and Grants program, including how to apply, visit www.rheumatology.org/Foundation or contact the Foundation’s Damian Smalls, senior specialist for awards and grants, at (404) 633-3777 or [email protected].
