ACR Honors Contributions to Rheumatology

The question is, How do you balance the FDA’s legitimate concerns over safety and the doctors’ concerns over safety?

The doctors are the ones in the offices with the patients who need to benefit from the new drugs. This was part of that era of new drug development.

We not only faced issues of drug safety, but of how the ACR could help to get the voice of the rheumatologist heard.

Distinguished Basic Investigator Award

Gregory Dennis, MD

Senior Director, Medical Affairs, Human Genome Sciences, Inc., Rockville, Md.

Background: Dr. Dennis is a veteran in every sense of the word. A self-described “Army brat” who was raised mostly on Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, his internship and residency were done at the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Denver, followed by rheumatology fellowship training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and subsequent stints at the 7th Medical Command in Landstuhl, Germany, and Honduras followed. He rose to chief of rheumatology and rheumatology consultant to the Army Surgeon General before retiring in 2001. With an eye to staying involved in his interest—particularly medical education and the pathogenesis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)—he joined the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) of the NIH. He eventually moved to private industry. “I feel like at this stage of my career I am able to make greater contributions in that regard—considering how we should conduct clinical trials,” Dr. Dennis says. “It’s a good feeling.”

Q: How do awards like this benefit others, not just recipients?

A: While I don’t think anyone will purposely strive to be recognized in this fashion, I do think that many will be motivated to participate knowing that their efforts will be appreciated. They realize that when you volunteer for these activities or make contributions to the field, it will not fall on deaf ears.

Q:What does an award for service, as opposed to research, mean to a veteran clinician?

A: To me, the distinguished service award means you’re being recognized for over and above what you do on a day-to-day basis. Like someone said to me at the ACR meeting, “Wow, you got the good guy award.” I took that to mean that maybe I was the go-to person when someone needs projects worked on or things accomplished. It’s kind of nice.

Q: How do you view the impact you can make from private industry, as opposed to your prior work in the military and with NIH?