ACR Welcomes New Board of Directors

Dr. Saag

Kenneth Saag, MD, MSc, is Jane Knight Lowe professor of medicine in the division of clinical immunology and rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and professor of epidemiology at the UAB School of Public Health. He is the founding director of the Deep South Musculoskeletal (DSM) Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs), and associate director of the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (NIAMS P60). Dr. Saag is also director of the UAB Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE), a university-wide supported interdisciplinary research center. He is the only rheumatologist on the board of directors of the National Osteoporosis board of trustees, and also serves on the board of directors of the Gout and Uric Acid Society. Dr. Saag is associate editor for Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease, and has completed terms on the editorial boards of Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Arthritis Care and Research, and Arthritis Research and Therapeutics.

Dr. Saag has served on many committees of the ACR and recently completed his tenure as the chair of the Committee on Quality of Care. “There has been a perception that board members represent either academic or community practice perspectives. As a board member, I will do my best to ‘work across the aisle’ and consider the interests of colleagues both in academia and those in practice,” says Dr. Saag. During his term on the board, Dr. Saag would like to see the ACR “strive to expand its collaborations with relevant entities both within and outside the United States. As our healthcare environment changes, we will benefit our clinical research and training missions from selective partnerships with related groups, while maintaining our brand identity.”

Dr. McMahan

Zsuzsanna H. McMahan, MD, MHS, is assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. McMahan received her MD degree from The University of Texas at Houston Medical School. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at The University of Texas–Southwestern in Dallas and a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical and experimental rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University. During her rheumatology fellowship, she also earned her Masters in Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has served on and chaired the ACR Fellows’ Subcommittee and was a member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee, 2020 Task Force, and 2013 Strategic Planning Committee.

As the incoming young member of the board of directors, Dr. McMahan says, “as a volunteer, a comprehensive understanding of the infrastructure, operations, and goals of the ACR is essential when taking responsibility to help advance its mission and vision.” Dr. McMahan is looking forward to representing the needs and interests of rheumatologists, particularly those early in their careers. She says, “beginning a clinical practice or starting an academic career during a time of significant national budget cuts can be daunting. I look forward to implementing the ACR strategic plan to support the needs of its members through these challenging times.”