Dr. O’Shea says his research on Jak inhibitors started years ago when he was treating a patient with a mutation of Jak 3; however, his first foray into the field of rheumatology was when he went to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH as a resident in the early 1980s. “I had a patient with vasculitis who blew me away. I didn’t know much about the NIH or research and had no bench experience, but I knew I wanted to help this woman and patients like her,” he says. He went on to do additional postdoctoral work in the Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Development. In 1989, Dr. O’Shea established his own group at the National Cancer Institute and moved to NIAMS in 1994 as chief of the lymphocyte cell biology section of the arthritis and rheumatology branch. He was named chief of the Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch in 2002 and was named scientific director of the research program at NIAMS in 2005.
In 2009, Dr. O’Shea received another prestigious award for his scientific accomplishments. In May, he was awarded the Irish Society for Immunology Public Lecture Award. Each year the society recognizes an outstanding immunologist. As the winner of this award, Dr. O’Shea was invited by the Royal Dublin Society to lecture on his work.
“I realize that many people are doing outstanding research. To me, being recognized for my work is like winning an Olympic event by a small fraction of a second,” says Dr. O’Shea.
Advocacy and Volunteerism
The Harding Award recognizes a volunteer who has provided leadership and direction to the AF. It was named in memory of one of the foundation’s prominent volunteer leaders. Harding was head of the investment bank Smith Barney and Co., and also served as president and vice chair of the Arthritis Foundation for a 20-year period.
“I am totally overwhelmed and humbled, particularly when I think of others who have received this award,” says Robbins. One of the previous winners, Charles Christian, MD, chief physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery, presented Robbins with the 2009 award. “I was so moved and surprised,” she adds.
Robbins is a champion for patients with rheumatic disease. She says she became interested in helping adults and children with arthritis by accident when she was working part time in the rheumatology clinic as an undergraduate student at State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn, N.Y. “The physician in charge put me in the clinic with patients, and I was so touched by the courage of people to cope that I decided to study more in the area of training and research,” she says.
