TR: What do you see as some of the challenges the ACR will face in the coming year?
Dr. Daikh: The ACR faces significant and immediate changes, including the need to provide value, opportunities and support for the younger generation of rheumatologists and allied health professionals. My primary goal is to try to help the organization prepare to manage the changes that are rapidly happening in front of us.
My major focus would be to help support and improve the effectiveness of our boards and committees, and to improve the structure and function of our organization, which would really maximize our ability to innovate and be responsive to the changing environment.
It’s important to know that I really strongly believe that all aspects of our profession—whether clinical care, research or interprofessional care by allied professional colleagues—all are equally important. Cooperation across all these domains is critical to our survival and the growth of our organization. All rheumatology providers are important to moving the field forward and diversity in our organization will only strengthen us.
I look forward to helping the ACR evolve as a dynamic organization that’s responsive to change and able to adapt to the challenges of a new world.
TR: How do you plan on strengthening collaboration among all the healthcare providers in the field?
Dr. Daikh: My professional and volunteer background and experience really span the scope of rheumatology, from patient care and research to education, even advocacy. I strive for balance and work to generate consensus. I don’t bring one viewpoint to the table, and I really value all backgrounds. I’m not somebody who supports just one camp.
TR: What do you want ACR members to know about you as an individual?
Dr. Daikh: My wife, Wendy Manley, practices environmental law in the Bay Area. Our daughter, Clara, is 18. She just graduated from high school.
I tend to have too many interests and hobbies. I studied piano formally and my daughter and I took guitar lessons together for a few years. Music is very important to us. I really love all kinds of music. I listen to live music a lot. In the day, I was a bit of a Grateful Deadhead. I wasn’t a hard-core groupie, but I took in quite a few concerts over the years. When I was a resident, I worked for a group in San Francisco called Rock Med, which provides medical care at rock concerts. I like to work on sports cars and to drive them. I’ve always been an Alpha Romeo enthusiast. I have a couple that I tinker around with. I like woodworking and do all kinds of outdoor activities: bird watching, fishing, hiking and camping. I read a lot.
