President’s Corner: Partners in Care & Research, the ARP & Rheumatology Research Foundation

Research: Research supported by the Foundation encompasses basic, translational, clinical and health services research, spanning numerous rheumatic diseases and focus areas. Foundation research awards not only support specific projects but also career development, including bridge awards from the National Institutes of Health, adult and pediatric research fellow awards, and scientist and investigator awards. Through this portfolio, the Foundation funds investigators throughout the career spectrum and provides grant support for innovative projects less likely to be funded through federal grant programs.

Funding the Foundation’s Mission

The Foundation’s mission (https://www.rheumresearch.org/how-giving-helps) is made possible by its generous supporters, each of which is critical to its success. These include contributors from the pharmaceutical industry and other corporate partners and organizations, state societies, practices, rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals, as well as people with rheumatic disease and those who support them.

RheumLab

RheumLab (https://rheumlab.org) is a recently intro­duced resource that provides information and materials for patients, clinicians and professionals about the Foundation and the critical role it plays in transforming the lives of people with rheumatic disease.

Volunteering for the Foundation

The work of the Foundation wouldn’t be possible without its dedicated volunteers and staff (https://www.rheumresearch.org/volunteer):

• The Board of Directors supervises, controls and directs the Foundation;
• The Development Advisory Council oversees the Foundation’s fundraising program to cultivate the support needed to fulfill its mission;
• The Impact Advisory Council communicates the work of the Foundation, advocating for rheumatology research and highlighting its impact;
• The Scientific Advisory Council directs the Foundation’s research and education funding programs to ensure they run effectively and efficiently; and
• The Leadership Development Council encompasses leadership development and nominations for volunteer positions.

Now more than ever, the Foundation (https://www.rheumresearch.org) is essential to the future of rheuma­tology. I hope that you will join me and the ACR in supporting the Foundation and its vital mission.

Carol A. Langford, MD, MHS, is the director of the Center for Vasculitis Care and Research in the Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases at Cleveland Clinic, where she is professor of medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and holds the Harold C. Schott endowed chair in rheumatic and immunologic diseases.