Recognizing the need to grow the capacity of the foundation, ACR and REF leaders and staff created the Industry Roundtable (IRT) in 1999. The support of the IRT allowed the REF to develop a substantial portfolio supported by extensive peer review to meet the goals of the college. The REF’s portfolio of core awards is designed to promote the specialty to students and residents, provide financial support for subspecialty training in rheumatology, and fund career development for those rheumatologists and health professionals who aspire to a career in basic or clinical research. Education awards support senior clinical scholars in order to develop a new cadre of educators within academic rheumatology units, with the ultimate objective of accomplishing ACR and REF goals. In 2009, more than $5 million will be provided for these core awards, programs that support the future of our specialty and remain the top priority for the foundation and the ACR.
Leadership Council Ambassadors
- William J. Arnold, MD, Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, Wilmette
- Alfonso E. Bello, MD, MHS, Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, Glenview
- Melvin C. Britton, MD (retired), Palo Alto Medical Clinic, Calif.
- Joseph D. Croft, Jr., MD, Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, Chevy Chase, Md.
- Alan W. Friedman, MD, Medical Clinic of Houston
- Norman B. Gaylis, MD, Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, Aventura, Fla.
- John A. Goldman, MD, Emory University, Atlanta
- Joel M. Hirschberg, MD, Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease Center, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
- Emily M. Isaacs, MD, Fort Worth Clinic PA, Texas
- Stuart S. Kassan, MD, Colorado Arthritis Associates, Denver
- Joel Kremer, MD, The Center for Rheumatology, Albany, N.Y.
- Jeffrey G. Lawson, MD, Piedmont Arthritis Clinic PA, Greenville, S.C.
- Robert D. Leff, MD, Duluth Clinic, Minn.
- John and Betsy McLinden,* Winnetka, Ill.
- Steven S. Overman, MD, MPH, The Seattle Arthritis Clinic
- Barry M. Schimmer, MD, Pennsylvania Rheumatology Associates PC, Philadelphia
- Larry J. Silverman, MD, West Bloomfield, Mich.
- John R.P. Tesser, MD, Arizona Arthritis Rheumatology Associates, Paradise Valley
- Robert J. Tierney, MD, Park Nicollet Medical Center, St. Louis Park, Minn.
- Katherine S. Upchurch, MD, UMASS Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, Mass.
*Lay member
Ambitious Joint Efforts
However, additional forces threatened to undermine the future of our specialty. In 2005, ACR and REF leaders recognized the impending shortfalls in research funding from federal and other foundation sources. There was also an alarming migration of important rheumatology research, as reflected by publications in Arthritis & Rheumatism and presentations at our Annual Scientific Meeting, to countries outside the United States and to the pharmaceutical industry. To regain international leadership in rheumatology research and to assure that the top investigators continue to engage in basic and clinical research that can lead to major breakthroughs in rheumatic disease, the ACR and the REF established a disease-targeted research initiative. The two organizations worked together closely throughout the development and implementation of what is now the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign. The ACR’s Committee on Research was charged with recommending the disease target to the REF board of directors. With the goal of capitalizing on knowledge gained from recent research advances in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and creating a long-range plan for funding rheumatologic research, the ACR and the REF convened a group of the world’s leading rheumatologists, representatives of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Arthritis Foundation for a scientific forum to design an RA research program that would generate the greatest impact for our patients. The ACR’s decision to charge the REF with implementing this bold new initiative was evidence that the foundation had matured into an organization capable of raising substantial funds and administering a complex portfolio of awards.