Osteoarthritis Research Society International Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. Hochberg, professor of medicine, epidemiology, and public health, and head of the division of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, has received the 2013 Lifetime Achievement award from the Osteoarthritis Research Society. The award recognizes Dr. Hochberg for making exceptional contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the field. Dr. Hochberg received his award on April 18th at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis in Philadelphia.
Vice President of Research at The Arthritis Foundation
Dr. Vernachio will succeed Dr. John Hardin as Vice President at the Arthritis Foundation, where he will provide leadership and direction to further the research program in finding a cure and better, safer treatments for arthritis, the nation’s leading cause of disability.
Dr. Vernachio received his doctorate in biochemistry with a concentration in immunology and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University, and finished his postdoctoral training in the department of immunology at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic in San Diego.
Rheumatologist at Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Brainerd Clinic
Dr. Vasey, who has 36 years in academic and research positions, most recently as division chief at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, has joined Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Brainerd Clinic.
Dr. Vasey grew up in Fargo, ND and earned his medical degree from University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
Medical Board Advisory Member at MD Aligne
Dr. Field has been appointed medical board advisory member at MD Aligne, a web-based consumer health company that connects patients with U.S.-licensed healthcare providers. Dr. Field has been treating patients with rheumatic disease at a multilocation practice for more than 30 years. She also has had many academic positions, such as clinical associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson Medical University in Philadelphia. Dr. Field was a postdoctoral fellow in rheumatology and immunology at Harvard Medical School.
Honorary chairperson of the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation’s Carroll Petrie Foundation’s Ambassador Program
Venus Williams has been named honorary chairperson of the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation’s Ambassador Program. Foundation officials believe she will be a strong ambassador, giving courage to many patients by sharing her own story. Sjögren’s syndrome, the second most prevalent autoimmune disorder, affects four million Americans, and an estimated three million remain undiagnosed. Williams was diagnosed in 2011, but had a hard time getting a proper diagnosis. The foundation believes Williams and other ambassadors educating others about the disease is the most important part of achieving their goal of shortening the time to diagnose by 50% in five years. Williams, along with other foundation ambassadors, will help increase awareness in both the medical field and general public.
Hospital for Special Surgery Receives $5.6-Million Grant Will establish a genomics center
A $5.6-million grant from the Tow Foundation was awarded to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City to build a genomics center. The hospital’s 30+ rheumatologists currently treat 2,600 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 300 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The new center will have over 20 genomic researchers and will recruit four additional genomics fellows, a computational biologist, and a senior genomics researcher.
The goal of the center is to develop more effective therapies for RA and SLE patients with fewer side effects, and it will collaborate with the New York Genome Center.
Over $1 Million Awarded to Move Arthritis Research Forward Arthritis National Research Foundation grants 15 arthritis research students funding for independent research
Because arthritis patients number over 50 million in the U.S. alone, the Arthritis National Research Foundation awarded grants to 15 arthritis research scientists. The grant is for young investigators to start independent research careers to find treatments and cures for various forms of arthritis. This is the first year the national, nonprofit foundation has awarded this much funding for research.
12 Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Research Fellows Awarded National Psoriasis Foundation awarded $40,000 fellowships
The National Psoriasis Foundation Amgen Medical Dermatology Fellowships aim to increase the number of scientists treating and studying psoriatic diseases by awarding 12 residents and medical students a one-year, $40,000 fellowship each. The foundation encourages promising doctors to dedicate their careers to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis as physician researchers. The 2013 fellows are:
- S. Admani, MD, Rady Children’s Hospital at University of California, San Diego
- S. Churton, MD, University Hospital Case Medical Center
- J. Cohen, BA, Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School
- N. Ehsani, MD, Stanford University
- J. Garelik, DO, New York University School of Medicine
- B. Jones, BA, University of Utah School of Medicine
- B. Kaffenburger, MD, The Ohio State University Medical Center
- N. Kim, MD, Tufts Medical Center
- D. Kivelevitch, MD, Bayer Institute for Immunology Research
- P. Lingam, MD, Northwest University Feinberg School of Medicine
- S. Rose, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
- A. Two, MD, University of California, San Diego
Amanda Rillo is a writer based in Hoboken, N.J.