The Foundation has filled, and will continue to fill, increasing gaps in funding while budgets for rheumatology research and training from traditional sources have declined during the economic recession. In the past five years alone, Foundation-funded investigators have published more than 630 papers, given 1,200 presentations worldwide and secured an additional $73 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Many of these prominent awardees are being featured throughout the year in 30 Over 30, a chronicle of 30 rheumatologists who have made significant contributions to improve patient care and training over the Foundation’s 30-year history.
“The 30th anniversary of the Foundation represents a time of explosive growth,” says David Karp, MD, PhD, president of the Foundation.
The 30 Over 30 designees have been exemplary drivers of that growth, training new rheumatologists through unique approaches and pursuing potentially revolutionary research questions. While Foundation-funded investigators are hard at work developing new insights, leaders in rheumatology education and training are hard at work recruiting the best and brightest students and residents. Since 1985, the Foundation has funded more than 1,000 preceptorships, granted 558 education and training awards and provided 63 lectureships.
The numbers of awards given and resources invested are not just statistics. They represent the characters in the Foundation’s 30-year history, from the individuals whose lives and careers were touched by grants to pursue ideas, to those who support those ideas by contributing to the Foundation in whatever way they can because they believe in the Foundation’s mission: Advancing research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases. This commitment is what will carry us through the next 30 years and beyond, together.
As we celebrate the 30 years of accomplishment the Foundation has enjoyed, we celebrate the people who made it possible.
