Summer 2024’s Awards, Appointments & Announcements in the World of Rheumatology

As part of her vision for the division, Dr. Cooper intends to grow its research enterprise “from basic to translational to clinical research because that is what will affect the lives of this population of children long term,” she says.

In addition, she hopes the specialty can “make more strides in finding specific molecular and biochemical markers of disease so we can give our patients more precision therapy,” she concludes.

Dr. Mitchell Forman Named Director of Nevada’s 1st Rheumatology Fellowship Program

The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), received accreditation for its first rheumatology fellowship program in January this year. Mitchell D. Forman, DO, FACR, FACOI, MACP, professor of medicine at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV and founding dean and dean emeritus of Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine, was a prime mover in its development and has been named its director.

Dr. Forman expressed excitement about the new program: “As many times as I think about this, quite honestly, after 47 years of practicing rheumatology, I still get chills from thinking that this actually happened. This is so wonderful for the state and for our citizens.”

Dr. Forman’s hope is that the fellowship program will result in an increase in the rheumatology workforce and wider access to care for patients. “The time was right,” he notes, for this initiative, and he is quick to credit multiple people and factors that contributed to successfully establishing the fellowship program.

Dr. Forman was recruited to head the Clark County Medical Society for a second time as its president in 2022, and shortly thereafter received a call from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine to return and work on starting the first rheumatology fellowship program in the state. As with any successful venture, he notes, the effort brought together many talented people:

• Financial support came from the Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology in the form of grants for two years;
• Kate Martin, MD, associate dean of graduate medical education (GME) also worked tirelessly on the project, as did the GME staff;
• Robert Lowe, MD, one of only two pediatric rheumatologists in the state, will rotate fellows in his practice for one-month stints; and
• Winn Chatham, MD, formerly director of clinical immunology and rheumatology at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine, joined the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine as chief of rheumatology. Dr. Chatham was also very helpful in the ACGME submission process, according to Dr. Forman.

The first two rheumatology fellows in the state’s history began work in July. Dr. Forman, who has experienced much satisfaction during his nearly 50-year career, stressed that one of the best parts of this accomplishment, as with others, is the ability to work in partnership/collaboration.