The 2019 ARP Awards of Distinction & ACR Masters

ADDIE THOMAS SERVICE AWARD

The Addie Thomas Service Award, which honors ARP’s first president by recognizing active volunteers in arthritis-
related activities, was presented to Monique Gignac, PhD, professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada, and scientific co-director and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, Toronto.

“I keep volunteering because of all the wonderful people I meet and the opportunities to really learn from others, which can help me make more of a difference in people’s lives,” she says. “So it’s a surprise when someone notices and turns the spotlight on you even though that’s not why you volunteer.”

Dr. Gignac’s research expertise falls in the areas of health and social psychology. Her research examines psychosocial factors, such as stress, coping and adaptation, and how people with arthritis cope and function in their daily lives.

She says her next big focus is to examine how arthritis affects employees and wants to disseminate her research findings to employers and others.

“My research looks at the impact of this disease on employees,” she says. “It’s really important for other groups, like human resource professionals, disability managers and supervisors, to become more aware of conditions like arthritis and have the necessary tools and resources at their disposal to support employees.”

Dr. Gignac is a researcher at heart, always thinking about what can be tested and offer significant learning opportunities. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in social psychology in 1988 and 1991, respectively, from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in social gerontology in 1995 at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

From 2008–14, she co-directed the Canadian Arthritis Network, which supported more than 200 researchers, trainees and arthritic patients. She has also chaired the advisory board of the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the country’s federal health funding agency, since 2017 (and also between 2011 and 2016). For the past eight years, she has served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Arthritis Society in Canada.

Throughout her career, she says the ARP has been her go-to organization for research, professional development and networking.

“The opportunity to connect with ARP members, who include social-behavioral researchers, epidemiologists, nurses, PTs and OTs, has been really nice,” says Dr. Gignac. “I’m very proud to be a part of the ARP. The association has given me a home and a real sense of belonging, partly because members support research across all levels and disciplines. They understand why it matters.”