I’m honored to be in the company of so many previous recipients, who I look to as role models. —Dr. Shah
Pamela Weiss, MD, MSCE, is an attending physician and associate professor and director of clinical research in the Division of Rheumatology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Dr. Weiss completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, N.J., and received her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. She completed an internship and residency in pediatrics, as well as a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology, at CHOP. She went on to receive a Master of Science in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
She served on the ACR’s Pediatric Rheumatology Special Committee, the Guidelines Subcommittee and was co-chair of the 2013 Juvenile Arthritis Treatment Recommendations update. Dr. Weiss was also an educator for the inaugural ACR Virtual Rheumatology Practicum for Pediatric Rheumatology Fellows program.
Dr. Weiss currently serves on the Spondylitis Association of America Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network Board of Directors.
“I’m very honored to be a recipient of the Henry Kunkel Young Investigator award this year,” Dr. Weiss says. “I do the work I do because it’s impactful for patients and families, with no expectation for recognition, but it’s certainly uplifting when
it happens.”
I do the work I do because it’s impactful for patients & families, with no expectation for recognition. —Dr. Weiss
Distinguished Fellowship Program Director Award
For his outstanding contributions to the training and mentoring of future rheumatologists, Carlos J. Lozada, MD, FACP, FACR, director of the rheumatology fellowship program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, received this year’s Distinguished Fellowship Program Director Award.
A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Lozada received his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan. He pursued his residency in internal medicine at North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University Medical College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and completed his rheumatology fellowship at New York University Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Diseases.
“I chose the field of rheumatology because it’s a challenging and interesting field of inquiry and investigation related to the immune system and its workings,” Dr. Lozada says. “I also liked the opportunity to follow a group of patients and help them over time, similar to the way an internist or primary care physician does.”
Dr. Lozada has been the school’s rheumatology fellowship director since 1996 and says he enjoys his work training the next generation of rheumatologists. In addition, Dr. Lozada is a professor of clinical medicine and interim chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at the Miami Miller School of Medicine.
“Ever since the beginning of my own training as a fellow, I have enjoyed the collegiality and wonderful camaraderie that I believe makes rheumatologists very special,” Dr. Lozada says. “I was lucky to have wonderful role models early on in my own career, including Rich Furie, MD, chief of rheumatology at North Shore University Hospital in New York.”
Dr. Lozada realizes the importance of supporting rheumatology residents and fellows, and helping them reach their full potential.
“I see this award as recognition for a career where I have been fortunate to work in tandem with an incredible group of dedicated, hard-working rheumatology professionals,” Dr. Lozada says. “This goes beyond my own division and the fellows in Miami to include the ACR and the rheumatology program directors, some of whom have also become lifelong friends.”
Dr. Lozada says by working with the ACR, he and other rheumatology program directors have been able to implement fundamental changes in training fellows and in assessing the results of that training over the past two decades.
“Over the years, we’ve changed how we teach our fellows, as well as the assessment and self-assessment of the learning process, including implementation of tools such as the yearly national rheumatology-in-training exam,” Dr. Lozada says.
