The 2024 ARP President’s & Merit Awards

A passionate advocate for pediatric rheumatology, Ms. Kremer’s most significant achievement to date is the establishment of the division’s first pediatric rheumatology support group, Joining Hands. Initiated shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joining Hands was designed to connect patients and families through educational activities, networking events and community awareness of pediatric rheumatic diseases. In addition to organizing three to four patient events annually, Ms. Kremer helps develop fundraising opportunities to maintain the support group at no cost to patients. The group now has more than 150 patients and continues to expand and thrive.

Ms. Kremer has been an active member of ACR and ARP since beginning her role in pediatric rheumatology. She has served on the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and the Workforce Solutions Committee, and has been a reviewer for several modules and abstracts. She is also a member of the ACR Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium (PRSYM) planning committee for the upcoming 2026 meeting. Ms. Kremer has been honored with the Top 10% Provider in the Nation award.

Beyond her rheumatology work, Ms. Kremer is involved in the Iowa National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (Iowa NAPNAP) and is on the scholarship and awards committee. She attributes much of her success to her outstanding colleagues at University of Iowa Health Care, as well as her supportive husband and three children. 

Dr. Crowson

Distinguished Scholar Award

The Distinguished Scholar Award, presented to an ARP member who demonstrates exceptional achievements in scholarly activities pertinent to arthritis and rheumatic disease, was given to Cynthia S. Crowson, PhD, professor of biostatistics and medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

“I am beyond grateful to the ARP for choosing me as this year’s Distinguished Scholar,” says Dr. Crowson. “I have been blessed with wonderful colleagues, collaborators and friends at Mayo Clinic and within [the] ACR and ARP who have contributed to my success. I am deeply honored to see my name added to the list of incredible people who received this award in prior years.”

Dr. Crowson received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and statistics from Winona State University, Minn., in 1989, a master’s in statistics from Iowa State University, Ames, in 2005, and her doctorate in biostatistics from the University of Oslo, Norway, in 2018.

Dr. Crowson has been conducting clinical research involving rheumatic diseases for over 35 years and has co-authored more than 450 peer-reviewed articles. She has contributed substantially to knowledge of the epidemiology of rheumatic diseases and to the investigation of cardiovascular disease risk among people with rheumatic diseases. She also contributed substantially to the development of the ACR classification criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica. Dr. Crowson is the principal investigator of grants from the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studying population-based cohorts of people with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. She has extensively studied risk factors and outcomes for these diseases. Recent investigations are focused on multimorbidity and rural health disparities.