The 2025 ACR Awards of Distinction

Dr. Loeser has published over 250 research articles, reviews, chapters and editorials. He has received the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Award for Basic Research in Osteoarthritis and a NIAMS MERIT award for his project titled Integrin Function in Cartilage. He takes particular enjoyment in training the next generation of investigators and has had over 50 trainees in his lab, including undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

His service to the ACR has included serving on the Annual Meeting Planning Committee for 10 years, including as chair of the basic science subcommittee, followed by chair of the committee. He has served on the ACR Committee on Research, Committee on Education, the Abstract Selection Committee and the Research Agenda Task Force. He has served on the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s Innovative Research Grants Review Committee and currently sits on the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Loeser served as an associate editor for Arthritis & Rheumatology (A&R) and for the past 10 years has been a co-editor.

“As one of only a handful of rheumatologists studying the basic biology of osteoarthritis, I am honored to receive this recognition from the ACR,” says Dr. Loeser. “It is a testament to all those who have helped me along the way and will hopefully inspire others to join the search for an OA cure.”

Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award

The Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award, given annually to a clinical scientist making outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology, was presented to Maureen D. Mayes, MD, MPH, who holds the Elizabeth Bidgood Chair in Rheumatology and is a professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston. She is a leading authority in the field of systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) and has made significant contributions to research, clinical care and medical education.

Dr. Mayes received her undergraduate degree from Notre Dame College, Baltimore, and her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk. She then completed both her residency in internal medicine and her rheumatology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the nation’s premier institutions for medical training.

Her academic career began in 1981 when she joined the faculty of West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown. She later served on the faculty at Wayne State University, Detroit, before accepting a position in 2002 at the University of Texas Medical School, Houston. There, she became a key member of the scleroderma research program and had the opportunity to establish a dedicated scleroderma clinic. This clinic continues to serve as a center of excellence, where she provides specialized patient care, mentors residents and rheumatology fellows, and conducts translational research and clinical trials aimed at developing more effective treatments for systemic sclerosis.