The 2025 ACR Awards of Distinction

“The ACR award recognizes my commitment to advancing global rheumatologic care,” says Dr. Handa. “I’m honored—and inspired—to continue the international collaboration that improves patients’ lives worldwide.”

Distinguished Service Award

The ACR Distinguished Service Award, given to an ACR member for outstanding and sustained service to the ACR, was presented to Carlos J. Lozada, MD, professor of clinical medicine and associate chief for clinical affairs, Division of Rheumatology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and director, Rheumatology Fellowship Program, University of Miami Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

Dr. Lozada, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, completed a BA in biology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, where he was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, and his medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Dr. Lozada pursued his residency in internal medicine at North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University Medical College, Manhasset, N.Y., and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and completed his rheumatology fellowship at New York University Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Diseases. He has been on the faculty in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine since 1994, serving on the medical staffs of the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics and Jackson Memorial Hospital.

For more than 28 years, Dr. Lozada has served as director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Program at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center and as the director of the Jackson Memorial Hospital Rheumatology Clinic, training numerous medical students, residents, international rotators and over 50 rheumatology fellows. He has also served in other roles at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, including as co-director of the Rheumatology Research Unit, associate chief for education, chief (acting) and, currently, associate chief for clinical affairs of the Division of Rheumatology.

Dr. Lozada has authored multiple peer-reviewed publication and textbook chapters, particularly in the area of osteoarthritis. He has also served on the editorial boards for various published and online journals, including Osteoarthritis and Cartilage and the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology. Dr. Lozada has worked in volunteer positions for many organizations, particularly the ACR, where he has served on such committees as Training and Workforce, Communications, Finance and Nominations, as well as on the Board of Directors of the ACR and of the Rheumatology Research Foundation. He chaired the ACR task force that implemented the use of the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and the Medical Subspecialties Match in rheumatology, and was a member of the group that developed the first rheumatology national in-training exam.