A: Mentoring fellows dedicated to clinical research has certainly been the most rewarding aspect of my academic career. I was fortunate enough to receive funding from the Cornell Lupus Center of Excellence, and then directly from Rheuminations Inc., which allowed me to bring in young Latin American and Spanish-speaking rheumatologists, who worked with our research group in the LUMINA cohort; they were the driving force behind our excellent productivity, which allowed us to put lupus among Hispanics and other minorities in the U.S. on the clinical research map, so to speak.
Q: In today’s world of tight budgets and increasing demands, what lessons can a clinical researcher take from your career?
A: Clinical research is still possible, even nowadays. It requires dedication, organization and yes, resources, but there are still some private and government paths to follow that allow this option to be fulfilled, provided that there are solid lines of research, authentic teamwork approaches and consistent productivity.
ACR Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award
Murray Passo, MD, MEd
Professor of pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, S.C.
Background: Dr. Passo’s career track can be traced to one man’s prodding nearly 40 years ago. The man was Morris Green, MD, a nationally known pediatrician and the physician in chief at the time of Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The prod? “He made a recommendation—I would call it a suggestion—that somebody should train in rheumatology to become the first pediatric rheumatologist for the state of Indiana,” Dr. Passo says. “In some ways, I felt targeted for that suggestion and took an elective in adult rheumatology, which at that time was a new division at Indiana. I was immediately intrigued [by] the diseases and with the idea that I could chart a new territory for the state of Indiana.”
