Q: What single moment from your career stands out the most?
A: The 25th anniversary party we held in 2010 for the training program. My colleague and I said to each other, ‘We did well and should be proud.’ We knew that at the end of that day, we have a legacy that will certainly outlive us.
Q: What is the key thing you learned from your mentors?
A: Whatever you do, be proud of it. It’s you, it’s your name, and you should be proud of it. Don’t publish something just for the sake of publishing it. Do your best. Spend the time. Know that you sometimes have to do the scut work. If something doesn’t make sense, go back and review it yourself. Don’t take someone else’s word for it.
ACR Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award
Kevin Deane, MD, PhD
Associate professor of medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colo.
Background: During his residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Dr. Deane encountered multiple patients who were suffering from rheumatic diseases. The meetings got him thinking. Working alongside rheumatologist and fellowship director Sterling West, MD, got him thinking more.
It “really led me to think that rheumatology was a field where there were complex diseases that needed careful attention,” Dr. Deane says.
Dr. Deane’s research focuses on preclinical identification of autoimmune disease, with an emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He’s currently a co-investigator in a multicenter study investigating the relationship between genetics, environmental exposures and the development of RA-related autoimmunity.
He has special interests in the mechanistic role of the lung in the initial generation of RA-related autoimmunity, building statistical models using biomarkers and other factors in order to predict future development of RA in currently asymptomatic individuals and, ultimately, developing a prevention trial for RA.
Dr. Deane has served as a co-chair of the ACR Clinical Research Conference and a member of the ACR Research Agenda Task Force. His teaching has been recognized with a number of awards, including a Medical Student Teaching Award and the Golden Apple Medical Student Teaching Award.
