One of the major goals of the ACR is to promote basic, translational, clinical, and health-services research aimed at improving the health of patients with rheumatic diseases. The ACR supports research and education through its annual meetings and clinical symposia, publication of its journals—Arthritis & Rheumatism and Arthritis Care & Research—advocacy to increase funding of rheumatology research, and a strong collaboration with our own Research and Education Foundation (REF).
The REF supports the overall research goals of the ACR on several fronts. It provides a robust portfolio of awards and grants to address critical shortfalls in the overall rheumatology landscape. The REF also promotes mentorship activities through efforts such as the REF Investigators’ Meeting, held in conjunction with the ACR Rheumatology Research Workshop, which brings junior and senior investigators together for mentorship opportunities. In conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, the REF leads discussions about how to best develop the careers of physician–scientists involved in rheumatic disease research.
Great Strides in Research Support
The ACR supports the goals of the Foundation as well. During Dr. O’Dell’s time as the REF president in 2006–2008, the ACR was generous in its support by becoming the first $5-million donor to the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign. Five years later, in November 2011, the REF launched the Journey to Cure campaign to raise $60 million—double the goal of the first campaign—and the ACR again was the first to step up, donating $5 million. This campaign will fund both the core award programs and the disease-targeted research grants.
As we look forward to a new fundraising campaign, there is the strong sense in the organization that, at the same time we embark on the next prodigious goal, we are now also engaged in “business as usual,” because raising major funds to support training and research is what the REF does—and we do it very well.
We are excited to announce that the REF is poised to lead a new era of rheumatology support that focuses on advancing treatment and finding medical breakthroughs to cure rheumatic diseases. This year, the REF will fund nearly $12 million in fellowship training grants, career development awards, and disease-targeted research grants representing an incredible investment in innovative research and developing successful careers in rheumatology—both research and practice.
In September, the REF will—for the first time—fund $2 million in investigator-initiated clinical trials. This is a major step forward in our quest to advance treatment and find cures. Outcomes from these grants will lead to new insights into the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), answering questions about investigational drugs or looking at new ways of using known treatments relevant to RA. In addition to these clinical trials, the REF continues to fund $1.2 million in translational RA research as part of the highly successful Within Our Reach campaign.
While RA remains an important focus of the disease-targeted research initiative for the REF, we have expanded the disease-targeted research grants to include other conditions where inflammatory arthritis is the major pathology, including the spondylarthropathies and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. These grants—totaling $3.1 million—are designed to produce outcomes that lead to new insights into the etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of these diseases, which will, in turn, lead to improved care and treatment for our patients.
A New Generation of Rheumatology Careers
The REF remains committed to developing careers in rheumatology; last month, 54 recipients across the country received a total of $5.3 million in funding for specialized training and research career development. Two programs in particular illustrate how the REF is making significant progress toward its goal of providing meaningful support to build the careers of rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals in the U.S.
The REF has partnered with the Arthritis Foundation to support the Career Development Bridge Funding Award, which provides funding support to promising researchers as they resubmit their NIH K08/K23 applications. We believe this support provides the encouragement—and the protected time—they need to succeed in obtaining their K awards, and ultimately, to become independent researchers. The success of this program has been remarkable: Of the 14 recipients who completed the bridge funding program, 12 have gone on to receive K awards from the NIH, ensuring that their career path in rheumatology research will continue. What a terrific return on investment!
Our preceptorship program introduces the best and brightest medical students and graduate students to the field of rheumatology as a possible career path by supporting a mentored, one-on-one interaction and a real-world learning experience focused on rheumatology. Of the preceptees who have completed this program, 18% have chosen rheumatology as their subspecialty. In addition, the REF continues to fund rheumatology fellowship training awards across the country to help ensure an adequate supply of rheumatologists for the future.
An Exciting Future on the Horizon
Working with the ACR, the REF has a bold vision and focused plan to accelerate targeted inflammatory arthritis research, to develop the next generation of researchers dedicated to rheumatic disease, and to ensure that adequate numbers of rheumatology healthcare providers are prepared to meet an unprecedented demand for patient care.
Our accomplishments and activities continue to grow at a remarkable pace and, with the November 2011 launch of the REF’s Journey to Cure campaign, we’ve entered an exciting and challenging era. Be sure to attend the 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Opening Lecture on November 10 in Washington, D.C., where we will be making an exciting announcement about a new development that will ensure the REF can continue to increase its capacity to lead the field of rheumatology research.
The incredible strides we’ve made over the years would not have been possible without those who have invested in the missions of the ACR and the REF. We hope you share our joint sense of accomplishment—the REF is truly an incredible force in helping to advance rheumatology.
To view a list of the most recent REF award recipients and to read about the accomplishments of past recipients, visit www.rheumatology.org/REF.
Dr. O’Dell is president of the ACR and director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and division chief of rheumatology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and the Omaha VA medical centers. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected]. Dr. Daikh is president of the ACR REF; associate professor of medicine and director of the rheumatology fellowship training program at the University of California, San Francisco; and chief of the arthritis section at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.