Finding leisure time might be the only drawback in his busy life. Dr. Kvien and his wife enjoy spending time in their cabin in the mountains, hiking, fishing, and skiing. But as a past president of EULAR; current member of its Scientific Committee; and editor of the organization’s journal, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. Kvien keeps an active travel schedule. But this traveling is also interesting and fun, he says. “The strength of European rheumatology is the strong friendship between leading rheumatologists. It has been a pleasure also to follow the growing collaboration between ACR and EULAR.”
Tore Kvien has fostered long-time friendships in the rheumatology community. “Meetings in the area of rheumatology usually mean that you will have a good time, combined with good science and the opportunity to bring new information back to the clinical work and to the researchers.”
Dr. Haugeberg says that he values the ways in which Dr. Kvien fosters a productive work atmosphere. “Often, in research, you can become so focused on results that you may forget to see the human being. The joy of working with him is that you feel that you are respected. I learned a lot from that perspective.”
Dr. Wolfe puts it this way: “There are two kinds of people who rise to the top of these organizations. Some compete as if it were a zero sum game. But that’s not what Tore Kvien does. He is happy when everybody succeeds.”
Gretchen Henkel is writing the “Profiles in Rheumatology” series.
