The 2023 ARP Merit Awards

Dr. Rose-Smith is committed to sharing her knowledge and expertise, which she has accomplished through numerous publications, national and international conferences and public forums.

She has received several awards and recognition for her work, including being chosen as one of 2023’s Top 15 Champions of Diversity by DiversityGlobal Magazine, one of The Responsible 100 by City & State New York and one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Healthcare. She received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Vision Award from Providence College, the ARP Distinguished Educator’s Award, the Wholeness of Life Award from HealthCare Chaplaincy Network and the National Association of Social Workers’ Emerging Leader Award.

“The work of an advocate is not only what is seen in public, but more importantly the personal wrestling—morally and academically—that produces the best strategies to safeguard the humanity of others who are suffering,” says Dr. Rose-Smith. “We help restore hope and dignity to [those who are suffering] through awareness, policies and programs that take into consideration the whole person and the impact of the illness on their lives.”

Distinguished Scholar Award

The 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award was presented to Helene Alexanderson, PhD, RPT, for her exceptional achievements in scholarly activities pertinent to arthritis and rheumatic diseases. She is an associate professor and registered physical therapist at Karolinska University Hospital Solna, Stockholm, Sweden, as well as an adjunct senior lecturer at the Department of Medicine Solna, Division of Rheumatology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. She also serves as the team leader for the myositis research group at the Karolinska Institutet.

Dr. Alexanderson has more than 30 years of experience as a clinician in the field of rheumatology, with 28 years of research focused on clinical and molecular effects of exercise and the development of clinical outcome measures in adult idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). She started her career in geriatric stroke rehabilitation, spending nearly three years in that field before going into rheumatology.

At the Karolinska Institutet, Dr. Alexanderson teaches physical therapy students about IIM and other inflammatory rheumatic diseases, and she is also developing interprofessional student activities during clinical rotations at the Karolinska University Hospital. She has published 83 scientific papers on IIM.

In 2003, Dr. Alexanderson received her doctorate from Karolinska Institutet; her thesis was titled Exercise and Clinical Outcome Measures in Patients with Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Rheumatology Division of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Alexanderson has continued to study clinical and molecular effects of exercise and to develop clinical outcome measures to assess muscle endurance in IIM.