Welcome New ACR and ARHP Leaders

The ACR is pleased to welcome the newest members of the ACR board of directors and ARHP executive committee. These new members were confirmed in November during the 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. Over the next two issues of “From the College,” you will be introduced to these new members and learn what they want to gain from their experience as new board and executive committee members. This month, we talk to incoming ACR volunteers.

Dr. Abelson

Abby Abelson, MD, is the chair of the department of rheumatic and immunologic diseases of the Orthopaedic and Rheumatology Institute at Cleveland Clinic. She is also the director of education of the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bones Disease and the education program director for the department of rheumatic and immunologic diseases of Cleveland Clinic. In addition, she serves as a basic science course director and a physician advisor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

Dr. Abelson’s most recent volunteer appointment was chair of the Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues. She says she is looking forward “to serving the ACR as we face the challenges and opportunities that upcoming transitions in healthcare will bring. My tenure on the Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues has exposed me to the inspiring educators in rheumatology and the changing needs of the diverse rheumatology workforce.”

Dr. Furie

Richard Furie, MD, is chief of the division of rheumatology and allergy-clinical immunology at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System and a professor of medicine at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. He directs the Program in Novel Therapeutics, the North Shore LIJ Health System’s clinical research program in musculoskeletal disease. Dr. Furie also directs the hospital’s Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Autoimmune Disease Treatment Center.

Dr. Furie has served on many committees of the ACR and recently completed his tenure as the chair of the Committee on Education. “Although it may sound trite, my hope is to give rather than to gain. Between my 30 years in rheumatology and my 15 years of volunteering with the ACR, my expectation is to use this experience to make valuable contributions to the ACR,” says Dr. Furie.

Dr. Marchetta

Paula Marchetta, MD, is the CEO and managing partner of Concorde Medical Group, PLLC, a 40-plus physician multispecialty group practice affiliated with New York University Langone Medical Center. Dr. Marchetta also maintains an active rheumatology practice and continues to teach at NYU, where she has a faculty appointment as clinical associate professor.