I am delighted to use the occasion of this inaugural REF president’s column to share a vision of the future and describe the exciting developments that will allow us to meet the challenges ahead. Although most of you know that the ACR is associated with a foundation, I find that many of our members wonder what the REF does that is different from the mission and activities of the ACR and the ARHP. In the simplest terms, the ACR and the ARHP are engaged in improving the quality of our professional lives as rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals, while the core mission of the REF is to ensure the future of our specialty.
REF and AF Partner to Provide an Additional “Bridge Funding”
Fostering promising investigators is imperative to the future of rheumatology, so when the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) board of directors discovered that outstanding applicants were not being funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) K-series grant program (the NIH’s career development award program) due to budgetary constraints, the REF quickly called a meeting with the Arthritis Foundation (AF) and the NIH to discuss a solution.
Help Find a Cure for RA
The ACR REF established the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) campaign in 2006 with one goal in mind: to find a cure for RA.
Plan for Success in 2008
We’re ready for the rewards and challenges of the coming year
Glimpse the Future
Incoming ACR and ARHP presidents tell you what to expect in 2008
Enhanced Opportunities at the 2007 Meeting
The AMPC is using more translational components as a way of increasing the basic scientist’s interaction with clinicians, he explains. In keeping with this, the meeting will offer sessions on osteoclasts, implications for the development and treatment of osteoarthritis, T-cell subsets, and a year in review – all of which will be of interest to both the clinician and the basic researcher.
Abstracts Highlight Latest Scientific Advances
The ACR has accepted 2,034 abstracts and the ARHP has accepted 92 abstracts for presentation during this year’s annual meeting. These abstracts will be presented in more than 50 concurrent sessions and three poster sessions.
REF Reaches for a Cure
ACR Research and Education Foundation launches campaign to find RA cure