You’re invited to attend the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual business meeting, where the installation of the 80th ACR President, Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, will take place. During this annual business meeting, current ACR/Foundation secretary, David Daikh, MD, PhD, will become ACR president-elect, and Ellen Gravallese, MD, will be confirmed as the new secretary. Jody Hargrove, MD, William Harvey, MD, Elizabeth Perkins, MD, and William Robinson, MD, PhD, will all be confirmed as the newest at-large members of the ACR Board of Directors.
The annual business meeting will be held at 1:30 pm Tuesday in room 143 A.
Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD
Dr. Lakhanpal has been Senior Partner in Practice at Rheumatology Associates in Dallas since 1987. He is Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and an investigator at Metroplex Clinical Research Center in Dallas, where he has participated in hundreds of clinical trials. Dr. Lakhanpal received his medical education at King George’s Medical College, University of Lucknow, India, where he received several gold medals and book prizes for excellence. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Memorial Hospital, University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, and performed rheumatology training at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School in Rochester, MN.
Dr. Lakhanpal is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. He is an international editor for the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases. He serves on the editorial review panel of several medical journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of Rheumatology. Dr. Lakhanpal has more than 100 publications, including book chapters, original articles, and abstracts.
Dr. Lakhanpal has received the American Rheumatism Association Senior Rheumatology Scholar Award, the Philip Schowalter Hench Award at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, and the American Rheumatism Association Fellows Award. He was honored by the Greater Dallas Indian American Chamber of Commerce with its Award for Outstanding Contributions in Medicine, Science and Technology. He was named Alumnus of the Year for 2004 by King George’s Medical College, has been listed in the Best Doctors in America since 1996, and was named a Texas Super Doctor.
Dr. Lakhanpal has held several leadership positions. He is currently the president-elect of the American College of Rheumatology. He served as the treasurer of the ACR from 2013–2015. He served on the board of directors of the ACR from 2010–2013. He was chair of the Government Affairs Committee of the ACR from 2007–2010 and has served as a member on various ACR committees. He was president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) from 2003–2004. The AAPI is the largest ethnic medical association in the U.S. and represents over 90,000 physicians of Indian origin in this country. He has served on the board of directors of the Arthritis Foundation (North Texas chapter) and the Medical Advisory Board of the Lupus Foundation of America (Dallas chapter). He has served on the board of directors and the executive committee of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.
On a personal note, Dr. Lakhanpal has run a marathon in under three hours and played basketball for his college and university. He is an avid tennis player and enjoys traveling.
David I. Daikh, MD, PhD
Dr. Daikh is a rheumatologist and Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon, his medical degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine, and his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from Oregon Health Sciences University Vollum Institute. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at UCSF. Dr. Daikh’s research has focused on mechanisms of autoimmune disease in models of lupus and is a recipient of the ACR’s Dubois Lectureship.
Dr. Daikh is actively involved in medical education and training. He serves as the director of the UCSF Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program and is a member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators. He is also a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Daikh has served as a member and chair of the ACR Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues, as a member of the Rheumatology Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Council and board of directors, and as vice president and president of the Rheumatology Research Foundation. He currently serves as the secretary of the ACR and Foundation.
Dr. Daikh lives with his wife, Wendy, and his daughter, Clara, in San Francisco. His interests and hobbies include hiking, camping, birdwatching, fly fishing, cooking, and woodworking.
Ellen M. Gravallese, MD
Dr. Gravallese is a tenured professor of medicine and holds the Myles J. McDonough Chair in Rheumatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She serves as chief of the division of rheumatology and director of translational research for the Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence.
She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College, magna cum laude, and her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, alpha omega alpha. She completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she also served as a fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy.
She is board certified in internal medicine, rheumatology, and anatomic pathology. Dr. Gravallese has a career interest in the fundamental mechanisms of inflammation and joint destruction in inflammatory arthritis. Through studies of human tissues using pathologic and molecular techniques, murine models of disease, and in-vitro assays, research in her laboratory has led to an understanding of key pathways by which inflammation impacts bone in the rheumatic diseases. With the identification of osteoclasts as the cell type responsible for bone destruction in RA and the demonstration that RANKL is a critical cytokine produced by RA synovial tissues that promotes osteoclastogenesis, work in her group has contributed to the change in focus in the treatment of RA, with greater focus on disease modification. It has also contributed to the development of new clinical interventions. In addition, her laboratory has identified the production in RA synovium of inhibitors of osteoblast function that prevent “healing” of bone in RA. These inhibitors are currently being explored as novel therapeutic targets to promote bone formation. Her current studies are directed at understanding innate immune mechanisms in inflammation and bone loss and formation in rheumatic disease. She lectures nationally and internationally on her research.
Throughout her career, Dr. Gravallese has served on numerous national boards and committees, including the board of directors of the ACR, the board of directors of the Rheumatology Research Foundation, and as chair of the ACR Committee on Journal Publications. She has also served as a member on the Blue Ribbon Task Force for Academic Rheumatology and on several other ACR task forces and committees, as well as in leadership roles for the Arthritis Foundation and other foundations. Dr. Gravallese is the recipient of the Sandoz Award for medical research, the McDuffie Award and Marion Ropes Award from the Arthritis Foundation, the Scholars in Medicine Award from Harvard Medical School, and the Physician Achievement Award from the University of Massachusetts. She is an editor of the textbook Rheumatology, and has been recognized by Best Doctors in America.
Paula Marchetta, MD, MBA
Dr. Marchetta is the CEO and Managing Partner of Concorde Medical Group PLLC, a multi-specialty private group practice affiliated with NYU Langone Medical Center, and comprised of 45 physicians located in nine offices throughout midtown and lower Manhattan.
Dr. Marchetta maintains an active rheumatology practice and continues to teach at NYU School of Medicine, where she has a faculty appointment as clinical associate professor of medicine. She is beginning her second year of a two-year term as treasurer of the ACR and the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
ACR Board of Directors, 2016-2017
Officers
President: Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, Dallas, Texas
President-Elect: David Daikh, MD, PhD, San Francisco, California
Secretary: Ellen Gravallese, MD, Worcester, Massachusetts
Treasurer: Paula Marchetta, MD, MBA, New York, New York
Rheumatology Research Foundation President: Eric Matteson, MD, Rochester, Minnesota
ARHP President: Afton Hassett, PsyD, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Members
Joel Block, MD, Chicago, Illinois
Bruce Cronstein, MD, New York, New York
Deborah Dyett Desir, MD, Hamden, Connecticut
Gary Firestein, MD, La Jolla, California
Jody Hargrove, MD, Edina, Minnesota
William Harvey, MD, Boston, Massachusetts
Edward Herzig, MD, MACR, Cincinnati, Ohio
David Karp, MD, PhD, Dallas, Texas
Charles King, II, MD, Tupelo, Mississippi
Zsuzsanna H. McMahan, MD, Baltimore, Maryland
Elizabeth Perkins, MD, Hoover, Alabama
Marilynn Punaro, MD, Dallas, Texas
William Robinson, MD, PhD, Stanford, California
Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, MSEd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Immediate Past President(Ex-Officio)
Abby Abelson, MD, Cleveland, Ohio, Rheumatology Research Foundation, Vice-President (Ex-Officio)