Rheumatology professionals routinely advocate on multiple levels, but they may not think of it as advocacy. In this year’s Distinguished Lecture, Kamala Nola, PharmD, MS, FAPhA, will discuss how providers can and do advocate for their patients through everyday actions, as well as how to teach patients to be their own advocates. READ MORE

Michelle Ormseth, MD, MSCI, will deliver the Rheumatology Research Foundation Memorial Lecture to Honor William R. Palmer, MD, MACR. Using the ACR’s Continuing Assessment Review Evaluation (CARE) framework, she will review the newest advances in treating one of the most common autoimmune diseases. READ MORE

In this year’s Philip S. Hench, MD, Memorial Lecture, featured speaker Fredrick M. Wigley, MD, will discuss the growing understanding of scleroderma. “The clinician needs to appreciate both the subtype of scleroderma and the stage the patient is in to better define what would be appropriate management at that point in time,” he said. READ MORE

Rheumatologists worldwide have risen to meet the challenges to the delivery of care created by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Minna Kohler, MD, RhMSUS. She will moderate a session on lessons learned beyond the disruption of this public health crisis. READ MORE

Osteoporosis management decisions are influenced by a host of individual patient factors, including clinical risk, medical history, risk of falls, and activity levels. Sonali Khandelwal, MD, will discuss different medications used to treat this disease in a session on sequential therapy and lifelong maintenance. READ MORE

Mary Beth Son, MD, and Shaun Jackson, MD, PhD, will present a summary of the highlights of basic, translational, and clinical research published in the past year related to young rheumatology patients. The session includes recognition of pediatric award honorees. READ MORE

Mood disorders and cognitive changes are among the most common neuropsychiatric manifestations of lupus in children and adolescents and present unique challenges. Ekemini Ogbu, MD, MSc, FAAP, will moderate a session discussing the implications of the intersection of lupus nephritis and neuropsychiatric abnormalities. READ MORE

Relapsing polychondritis causes inflammation that targets cartilaginous structures, such as the ears, and one of the major problems that can result is hearing loss. But the disease affects the entire body, said Peter Grayson, MD, MSc, one of the expert speakers who will discuss this illness. READ MORE