The Rheumatology Research Foundation recognized 153 award recipients at the Awards Celebration, an annual luncheon, held Monday. The event celebrates the accomplishments of rheumatology professionals who have received funding from the Foundation. In congratulating the award recipients, President Abby Abelson, MD, emphasized the impact the awardees will have in the lives of patients and in the field of rheumatology.
Attendees represented the diverse range of Foundation awardees, from students and residents to health professionals to established investigators. Roughly half of the Foundation’s funding supports education and training opportunities, which help to recruit, train, and keep the best and brightest in the field. Other awards fund research into the cause, progression, and treatment of rheumatic diseases. Projects cover a variety of rheumatic diseases including gout, inflammatory arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjögren’s syndrome, spondyloarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis.
With a mission to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases, the Foundation has committed more than $162 million directly to research and training since 1985.