Newswise — ATLANTA – The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) confirmed five new Executive Committee members and five new members-at-large to its Board of Directors during a business meeting held during the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego.
The 2017-2018 Executive Committee members are as follows:
• David I. Daikh, MD, PhD, was appointed as ACR President. Dr. Daikh is Professor of Medicine and the Kenneth H. Chair in Rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also directs the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program. He is also division chief and directs the rheumatology clinic at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. Daikh is a recipient of the ACR’s Dubois Lectureship in Lupus. He has also served as president of the Rheumatology Research Foundation and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.
• Paula Marchetta, MD, MBA, is now the ACR President-Elect and will succeed Dr. Daikh in 2018. Dr. Marchetta is the CEO and managing partner of Concorde Medical Group PLLC and clinical associate professor at the NYU School of Medicine. She also maintains an active rheumatology practice. Dr. Marchetta serves on several boards, including the Board and Executive Committee of the NYUPN Clinical Integrated Network which she chairs; the Board and Executive Committee of NYU’s physician-run IPA University Physicians Network; and the Executive Committee of the Medical Board at NYU from 2014-2017.
• Charles King II, MD, is now the ACR & Rheumatology Research Foundation Treasurer. Dr. King is the senior member of the Rheumatology and Osteoporosis Center of Excellence at the North Mississippi Health System in Tupelo, MS, where he has maintained an active rheumatology practice. He is actively engaged in medical research and served as his institution’s IRB chair from 2010-2016. Dr. King has been a member of the ACR Board of Directors for the past three years and has chaired the Committee on Rheumatologic Care.
• Ellen M. Gravallese, MD remains on the Executive Committee, serving in her second year as the ACR & Rheumatology Research Foundation Secretary. 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 also serves as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Director of Translational Research for the Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence. Dr. Gravallese has served on numerous boards, including the Board of Directors of the ACR, the Rheumatology Research Foundation and as Chair of the ACR Journal Publications Committee.
• Sandra Mintz, MSN, RN, is now President of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP). Mintz is a nurse care manager at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the Division of Rheumatology. In this role, she acts as a clinician, educator, researcher and patient advocate. She has been a member of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals since 2003 and served on the ARHP Executive Committee, the ACR Committee on Education and Chaired the ARHP eLearning Subcommittee.
• Abby Abelson, MD, is now the Rheumatology Research Foundation President. Dr. Abelson is a board-certified rheumatologist and Chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases. She is also a certified Clinical Densitometrist, a Fellow of the ACR and has served on the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s Strategic Planning Committee and Scientific Advisory Council.
The ACR also welcomed five new members-at-large to its Board of Directors. New appointees include:
• Dan Battafarano, DO, San Antonio TX
• Evelyn Hsieh, MD, PhD, New Haven CT
• Marisa Klein-Gitelman, MD, MPH, Chicago IL
• George Tsokos, MD, Boston MA
• Doug White, MD, PhD, Onalaska, WI
Existing members who will continue in their role as a member-at-large include:
• Joel Block, MD, Chicago IL
• Gary Firestein, MD, La Jolla CA
• Jody Hargrove, MD, Edina MN
• William Harvey, MD, MSc, Boston MA
• Edward Herzig, MD, MACR, Fairfield OH
• David Karp, MD, PhD, Dallas TX
• Elizabeth Perkins, MD, Hoover AL
• William Robinson, MD, PhD, Stanford CA
Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, Dallas TX (ACR Immediate Past President) and S. Louis Bridges, Jr., MD, PhD (Rheumatology Research Foundation Vice President) have now become Ex-Officio board members.
The ACR President, ACR President-Elect and ARHP President each serve a one-year term, while the Treasurer, Secretary, and Rheumatology Research Foundation President serve two-year terms. Members-at-large are appointed to three-year terms.
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About the American College of Rheumatology
The American College of Rheumatology is an international medical society representing over 9,400 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals with a mission to empower rheumatology professionals to excel in their specialty. In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatologists are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases. For more information, visit www.rheumatology.org.
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