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NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS SLATED FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS RESEARCH SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL
MOUNT LAUREL, NJ, DECEMBER 18, 2006 – At the 2006 World Congress on Osteoarthritis, held recently in Prague, Czech Republic, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) announced the newly elected board of directors for 2007.
Newly elected President, Steven Abramson from New York University School of Medicine, succeeds now past president Martin Lotz from The Scripps Research Institute. Francis Berenbaum of Hopital Saint-Antoine in Paris was elected President Elect. Linda Sandell from the Washington University School Of Medicine was appointed Secretary General and Virginia Byers Kraus of Duke University Medical Center to Treasurer.
Standing members at large include: Thomas Aigner, Leipzig University; Nicholas Bellamy, CONROD, University of Queensland; Joseph Buckwalter, University of Iowa Hospital; Maxime Dougados, Hopital Cochin, France; Felix Eckstein, Paracelsus Private Medical University; Gabriel Herrero-Beaumont, Fundacion Jimenez Diaz, Spain; Yves Henrotin, University of Leige; Marc Hochberg, University of Maryland; Hiroshi Kawaguchi, University of Tokyo; Richard Loeser, Jr., Wake Forest University School of Medicine; Johanne Martel-Pelletier, University of Montreal Hospital Center, Notre-Dame Hospital; Leena Sharma, Northwestern University; Leo van de Putte, University Medical Centre Nijmegen. Roy Altman of University of California, Los Angeles remains the ex-officio member and editor-in-chief of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
OARSI’s board of directors is comprised of leading scientific experts, and renowned individuals in the field. In fact, newly elected OARSI President Steve Abramson, who is the Chairman of Rheumatology at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, was recently appointed Vice Dean for Education, Faculty, and Academic Affairs at New York University School of Medicine.
“OARSI is fortunate to have such dedicated individuals working to further education and awareness of OA and its treatments,” commented Steve Abramson, OARSI President. “We have a strong group of leaders from all around the world, representing a broad spectrum of fields in OA research and committed to advancing the field.”
The 2006 World Congress was an overwhelming success, attracting more than 800 osteoarthritis professionals looking for the latest developments and research findings. The program, consisting of concurrent oral sessions, scientific sessions, and a fantastic lineup of renowned speakers, addressed topics ranging from regulation of gene expression, cytokines, metalloproteinases and biomechanics to clinical topics including joint replacement, clinical trial design, cartilage repair, pain mechanisms in osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc degeneration.
Joint diseases account for the majority of all chronic conditions in individuals 65 years and older. Osteoarthritis represents the single most prevalent age-related disease and with the increasing numbers of the elderly in both developed and developing countries, it is expected to have a profound impact on the health care and quality of life for senior citizens.
OARSI is a nonprofit, scientific organization that promotes and encourages fundamental and applied research, and disseminates the results in order to permit better knowledge of osteoarthritis and its treatment.
For more information on OARSI, its programs and services, contact OARSI at 15000 Commerce Parkway, Suite C, Mt. Laurel, NJ, 08054; phone: 856-439-1385; fax: 856-439-0525; email: oarsi@oarsi.org or visit the Web site at www.oarsi.org.
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