ACR’s Research Education Foundation Investigators’ Meeting

REF RA researchers focus on progress

The American College of Rheumatology’s Research Education Foundation has gathered over 50 researchers from across the U.S. to present their data from the Within Our Reach RA studies. They’ll be brainstorming ways to collaborate in finding a cure for RA.

The meeting will feature a wide range of RA research topics that are funded by the REF’s Within Our Reach program. The investigators will represent a variety of scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, molecular biology and genetics.

I felt pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it, so I haven’t brought this up yet on the blog! Katie Beth and I drove down to Miami tonight to attend this meeting. We’ll be here through the weekend mostly listening and typing.

We hope to learn about current RA research and speak with some of the investigators about their research and the collaborations they are forming.

REF reaches landmarks in RA research

Last month, the ACR’s REF announced that the Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis campaign surpassed its initial $30 million goal.

The Within Our Reach campaign has accelerated the pace of discovery and catalyzed promising new lines of scientific investigation. Most importantly, these achievements provide hope and inspiration to the millions of patients with RA who need our support and care. They recently told subscribers:

Through the campaign, 58 peer-reviewed grants totaling $24.4 million have been awarded to scientific investigators across the country. Grants awarded through Within Our Reach will extend into 2012, with an additional $6 million of support in the form of novel clinical trials to be funded next fall.

Within Our Reach has brought new investigators – from both inside and outside rheumatology – into this area of research, which was a goal of the program from the outset that expands the critical mass of scientists focused on advancing knowledge in RA. New collaborations have been formed among this new network of investigators that have resulted in new research endeavors. Some of the exciting research progress includes:

• Learning more about the cause of RA
• Finding new ways to inhibit inflammation
• Controlling and even blocking bone erosions

Read more details in the ACR Research Education Foundation press release at this link.

NOTE: Click here to read my report from after the meeting.

Recommended reading

• Positive Signs for Rheum Patient Activism
• Video: Thoughts from American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2010
• American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting 2010
• Juvenile Arthritis Treatment Guidelines Adopted by ACR