Chicago hosted the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual Convergence meeting in October, where many TARC members gathered to present research, moderate sessions, and connect with other researchers and clinicians. Some highlights include Dr. Saira Sheikh moderating a session on CAR-T mediated immunotherapy for SLE, Dr. Beth Jonas leading a session on workforce solutions and education efforts for rising rheumatologists, and Dr. Richard Loeser’s invited talk for the Oscar Gluck Memorial Lecture, with Dr. Astia Allenzara moderating.
TARC leadership made an impressive showing at the meeting’s opening session and awards, with Dr. Richard Loeser receiving the ACR’s Distinguished Basic/Translational Investigator Award, and Dr. Leigh Callahan receiving the ARP Master Award.
While there, UNC attendees came together for a reception hosted by the UNC Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology. This reception is the Division’s annual tradition at ACR Convergence, creating a unique opportunity for faculty, staff, and fellows to celebrate their work and time together at the meeting
The CCCR’s all-star team of biostatisticians shared their expertise in two Stats Bootcamp sessions at the meeting, with talks from Dr. Becki Cleveland, Carolina Alvarez, Dr. Todd Schwartz, and Liubov Arbeeva. Session topics included: how to choose the right statistical analysis, an introduction to latent structures and models, and guidelines on the use of machine learning models in rheumatology.
The wide range of topics investigated by TARC researchers was on full display at the meeting’s poster sessions, with TARC contributing more than 17 posters. Second-year Rheumatology Fellow, Dr. Aaron Smith, presented retrospective study of Bupropion for Lupus-Induced Fatigue Treatment (B-LIFT), which was highlighted on a poster tour. Other poster session highlights included Dr. Astia Allenzara’s research, “Population assessment of cancer incidence among patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies in North Carolina,” and Graduate Research Assistant Joel Thompson’s poster, “Exploration of patient and clinician perspectives on rehabilitation incontemporary rheumatology care for rheumatoid arthritis: A qualitative study,” with Louise Thoma.
Between sessions, our researchers were able to attend special events and meet up with other attendees in their research networks. Dr. Griffin Sonaty, Second-year Rheumatology Fellow, attended the Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF) awards luncheon as an RRF award recipient.
Overall, it was another successful meeting for our researchers, with participation from investigators at all career levels that showcased the breadth of important work underway in TARC, the CCCR, and the Division.