OARSI Weekly Briefing - July 23, 2021 | Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)

Welcome to the OARSI Weekly Briefing - the single resource you need to stay up to date with OARSI & World Congress news, membership announcements, and happenings within the OARSI & OA community.

Bookmark this page for weekly updates.

Join the conversation online by following OARSI on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Board of Directors Call for Nominations

OARSI is now accepting applications for the Board of Directors for a 4-year term beginning in May 2022. The Board requires members whose backgrounds, skills, and experience match the OARSI mission and its current and future needs. Service on the OARSI board demands a considerable commitment of time and talent to advance the goals and objectives of the organization.

The Nominating Committee will review all applications and make a recommendation to the Board. The nominating committee seeks to maintain gender, geographical, and specialty balance. All OARSI members, except those employed by industry, or who own a for-profit company related to the OA field, are eligible to serve on the Board of Directors.

If you are interested in applying for a board position, please complete the short application form. Once we receive it, you will be sent a user name and password in order to complete an online disclosure. The deadline for receipt is August 31, 2021.

To learn more about the process and submit an application, please click HERE.

Member Spotlight: Virginia Kraus

Over the course of the next few weeks we will spotlight the past Lifetime Achievement Award winners. This week’s Member Spotlight is 2019 winner, Virginia Kraus.

How long have you been a member of OARSI and why did you join?
I joined in 1998 and attended my first OARSI congress in Vienna in 1999. Although the attraction of Vienna was no doubt an inducement, I joined OARSI on the recommendation of my former postdoctoral mentor, Dr. Bruce Caterson and his colleagues, who encouraged participation in this fledgling society.

What do you enjoy most about OARSI?
Deep personal friendships with wonderful scientists throughout the world, forged through shared interests and challenges, have been what I have most enjoyed about my many years in OARSI. As a young scientist, when I realized that Duke’s tenure qualifications required at least ten international contacts for potential letters of support, I imagined that tenure someday would be out of reach for this if not for other reasons. When the time came in 2004, only 5 years after joining OARSI, I had a vast number of international colleagues, these even far exceeded the number of my domestic colleagues—proof of the power of the “I” in OARSI!. It gives me great pleasure to see this history repeated in the encouraging environment and support that OARSI provides to present day young investigators.

Tell us a little bit about your research?
My research is unified by the discovery, validation and qualification of osteoarthritis biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment development and monitoring. For biomarkers to have meaning, the disease itself has needed to be better understood from a biological perspective. For this reason I have pursued a variety of studies to help elucidate the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis.

What does winning the Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?
I am very proud, honored and humbled to have been provided this award by OARSI. To be honest, it only incentivizes me more to try to contribute to advances in our field and to empower my trainees and collaborators to do the same. Before I retire (someday), I would really like to contribute to refocusing our attention as a field on earlier OA diagnosis and treatment, and to contribute meaningfully to advancing treatments to improve the life of us all (given that nearly all of us will suffer from some sort of OA). If I can contribute in this way, I know I will have more fully lived up to this honor bestowed upon me.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I greatly enjoy growing in understanding and competence as a painter of watercolors and a singer (mezzo soprano). I have been the soprano 2 section leader for Women’s Voices Chorus for many years. Both are creative outlets and have the wonderful ability to absorb one’s whole attention and help stave off concerns, such as funding shortages and grant deadlines, at least for a while.

OARSI Imaging Discussion Groups

The OARSI Imaging Discussion Group was created to bring clinicians, radiologists, imaging researchers, and industry representatives together to discuss OA imaging and the latest trends. The membership consists of over 100 individuals who have expertise in imaging technologies and evaluation techniques. The group provides a forum to review State-of-the-Art imaging technologies and their application in clinical settings. In addition, members discuss clinical translation, education, and gaps in research. The group also provides an expert forum that may be used during the approval process of imaging biomarkers by regulatory agencies.

The Imaging Discussion Group meets yearly, typically around the OARSI World Congress. The outcome of this meeting often results in the composition of review articles, white papers, and/or position statements.

If you would like more information on the Imaging Discussion Group, you can email the Co-chairs, Thomas Link or Xiaojuan Li. To join the Discussion Group, please follow the below steps.

Log in to OARSI.org
Click on the menu button in the top left of the screen
Select ‘My Profile’
Select ‘Edit
Select the ‘My Account’ tab
Scroll to Discussion Groups and select your group(s)

Save the Date: Clinical Trials Symposium

The Wednesday, October 20 at 9:00 EDT
More Information to Follow

OARSI Live Call for Presenters

The OARSI Live webinar series is currently on hiatus and will resume this fall. We are looking to schedule our fall program and are seeking webinar presenters. If you would like to present on an OARSI Live webinar, please contact Vincenzo Nelli with a brief summary of your proposed presentation.

OARSI Connect '21 Recordings

Did you know that all of the recorded sessions from OARSI Connect ‘21 are available to registered attendees through April 2022!? If you missed a session because you attended another session or it occurred at a time that was inconvenient for you, you can view it by logging into the virtual meeting website. Just navigate to the Agenda page and select the session(s) you want to view.

If you missed OARSI Connect ‘21, you can still register and have access to the recordings. It simple, just register HERE.

Important Dates & Upcoming Deadlines

2021 Membership Dues: Be sure to renew your OARSI dues. Renew Now.
August 31, 2021 - Call for Board of Director Nominations Deadline
October 20, 2021 - Clinical Trials Symposium
April 6 - 10, 2022 - OARSI World Congress in Berlin, Germany

User login

Not a member?

Not logged in?

OARSI Weekly Briefing - July 23, 2021