OARSI Weekly Briefing - June 25, 2021 | Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)



		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: Anne-Marie Malfait Over the course of the next few weeks we will spotlight the 2021 OARSI Award Winners. This week’s Member Spotlight is Basic Science Award winner, Anne-Marie Malfait. Once again, congratulations Anne-Marie on a very deserving award! How long have you been a member of OARSI and why did you join? I gave my first ever oral abstract presentation at the first ever OARSI congress in Paris, in December 1992. We still used real slides, and the man in charge had dropped them all and put them back in random order. It was a plenary session, and the "random slide experience" was somewhat unsettling for a PhD student! I guess it made me stick with OARSI, and I have missed very few annual meetings since then. I joined because being a member makes me belong to a global community of very tenacious researchers who do not shy away from osteoarthritis, and I think of many of them as good friends. What do you enjoy most about OARSI? I enjoy the community, the annual meetings, and the journal we all share. Since I was there at the inception as a junior investigator, it gives me pleasure to see our field advance and see how the ideas around osteoarthritis evolve (or sometimes just come back). It is especially wonderful to see younger researchers take an interest in the disease and contribute in unexpected and innovative ways. I look forward to seeing them solve it! Tell us a little bit about your research? We study the neurobiology of pain in osteoarthritis, mostly in animal models. We are trying to unravel how progressive joint damage affects the nervous system, resulting in pain, and conversely, how nerves may affect joint integrity. In the long run, we hope that this research will help facilitate the development of efficacious and safe pharmacological treatments for osteoarthritis. What does winning the Basic Science Award mean to you? I have always respected previous award winners, and I am absolutely thrilled and honoured. I am excited that all my (more junior) collaborators indirectly were recognized this way, since this is very much a group effort, and in particular a close collaboration with Dr. Rachel Miller. I am also happy that pain in osteoarthritis is getting some attention. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Good question. Actually, I look forward to post-pandemic life, where I can return to two of my favorite activities: attending concerts (I really miss live music events) and travelling (to live conferences, hopefully. I always try to see at least one thing in every town work takes me). Hey OA! Podcast - Call for Volunteers OARSI's Hey OA! Podcast covers topics ranging from groundbreaking new research to clinical care and policy, knowledge translation, career paths, and more. During each episode, OARSI Young Investigator, Kerry Costello, interviews a new guest to discuss OA-related topics. To check out the latest podcast click HERE. You can also listen to the podcast using your favorite podcast app. Hey OA! is currently expanding. We have a number of exciting episodes planned for the upcoming months and we are looking for at least two volunteers to help with the following ongoing aspects of producing the podcast: Episode planning/preparation: identifying and contacting potential guests, preparing interview questions, scheduling interviews Episode editing: episodes typically involve minimal editing beyond adding intro/outro, theme music, and removing the occasional sneeze/cough. Editing can be done using free, open-source software. Opportunities to contribute to episode format exist for those with more experience. Both positions involve a regular commitment (approximately 1 episode per month). Prior experience in these roles is not necessary (training will be provided) but is a plus. All are encouraged to apply, including young investigators. To apply for these positions, please fill out this online form. For any questions, email Kerry Costello. Have ideas for an episode but don’t have time to volunteer? Submit your topic idea or guest nomination anytime using this form. 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. Health Systems Strengthening to Arrest the Global Disability Burden Despite the profound burden of disease, a strategic global response to optimise musculoskeletal (MSK) health and guide national-level health systems strengthening priorities remains absent. Auspiced by the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health (G-MUSC), we aimed to empirically derive requisite priorities and components of a strategic response to guide global and national-level action on MSK health. Read more HERE. OARSI Discussion Groups OARSI's Discussion Groups bring together individuals with a focus on specific OA-related specialty areas. To make the Discussion Groups easier to join we have updated our database. Now OARSI members can log in to their profile and select the Discussion Group(s) that they would like to join. By updating your profile with your Discussion Group preferences, we will be able to send targeted emails to each Discussion Group and maintain an official roster for each group. To update your profile, follow these 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) 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. August 31, 2021 - Call for Board of Director Nominations Deadline April 6 - 10, 2022 - OARSI World Congress in Berlin, Germany 2021 Industry Partners Interested in joining our growing list of OARSI Partners, Supporters, and Sponsors? Learn More Here.
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