OARSI Weekly Briefing - September 3, 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.

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SAVE THE DATE: OARSI Clinical Trials Symposium - Wednesday, October 20th

The OARSI Clinical Trials Symposium is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20th at 9 am EDT. This symposium is envisioned as a debate continuing the discussions held with OARSI, the FDA, and the Arthritis Foundation (AF) in June of 2021. The debate “How can we design clinical trials for regulatory approval in OA” will feature OARSI members and individuals from the FDA. More information and registration to follow.

Member Spotlight: Ali Guermazi

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will spotlight the past Clinical Research Award Winners. This week's Member Spotlight is 2018 winner, Ali Guermazi.

How long have you been a member of OARSI and why did you join?

I joined OARSI in 2007 even though I attended the Chicago meeting in 2004. I joined Dr. Harry Genant's research Lab in 2001 and focused on osteoarthritis research, but it was not until I moved back to the clinics at Boston University School of Medicine in 2007 that I joined the OARSI. I joined the congress the same year and I have never missed one OARSI meeting since then. The OARSI meeting is the not miss one.

What do you enjoy most about OARSI?

I enjoy every moment at the OARSI. The program in general is always well crafted. I enjoy the fact I can learn from others since I am a radiologist, and many other subspecialties are represented and their science is in general unknown to me. Hence this is an opportunity to understand all aspects of osteoarthritis: pathophysiology, natural history, mechanic, therapy, outcome, etc. I enjoy the interaction and meeting all colleagues that I can meet otherwise. I enjoy the poster sessions since I can walk take my time and learn at my pace. I finally enjoy the extra-scientific activities since OARSI always picks beautiful cities which allow the attendees to combine business and pleasure or as we say in French "de joindre l'utile a l'agreable".

Tell us a little bit about your research?

My research focuses on imaging in osteoarthritis and particularly X-ray and MRI in osteoarthritis. During the last 20 years, my group, the Quantitative Imaging Center (QIC) all the way with stellar international collaborators published several semi-quantitative MRI scoring systems that help to understand the natural history and risk for incidence and progression of osteoarthritis. We published seminal papers on the different MRI osteoarthritis phenotypes, and I have been pushing against the use of X-ray as an endpoint in osteoarthritis clinical trials for more than a decade. We provided thousands of MRI reading for foundations, NIH-sponsored trials, and industry.

What does winning the Clinical Research Award mean to you?

Winning the Clinical Research Award is one of the great moments of my professional career. I am honored. I dedicated most of my research time focusing on how to advance imaging of osteoarthritis and being a recipient of such an award was the ultimate recognition of the society and peers. Since I was the first radiologist to receive such an honor, I know that many of my colleague radiologists are working hard to achieve the same goal. It was a real recognition to our specialty and its contribution to osteoarthritis research and care.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I am a citizen of the world and love traveling. I already visited more than 140 countries and my list is still ongoing. Unfortunately, I had to take a break during this ongoing sanitary crisis. I then turned to my second hobby, photography (not strange to an imager) and I am taking care of the pictures I took for the last 40 years or more. I like gastronomy, history and I collect stamps. The challenge is the time!

International Hand Osteoarthritis Consortium Discussion Group

The Hand Osteoarthritis Consortium Discussion Group is a new OARSI Discussion Group. It focuses on defining priorities for hand osteoarthritis research. The group brings together clinicians and healthcare workers, academics and scientists, and key stakeholders. At the OARSI 2021 Congress, the Discussion Group provided an online forum to discuss in particular whether different hand osteoarthritis phenotypes exist. An electronic polling system was used to assess consensus between the Discussion Group attendees, and the results were shared in real-time. It is also planned that the results will be submitted for publication. Future meetings are anticipated to run annually at the OARSI Congresses, and these are likely to provide both networking and discussion opportunities for anyone interested in the hand osteoarthritis field.

Chairs: Kari Shah and Nigel Arden

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 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

November 12, 2021 - Abstract Submission Deadline
2021 Membership Dues: Be sure to renew your OARSI dues. Renew.
April 7 - 10, 2022 - OARSI World Congress in Berlin, Germany

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OARSI Weekly Briefing - September 3, 2021