President's Message - February 2026

Less than 2 months until the OARSI World Congress in Florida!

Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina have ended, and it had it all. Here are a few memorable events:

  • Lindsey Vonn’s (already having a hemi-prosthesis in one knee) brief down-hill race with a fresh ACL-injury in the other knee – a daring move that unfortunately ended with further knee injury and multiple surgeries.
  • the Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klæbo’s unbelievable uphill sprint leaving the competition far behind
  • the run-away wolf-like dog named Nazgul crossing the finishing line in the Women’s Team Sprint Qualification.
  • the nerve-wracking dream final in men’s hockey, USA vs Canada, which would have any OA patient temporarily forget about their symptoms

dog

Now, leaving Olympics behind us, please make sure you join the upcoming OARSI World Congress in West Palm Beach April 23-26, 2026 if you are able to! It is more important than ever that our scientific community stays united, meets and builds collaborations and friendships across the international borders.

The early-bird registration will end on March 19. We will randomly draw ten lucky winners of a OARSI T-shirt from the early-bird registrants. The winners will be notified by email, and the t-shirt can be picked up at the West Palm Beach OARSI registration desk.

I am happy to announce we had 79 approved late-breaking abstracts. The three winners of an OARSI t-shirt (to be picked up at the registration desk) will be notified within shortly.

Also, a limited quantity of OARSI T-shirts will be available for purchase at the registration desk in West Palm Beach.

shirt

The scientific program can be found online at the Congress site. Thanks again to Program Chair Cindy Boer, Abstract Chair Jessica Bertrand, and all the other members of the Program Committee for their amazing work!

Please note, we have a particularly exciting Clinical Trials Symposium created by Morten Karsdal and his team of organizers involving both representatives from FDA and EMA. Thanks a lot for your dedication to OARSI!

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Register for the Congress Dinner Event!

Please join us for the optional Congress Dinner event on the Saturday. This year I promise an even more challenging Music Quiz – Evergreens that you will recognize (or not) – and lots of prizes!

NEW! At the dinner event I will also award nice prizes for best costumes in the theme of music stars (i.e., pop stars, rock idols etc.). So, completely optional, please consider bringing your creative outfits! Science should be fun!

dance

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Welcome to our new OARSI Ambassadors

I would like to congratulate Sumaiyah Mat, Malaysia and Yves Henrotin, Belgium as our newest National Ambassadors!

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Reminder: Publication of the Year Awards - Deadline March 6

These awards promote excellent basic and clinical research published in the Society's journals, OAC and OAC Open. Papers based on original research for publication since April 2025 are eligible for nomination. Papers for consideration may be submitted by journal readers, OARSI members and by self-nomination. Please use this online form to submit nominations. 

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Submit Your Manuscripts to Our Society Journals!

As always, please consider our two high-quality journals to publish your scientific work and consider citing articles published in our two society journals. The two Co-Editors in Chief for OAC (impact factor 9.0), Anne-Marie Malfait and David Hunter, and Editor in Chief for OAC Open (impact factor 2.8), Henning Madry, do amazing work with their editorial teams.

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In the Swedish mountains in -15 inspired by the Olympics, I attempted my best cross-country skate, but my performance was rather mediocre, still it was in a beautiful surrounding. I truly look forward to meeting you all in Florida in soaking warm sunshine at our World Congress!

ski

OARSI inspires!               Professor Martin Englund, MD, PhD, OARSI President