Several faculty members, a fellow and a student in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine recently received prestigious awards from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for their efforts in education and research — foundations in academic health science centers that improve health and quality of life for patients. The awards were presented recently during the annual meeting in Washington D.C.
Rheumatology on a roll
Kaleb Michaud, Ph.D., pictured above, associate professor of rheumatology, UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, received the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Distinguished Scholar Award. The award is presented to a member who demonstrates exceptional achievements in scholarly activities pertinent to arthritis and the rheumatic diseases.
Dr. Michaud’s work involves aspects that may impact a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, from getting their medications reimbursed due to cost-effectiveness analyses to knowing what the side effects are through pharmacovigilance studies.
“This is such a tremendous honor that it’s hard to form the words,” Dr. Michaud said. “Most importantly, my research could not have been done without the enormous contributions made by patients through participating in our many studies and registries. It’s through their effort that I’m able to make progress for them.”
Amy Cannella, M.D., received the 2016 ACR Member Top Recruiter Award for top recruiter of new members.
UNMC fellow, Bryant England, M.D., received the Marshall J. Schiff, MD Memorial Fellow Research Award from the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
Taylor Pospisil, UNMC medical student, was recognized with the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s Student Achievement Award.
Lynell Klassen, M.D., professor in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine and longtime rheumatologist, is the recipient of one of the highest honors bestowed by the American College of Rheumatology – its Master designation. The designation is conferred on members, age 65 or older who have made outstanding contributions to the ACR and the field of rheumatology through scholarly achievement and/or service to their patients, students and profession.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by one’s peers in an international organization that is concerned with improving care for patients with rheumatic diseases through education, research and developing clinical guidelines,” Dr. Klassen said. “I was very fortunate to have worked with other physicians within the ACR to develop educational materials that were used across the nation by both physicians and patients.”
His activities with the ACR include developing educational materials focused on increasing the knowledge primary care physicians have about rheumatic diseases. He also was involved in developing mechanisms for reviewing grants for the education and research arm of the ACR Research and Education Foundation.
 |
James O’Dell, M.D. |
James O’Dell, M.D., is recipient of the Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award, an honor bestowed on a clinical scientist making outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology.
Dr. O’Dell, a national leader in the research and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, is chief of the UNMC division of rheumatology and immunology and chief of rheumatology at the Omaha VA Medical Center. Dr. O’Dell has published extensively in the area of RA on the initial success of triple therapy, with work published in major medical journals. Recently he co-authored one of the largest clinical studies in rheumatoid arthritis that determined a large number of patients do well on lower cost treatments. It also found important safety considerations.
“It is not only a tremendous honor but very humbling to accept this award,” Dr. O’Dell said. “This award is not really for me but recognizes all the patients and clinicians who have contributed to helping us find better and more economical ways to treat rheumatoid arthritis over the last quarter century.”