SPONDYLITIS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

Early career investigator awards (eci)two of these prestigious jane bruckel early career investigator awards were publicly presented during the american college of rheumatology annual conference this fiscal year. Each received $30,000 to conduct spondyloarthritis research this year. -dr. Paras karmacharya, md, ms, assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology and immunology at vanderbilt university medical center.during his internal medicine residency, dr. Karmacharya focused on clinical research and epidemiological studies using national databases. As a rheumatology fellow at mayo clinic, he investigated the epidemiology of psoriatic arthritis (psa) and the comorbidities associated with spa. His research has been published in leading rheumatology journals, including annals of the rheumatic diseases, arthritis care & research, and acr open rheumatology. In recognition of his contributions, he received the 2020 philip s. Hench award for excellence as a subspecialty fellow in rheumatology.- dr. Rachael stovall, md, mas, is an acting assistant professor i the division of rheumatology at the universiy of washington, specializing in axial spondyloarthritis (axspa). Dr. Stovall completed a research-focused rheumatology fellowship at the university of california san francisco (ucsf), where she also earned a master of advanced studies in clinical and epidemiological research. Her research began during her internal medicine residency at boston university medical center, where she studied the impact of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors and other therapies on spa patients. Her findings on fracture risk, opioid use, and sex differences in functional outcomes in axspa have been published in arthritis care & research and nature reviews rheumatology.in addition to funding eci awards, saa receives funding requests from outside sources to support research related to spondyloarthritis. The organization considers it imperative that any research proposals make optimal use of these limited resources. The following saa funded research grants were conducted during this fiscal year:" joerg ermann, md at the brigham and women's hospital harvard medical school. Study ""decoding axial spondyloarthritis through tissue analysis."" kristine kuhn, md, phd at the university of colorado anschutz medical campus. Study ""licensing of gut-trafficked t cells by epithelial mhc class ii."" susan murphy, scd otr at the university of michigan health system. Study "renew spondyloarthritis:feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a peer health coached resilience-building energymanagement intervention to enhance wellbeing and fatigue."

Back 2 spa basics program - in its 2nd year, this program was created to raise spa awareness and educate primary care providers and other healthcare professionals within a hospital's healthcare system using medical residents as trainers. Residents who completed their core clinical training in internal medicine and have chosen rheumatology as a specialty participated in a series of 3 trainings about spa conducted virtually via zoom. Once these residents complete the "train-the-trainer" curriculum, they set up presentations at their local hospitals to provide education and increase awareness of spa. During fy25, saa had 23 residents enroll who then gave presentations on spa to over 200 medical professionals within their medical institutions. Accredited online education for first responders - saa's course for first responders, "ems pitfalls: ankylosing spondylitis" was reaccredited in december 2022 and continues to provide 1 ce credit for first responders. Standard ems treatment protocols can cause injury, disability, and even death in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (as). This course provides tools to recognize as, and safely and properly manage it in emergency situations. Anesthesiology and airway management module- the spondylitis association of america launched the online accredited course for anesthesiologists in early february 2023. This collaboration with henry ford health aims to provide a comprehensive and practical learning experience for healthcare professionals to enhance their skills in airway management for patients with ankylosing spondylitis. This activity is guaranteed to have a minimum of 600 learners. Case-based mri educational tool for axial spondyloarthritis-saa supported the enhancement by care arthritis of a mobile app, launched in 2023, which hosts and delivers mri case studies geared to rheumatologists and radiologists. The program aims to address a top-ranked unmet educational need in the field of spondyloarthritis, namely, the appropriate interpretation of mri by rheumatologists and radiologists for early diagnosis of spa. The app streaming content is case-based and includes both clinical and imaging components. Rheum to diagnose- the goal of "rheum to diagnose" is to address real world barriers to an accurate and expedient diagnosis of nr-axspa in the rheumatology setting. The physician-facing content of rheum to diagnose includes a total of six presentations featuring experts in spondyloarthritis, geared to two distinct audiences: rheumatology fellows, and medical students. All six presentations (three for rheumatology fellows, and three for medical students) along with a promotional trailer, are available on saa's website.