News and Announcements

Arthritis Care & Research is soliciting manuscripts for a themed issue addressing topics related to pain science and therapy in the context of rheumatic diseases. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Quality of care and models of care related to pain management 
• Understanding and applying pain phenotypes 
• Longitudinal patterns of pain and pain transitions 
• Patient perspectives on pain treatment and outcomes 
• Mechanisms by which social risk factors impact pain outcomes 
• Clinical trials of pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies focused on pain outcomes
• Heterogeneity in pain outcomes in response to pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies
• Innovative methods for measuring pain 

Original Articles, Brief Reports, and Reviews will be considered for the themed issue. 

All manuscripts will be peer reviewed per the journal’s usual processes. (Submission in response to this themed issue call for manuscripts does not guarantee acceptance.) The editorial team will select papers for publication based on reviewer ratings and the balance of subject matter with other accepted manuscripts. It is possible that manuscripts submitted for the themed issue may be accepted for publication in a regular issue of Arthritis Care & Research rather than the themed issue.
 
Please follow the formatting requirements found in the Author Guidelines section at https://acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/21514658/homepage/ForAuthors.html. Normal page charge policies will apply for manuscripts accepted for the themed issue. 
 
The deadline for submission is March 31, 2025.
 
For further information, contact the Editor of Arthritis Care & Research, Dr. Kelli D. Allen; email: kdallen@email.unc.edu

Dr. Rowland Chang was honored with the Lifetime Champion of Yes Award at the Arthritis Foundation 2024 Freedom of Movement Gala in Chicago.

Read more about this achievement here

This October, NUCATS is launching the Art of Science Communication, an 8-week course designed for researchers at all career stages that provides essential training in effectively communicating scientific research to nonexpert audiences.

Participants will gain the skills and confidence to present their work in various settings, from formal public lectures and presentations to informal outreach events. The course features video lectures, background material, and live weekly discussions focusing on crafting impactful messages, generating interest, and engaging with audiences.

The course is open to all faculty and staff within Feinberg, but registration is limited. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your communication skills.

Interested in registering? Please email Abbey Dahl (abbey.dahl@northwestern.edu) for registration information. 

2024 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Pat & Shirley Ryan Family Research Acceleration Fund is pleased to announce the 2^nd round of the Seed Grants for Translational Research. These seed grants provide an exciting opportunity for Northwestern University faculty to accelerate the commercialization of innovative and high-potential research in the life sciences.

The Fund aims to advance translational research discoveries in both engineering and medicine that have the potential to create a meaningful and immediate impact on society. Areas of interest include drug discovery, sensing and measurement, rehabilitation, regenerative medicine, surgery and transplantation, artificial intelligence, and computation.

Proposals will be accepted through August 31, 2024. Typical awards will be funded with a one-year budget ranging from $100,000 to $300,000.

Please refer to the 2024 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS for detailed information on the proposed funding mechanism, eligibility criteria, and submission requirements.

The recording of the informational session for the 2nd Round Ryan Acceleration Fund competition can be found here (VPN required).

Questions should be addressed to ryanrafund@northwestern.edu.

With support from NUCATS & Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) offers three types of seed grant funding to advance community-driven health equity. All have deadlines in April 2024. Learn more

• Community Research Capacity-Building Grants ($3K, 6 months) to develop or strengthen organizational or community-level research capacity
• Partnership Development Grants ($8K, 12 months) to develop new partnerships between communities/patients and Northwestern researchers
• Research Pilot Grants ($30K, 24 months) to support established community-academic partnerships to collaboratively conduct research

Mary Kwasny, ScD, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Biostatistics, has received the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Founders Award, the highest award the organization bestows for distinguished service.

“I was really touched to receive this award,” said Kwasny, who is also the measurement and analysis lead for the Center for Applied Health Research on Aging. “I have been volunteering with the ASA for almost 20 years and see that service as an integral part of my professional responsibility. I am committed to mentoring younger statisticians to ensure a vibrant and diverse future for the profession.”

She was recognized for her contributions to the ASA, include leadership of ASA chapters —in particular, her long and outstanding service to the Chicago Chapter — as well as serving as chair of the Council of Chapters Governing Board and on the ASA Board of Directors as Council of Chapters Representative. She also played a role in creating the Harry V. Robert Statistical Advocate Award and chairing the award committee. She served as the publications officer for the Section on Statistical Consulting, served on the Committee on Nominations, Conference on Statistical Practice Steering Committee, and supports fundraising work as the chair of the ASA Development Committee.

Read more about Mary's award here

Congratulations to Harris Perlman and Art Mandelin!

For their work in the group reporting in Nature and highlighted by NIAMS. 

In a study recently published in Nature, a team of researchers studied more than 314,000 cells from samples of synovial tissues—specialized tissues that lubricate and cushion the joint but become inflamed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The autoimmune disease causes joint inflammation, pain, and stiffness. There are several treatment options to control inflammation, but response to therapy varies, and some people with RA never reach remission, suggesting there may be different drivers of inflammation. The new findings could inform future treatment options.

The NIAMS STAR program provided two funding supplements to early career stage investigators who have renewed their first NIAMS-funded R01 grant:
 
Danelle N. Devenport, Ph.D., is an associate professor of molecular biology at Princeton University. She leads a NIAMS-funded research project to better understand the collective polarization and alignment of cells across a tissue—a phenomenon known as planar cell polarity.

Yvonne C. Lee, M.D., is the Helen Myers McLoraine Professor of rheumatology and an associate professor of medicine (rheumatology) and preventive medicine (epidemiology) at Northwestern University. Dr. Lee is the principal investigator of a NIAMS-supported research project studying how rheumatoid arthritis leads to changes in central nervous system pathways responsible for sensing, transmitting, and regulating pain.

The Center for Dissemination & Implementation Science (CDIS) — an interdisciplinary center within the Institute for Public Health & Medicine — is partnering with NUCATS to help investigators integrate dissemination and implementation science into their research. Researchers can request a consultation with the CDIS team by completing a request form. A member of the CDIS team will then reach out to schedule an initial 30-minute consultation meeting and develop an individualized consultation plan. Consultation requests can focus on the following key areas:

• Grant design, review, or support
• General training, education, or mentorship in D&I Science
• Manuscript, presentation, or academic collaboration support

The DMS policy promotes the sharing of scientific data to accelerate biomedical research discovery. It does so, in part, by enabling validation of research results, providing accessibility to high-value datasets, and promoting data reuse for future research studies. The DMS policy takes effect Jan. 25, 2023.

Under this policy, NIH expects that investigators and institutions:

Plan and budget for the managing and sharing of data

Submit a DMS plan for review when applying for funding

Comply with the approved DMS plan

The University has developed several resources and services for Northwestern's research community to support investigators' compliance with the DMS policy. You can access these resources online.

(Communication from Milan Mrksich, Vice President for Research)

Congratulations to MPIs Daniel Pinto PhD, PT and Rowland Chang MD, MPH, for their new NIAMS R21 Award, Computer-guided Action Planning to Support Physical Activity (CAPPA) for Employees with Chronic Knee Symptoms.

As described in the project summary, the goal of this program is to test a brief, scalable PA coaching intervention that can assist employees with chronic knee symptoms attain and maintain healthy physical activity (PA) behavior in two worksites in the Midwest. CAPPA is a 12-week pilot randomized controlled trial that will 1) use computer-guided action-planning behavioral intervention to support employees in making PA action plans for their health, 2) use data transmitted from a personal fitness tracker (Fitbit) to support coach and employee knowledge about PA performance, and 3) Inform on optimal step up times for participants who do not substantially increase PA. CAPPA will put PA feedback in a Movement Dashboard to support study participants. The CAPPA intervention will use each participant’s preferred communication mode (text, voice call, or video chat) to attain and sustain healthy PA behavior at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Aurora Health. Follow-up measures of PA, pain and physical function are planned at treatment completion and three months following study completion.

Congratulations Dan and Bing!

A five-year grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health provides critical support to clinical investigators at Northwestern as they continue research to improve the lives of people with or at risk for rheumatic diseases and musculoskeletal conditions.  

The FIRST-DailyLife center received initial support from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) in 2017, funded by a Core Center for Clinical Research P30 grant (P30AR072579).

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