Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Rheumatology was launched in 1989. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of Rheumatology is divided into 15 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Joachim SieperJoachim SieperProfessor Joachim Sieper is Head of Rheumatology at the Campus Benjamin Franklin of the Charitè University Hospital in Berlin, Germany. He has a longstanding interest in the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of spondyloarthritides with a focus on ankylosing spondylitis over the recent years. He was involved in several of the pivotal clinical studies showing the dramatic efficacy of TNF-blocking agents in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. He is recipient of the Carol-Nachman-Award for Rheumatology (2000) and of the EULAR-Award (2003). Robert D. InmanRobert D. InmanDr Robert D. Inman completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University, USA, and his medical degree at McMaster University, Canada. He did his training in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University, USA, and his fellowship in rheumatology at Cornell University, based at Hospital for Special Surgery, USA. He worked as a research fellow at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, UK, then was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cornell University. He moved to the University of Toronto, Canada, where he was appointed Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Immunology. He was Director of Rheumatology at the University of Toronto and at University Health Network, Canada, from 1991 to 2002. He is currently Director of the Arthritis Center of Excellence at the University Health Network, Director of the Spondylitis Program at Toronto Western Hospital, and Deputy Physician in Chief, Research at University Health Network. He has held many national and international leadership positions including the member of the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology, Chair of the Medical and Scientific Board of the Spondylitis Association of America. He is currently a member of the Executive Committees of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) and the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN), and is past-President of the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC). Kenneth G. SaagKenneth G. SaagKenneth G. Saag, Jane Knight Lowe Professor of Medicine, Division of Clinical Immunology/Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), USA, and Professor of Epidemiology, at UAB School of Public Health. He is the founding Director of the Deep South Musculoskeletal (DSM) Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) and Director of the AHRQ-supported UAB T32 in Health Services Research. Dr Saag is also Director of the UAB Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research (COERE), Director of the UAB Center of Research Translation (NIAMS P50) in Gout and Hyperuricemia, and Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center (NIAMS P60). Dr Saag's current research focuses on epidemiology and outcomes of osteoporosis and gout. He studies methods to translate evidence into practice and to design large practical trials for both arthritis and osteoporosis. Dr Saag is on the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Board of Directors, has been a leader in development of the 2008 and 2011 ACR Recommendations on the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, and is a member of the ACR Council on Healthcare Economics (CHEC). He received the ACR Rheumatology Research Foundation Excellence in Investigative Mentoring Award in 2013. Dr Saag also serves as Vice President on the Board of Trustees of the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), the Board of Directors of the Gout and Uric Acid Society, and is a member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Expert Panel, Osteoporosis Advisory Working Group.