Five named to NIAMS Advisory Council

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The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has appointed five new members to its advisory council. The council comprises scientific and lay members who have expertise in the mission areas of the institute. Council members provide advice to the institute on broad policy issues, and make recommendations on research proposals.

Joan E. Bechtold, Ph.D., is the Gustilo Professor of Orthopaedic Research and Graduate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Dr. Bechtold’s research focuses on bone healing in the context of challenges such as infection, trauma, smoking, and joint replacement. She is particularly interested in developing new bone/implant interfaces to improve outcomes for patients who have revision joint replacement surgeries. She has been an NIH grantee since 1995, and has served on various NIH study sections. Dr. Bechtold is actively involved in professional organizations such as the Orthopaedic Research Society, where she currently holds the position of immediate past president.

Photo of new 2015 NIAMS Advisory Council members.

NIAMS Director Dr. Stephen Katz (second from l) and Deputy Director Dr. Robert Carter (third from r) welcome new members to the institute’s council. They are (from l) Richard Seiden, Dr. V. Michael Holers, Dr. Amy Paller, Dr. Joan Bechtold, and Dr. Sundeep Khosla.

V. Michael Holers, M.D., is the Scoville Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, where he also is head of the Division of Rheumatology. His research interests include B lymphocyte activation and development; the role of substances known as complement in inflammation and autoimmunity; early-stage autoimmune-related changes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); and the causes and development of RA and related conditions. Dr. Holers is a member of various scientific and professional organizations, including the Arthritis Foundation and the Lupus Research Institute.

Sundeep Khosla, M.D., is the Dr. Francis Chucker and Nathan Landow Research Professor, a Mayo Foundation Distinguished Investigator, and the dean for clinical and translational science at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. As principal investigator on a number of NIH grants, Dr. Khosla’s research projects include investigating the mechanisms of bone loss in women and in men, sex hormone action on bone, and the biology of osteoprogenitor cells (those involved in the growth or repair of bone) and stem cells. He is a former president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and currently serves as the chair of the Governance Committee of the National Bone Health Alliance.

Amy S. Paller, M.D., is the Walter J. Hamlin Professor and chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago. She is also the director of skin-related clinical research at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. As a pediatric dermatologist, Dr. Paller specializes in clinical research related to genetic and immune-mediated inflammatory conditions in children, and currently is studying eczema, psoriasis, localized scleroderma, and epidermolysis bullosa. She is a former president of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

Richard F. Seiden, J.D., is a partner with Foley and Lardner, L.L.P., in Los Angeles, and has been a member of the California Bar since 1973. His experience includes serving as outside general counsel to major nonprofit hospital systems, and assisting clients in the development of integrated healthcare delivery systems in a managed care environment. Mr. Seiden joins the council as a public representative. He is a former chair of the board of trustees of the National Psoriasis Foundation.

The mission of the NIAMS, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, is to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. For more information about the NIAMS, call the information clearinghouse at (301) 495-4484 or (877) 22-NIAMS (free call) or visit the NIAMS website at http://www.niams.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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