USBJI July 2021 Newsletter

BMUS Call for Applications

The United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI), whose mission is to improve the prevention and treatment of bone and joint disorders, and the quality of life for those affected by them by providing increased awareness, solid information, and research, is submitting this call for applications to fill the position of chairpersons of our program, The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States (BMUS). Our current co-chairs, Stu Weinstein, MD and Ed Yelin, PhD, have each served for more than a decade, leading BMUS to become a pre-eminent program of USBJI. BMUS, a fully online, interactive platform, provides detailed evidence of the burden posed by a multitude of musculoskeletal diseases. BMUS offers information, downloadable graphs and charts on such subjects as spinal disorders, arthritis, bone health, economic impact, and many other musculoskeletal topics.

If you are interested in applying, please download the call for applications for more information.

Public Education Programs on Arthritis, and on Fracture Prevention Upgraded & Available in Spanish

The USBJI released the upgraded editions of its public/patient education programs Experts in Arthritis on how to manage your arthritis, and Fit to a T, on fracture prevention, bone health and osteoporosis last year.

The Presentation Guide, and Slide Set for both Fit to a T and Experts in Arthritis have been translated into Spanish. We would like to thank Katiuska Peppard, BSN, RN, CMSRN for translating our programs.

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Experts in Arthritis, which provides guidance to people with arthritis and those who care about them, has a new look and feel, with enhanced content on managing pain and fatigue. Designed to encourage discussion between expert presenters and participants, there is greater focus on addressing the most common concerns of people with arthritis and maximizing retention of the educational messages. Experts in Arthritis has always primarily been designed for presentation at live community gatherings. Due to COVID-19 Experts in Arthritis is offered with video conference presentations, led by a local expert on arthritis, so community centers, senior centers and other organizations can continue to offer this important education activity to their members while at home. Some of the messages are particularly relevant at this time, as people are confined and unable to exercise and move around as freely as they would be normally.

Experts in Arthritis and accompanying materials are provided at no cost, and come with a ready-made slide set, Presentation Guide, handouts, and logistical support.

The recorded presentation is offered at www.ControlArthritis.org, presented by Dr. Linda Ehrlich-Jones.

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Fit to a T, a public/patient education program, presents the necessary steps to understanding why bones break suddenly and apparently without warning, and how to prevent such events which can cause people, particularly older people, to lose their independence.

The incidence of these fractures in the US was declining, but in recent years this improvement has reversed. Covering bone health throughout the lifespan, the new version of Fit to a T focuses especially on those at highest risk of a fracture, and how to prevent these from occurring. The presentation covers the basics of bone health and how bone quality can deteriorate as people age, or at any age due to other health factors. It covers racial and ethnic differences. It covers the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis, and fall prevention, a leading cause of fractures.

Designed to encourage greater discussion between healthcare professional presenters and participants, there is greater focus on addressing the major concerns of participants and maximizing retention of the educational messages. Fit to a T also was primarily designed for presentation at live community gatherings, but due to COVID-19 Fit to a T is also being offered via video conference, led by a local expert on bone health, so those who are effected can still benefit from this important educational program. Some of the messages are particularly relevant at this time, as people are confined and unable to exercise and move around as freely as they would be normally.

Fit to a T and accompanying materials are provided at no cost, and comes with a ready-made slide set, Presentation Guide, handouts, and logistical support.

A recorded presentation is offered at www.fit2t.org, presented by Catherine Sweeney, PA-C, CCD.

The National Spine Health Foundation's 2021 Spring Journal

The National Spine Health Foundation released its Spring Journal, “Spine Health in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond” in May. This Spring edition highlights the impact of COVID-19 on spinal healthcare and other topics on the diagnosis and treatment of the spine.

Section I of the Spring Journal features topics on the use of telemedicine and other “Changes in Spinal Health Care”. While the technology of telemedicine has been around for some time, its use greatly expanding during the pandemic in the diagnosis and treatment of spine issues.

Section II “Spinal Wellness and Therapies”, presents topics on bone health, aquatic therapy, and a research spotlight on “What is Sciatica”.

Section III, Tech Advancements “ discusses what’s new in the diagnosis and treatment of spine issues. Articles include “Advancements in Hybrid Lumbar and Cervical Disc Surgery, “Pioneering Augmented Reality in Spine, and “Noninvasive treatment for Discogenic Back Pain. For the complete text of the Spring Journal open the attached link.

https://www.flipsnack.com/spinehealth/the-spine-health-journal_spring2021/full-view.html

Hand Foundation Offers New Research Mentorship Opportunities

In the last year, the American Foundation for the Surgery of the Hand (AFSH) has made significant strides to improve the quality of research in the field of hand and upper extremities by improving mentorship opportunities available through our grant mechanisms.

AFSH has formed a collaboration between the Research Management Committee (RMC), which oversees grant approval, and the Clinical Research and Grantsmanship Committee (CRCG) to provide constructive criticism and assistance to grant applicants. As part of the new grant submission process:

Initial letters of intent (LOIs) are now required before submitting a full grant application.
PIs now have the option of getting their LOIs reviewed early for feedback.

With this partnership, we are enabling our researchers to make significant advances in medical knowledge and improve patient care by improving the quality of their funded research. The LOIs ensure that AFSH is reviewing grants of the highest quality and allow principal investigators time to refine their full grant proposals prior to grant submission. In this process, a CRCG committee member meets with the principal investigators at the pre-submission stage to work through possible ways to strengthen the proposal.

If a principal investigator's proposal is denied, they are invited to work more closely with the CRCG to find ways to improve their overall grant process, in hopes they will reapply in the following year.

Our goal in improving these processes is to enable investigators to initiate pilot projects that will lead to subsequent funding from other sources such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), funding that will provide research opportunities to drive our specialty forward.

To learn more about the impact of AFSH research opportunities, watch the video of AFSH Research Management Committee Chair Roger Cornwall, MD, who describes how AFSH funding has impacted his research career.

For the Love of Learning – Integrating Machine Learning & Musculoskeletal Biomechanics

FOCAL, formally the Fellows Orthopaedic Continued AAHKS Learning, is an American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) initiative that began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because elective surgeries were postponed at many institutions, AAHKS leadership recognized that the effects of the pandemic might significantly impair the fellowship learning experience in 2020. To help augment the fellows’ education, AAHKS created the FOCAL Initiative – a free, online, interactive learning experience for surgeons in training that have chosen adult reconstruction as a specialty. Through FOCAL, arthroplasty fellows and senior residents are invited to listen to lectures from many of the country’s top adult reconstruction surgeons and participate in case discussions.

AAHKS created the FOCAL Committee following the success of the 2020 initiative. Led by William G. Hamilton, MD, the FOCAL Committee is dedicated to enhancing adult reconstruction fellow education and will work to supplement the overall knowledge of arthroplasty trainees. Current projects that the FOCAL committee is involved in include:

Monthly FOCAL Webinars—For more information, to register for upcoming webinars and to view free webinar recordings, visit AAHKS.org/FOCAL.
The Journal of Arthroplasty (JOA) Mentorship Program—This program was created to bring in prospective journal reviewers, specifically targeting arthroplasty fellows, recent fellowship graduates and senior residents, to pair them with mentors who are elite JOA reviewers. Currently, the application period is closed. A call for new mentees will go out in the winter.
Arthroplasty Fellowship Topic List—The committee is creating a comprehensive list of topics and accompanying materials that are essential to arthroplasty fellowship education. It is the committee’s goal to release this guide to AAHKS fellowship programs sometime this summer.

For more information about the FOCAL Committee or any of their projects, please email Natalie Loper, Education Specialist, at NLoper@AAHKS.org.

AOFAS Annual Meeting 2021 Offers In-Person and Virtual Attendance Options

The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Annual Meeting 2021 will be held September 22-25, 2021. For the first time, the meeting will be both in-person, at the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina, and virtual for those unable to travel.

AOFAS President Bruce E. Cohen, MD, and Program Chair Carroll P. Jones III, MD, have planned an outstanding meeting showcasing presentations from foot and ankle leaders, cutting-edge research, and the latest devices and technology from exhibitors. In-person attendees have the flexibility to add on the one-day Pre-Meeting Course, chaired by John Y. Kwon, MD, and J. Kent Ellington, MD, MS. With three tracks of concurrent Instructional Course Lectures (ICLs), attendees can choose the topics that most interest them. The meeting also offers full-day educational sessions dedicated to orthopaedic residents and allied health practitioners.

Both in-person and virtual attendees will have live access to the meeting’s distinguished guest speakers. This year’s Research Speaker, Rachel M. Frank, MD, director of the Joint Preservation Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, will present on the science of orthobiologics. Dr. Frank has strong research interests in surgical and non-surgical joint preservation techniques for the knee and shoulder, including novel and minimally invasive biologic therapies.

Victor Valderrabano, MD, a Swiss orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports traumatology, osteoarthritis surgery, and reconstructive surgery, is the Kenneth A. Johnson International Speaker. Dr. Valderrabano will kick off the Kenneth A. Johnson Symposium on Controversies in Foot and Ankle Surgery with a presentation on ankle osteoarthritis and mobile total ankle arthroplasty.

"This meeting will be action-packed with over 20 hours of symposia to choose from, the flexibility of a 3- or 4-day experience, and lower registration rates from previous years," said Dr. Cohen. To learn more and register for AOFAS Annual Meeting 2021, visit aofas.org/annualmeeting

The Deadline is Next Month for Three OREF Grants!

Grant applications are still available for pain management, mentored and resident research. Grants from $5,000 to $50,000 are available to eligible applicants. For more information, please visit the Grant Programs page on OREF’s website.

Open funding opportunities from OREF, Applications due August 16, 2021

OREF Multimodal Musculoskeletal Perioperative Pain Management Grant in Collaboration with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Foundation provides $50,000 in funding for investigator-initiated research proposals focused on the broad area of perioperative musculoskeletal pain management.
Friedenberg Mentored Clinician-Scientist Grant provides $20,000 in funding to promote the development of new clinician scientists who have demonstrated success as both a clinician and a researcher. It also allows investigators to spend dedicated time in research for a period of up to five years to develop a long and productive career in academic surgery.
Resident Research Project Grant RD2 provides $5,000 in funding to residents who are interested in research. These grants are offered several times throughout the year, but you may submit only one application per grant year. Please apply during the time frame that most closely aligns with your research rotation in the labs.

Welcome USBJI's Interim Executive Director

While USBJI conducts a search for a new management firm, we would like to welcome Bridget Lindbloom, who will be serving as the Interim Executive Director and assisting with the transition once new management is determined. Bridget comes to USBJI with over 20 years of association management experience working with numerous associations including the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and NAON. Bridget joined USBJI in June and is looking forward to working with the Board and members to keep operations running as well as facilitate a smooth transition to a permanent management firm.

Memorial: Toby King

It is with gr

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eat sadness that we inform you of the passing of Toby King on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. Toby lost a battle with cancer that he had stoically fought for many years.

Toby served as the founding Executive Director of the USBJI (formerly USBJD) since 2002 and made invaluable contributions to advancing the organization’s mission. Toby was an expert connector and collaborator. He recognized the value of working together and had the patience and diplomatic skills to achieve success on many multi-disciplinary initiatives in advocacy, public education and the creation of the Young Investigator program.

Toby was a true leader and mentor for the Bone and Joint community. We will continue the vision Toby had for MSK research and follow the example of commitment and leadership set by him. His positive energy and tireless ability to drive new initiatives, coupled with his dry sense of humor will be greatly missed. We extend our deepest sympathies to Toby’s wife Judy and his entire family.

The King family has requested that donations be made to the USBJI Toby King Memorial fund.

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USBJI July 2021 Newsletter

In This Issue

Calendar of Events

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