International Steering Committee


 
Lars Lidgren, MD, PhD, Professor
Department of Orthopedics
Lund University Hospital
S-221 85 Lund
Sweden

Lars Å A Lidgren was born 1943 in Kall/Jämtland in the northern mountains of Sweden. He studied statistics at the University of Lund before going into medical school, graduating in 1971. He started training in orthopedics and presented his PhD entitled “Post-operative Wound Infections in Orthopedic Surgery” in 1973.

In 1975 he obtained his specialist credentials in orthopedic surgery and worked briefly at the Balgrist Orthopedic Clinic in Zürich, Switzerland. In November 1987 he was appointed Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Lund, Sweden. In 1990 he was appointed to the University Chair in Orthopedics and is Head of Department.

His early research activities focused on orthopedic infections. In 1973 he presented the first randomised study on systemic antibiotic prophylactics in joint replacement.

He studied degradation and release from biological and polymeric antibiotic carriers.

Since 1975 he has been involved in the internationally renowned Swedish National Knee Register that is recognised as a valuable data source of surgical outcomes. His present research area is biomaterials, especially in relation to the interface of existing and new structurally tailored surfaces, new biological active substances in calcium sulphate and phosphate bone replacements and finally polymer degradation specifically in bearing surfaces.

Professor Lidgren has received significant honours and been President of various musculoskeletal societies. He is honorary member of several orthopedic societies. Currently he is Spokesman for Biomaterials in the Nordic Orthopedic Society, Chairman for the Swedish National Knee Register, Director of the National Board of Health and Welfare, Muscoloskeletal Competence Center, Member of several Editorial Boards.

He initiated a Bone and Joint Decade Consensus Meeting in Lund in 1998, which led to the worldwide Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010, officially supported by the United Nations on 13^th November 1999 and launched by the WHO in January 2000. He is presently Chairman of the International Steering Committee.

Professor Lidgren has authored and co-authored over 250 original publications, tutored 20 PhD students, and has more than 200 patents/applications. He presently receives grant funding from the Swedish Medical Research Council, EC, the Medical Faculty and Region Skåne.

http://www.ort.lu.se/

Peter Brooks, MBBS, FRACP, FAFRM, FAFPHM, FRCP(Edin), Professor
Executive Dean (Health Sciences)
The University of Queensland
Edith Cavell Building
Royal Brisbane Hospital Qld 4029
Australia

Professor Peter Brooks is currently Executive Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Queensland. He has held previous posts as Professor of Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney (University of New South Wales) and was the Foundation Professor of Rheumatology at the Royal North Shore Hospital and the University of Sydney. He completed his medical training at Monash University in Melbourne and then studied rheumatology under Professor Watson Buchanan in Glasgow.

Professor Brooks is a rheumatologist with a major research interest in the treatment and epidemiology of rheumatic diseases. He is a recognised international expert in this area. He has a major interest in medical research, in particular, the linking of basic and clinical research and in internationalisation and the development of postgraduate activities.

He has published widely in the treatment and outcomes in arthritis and in psychological aspects of rheumatic diseases and medical education.

Professor Brooks sits on a number of Boards including: Council of Qld Institute for Medical Research, Advisory Committee (arthritis and musculoskeletal disease) to the National Health Priority Action Council, Mater Medical Research Institute, Board of CONROD, Executive Committee of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology and the Partnerships Grant’s Committee of the NH&MRC.



Kai-Ming Chan, MD, Professor
Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Prince of Wales Hospital
Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong SAR

Professor Kai-Ming Chan is the Chair Professor and Chief of Service at the Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also currently serves as the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Sports Medicine and Health Promotion. Professor Chan received his medical degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1975, and later completed a clinical fellowship at the Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital in Edinburgh.

Professor Chan is internationally recognized for his expertise in orthopaedic sports medicine. He has authored over 120 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, edited 16 books and produced more than 300 abstracts. His major research interests are in sports injuries and rehabilitation, arthroscopic surgery, basic science research in muscle and tendon injuries.

He is currently the President of the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS), and Treasurer of the International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sport Medicine (ISAKOS).

He was the Past President of the Hong Kong Orthopaedic Association, Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeon and the Asia-Pacific Orthopaedic Society for Sport Medicine (APOSSM).

He is also currently the Chairman of the Management Committee of the Hong Kong Sports Institute. He was honoured with an OBE for his contribution in sports medicine in 1995.



Liana Euller-Ziegler
Rheumatology dpt Hopital de l´Archet 1
06200 Nice Cedex 3
France

Liana Euller-Ziegler is Professor of Rheumatology & Head of the Rheumatology Department, Hospital of Nice, University of Nice in Sophia Antipolis, France. She is a member of the French Society for Rheumatology, American College of Rheumatology, and American Society for Bone & Mineral Research.

She serves as Vice President (elected by Social Leagues / patient organisations) of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), General Secretary 1st Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR'2000, Chair of the Social Leagues Programme Committee, EULAR'2000 and 2001 Congress Chair, and Organising Committee member of the Worldwide Conferences of Arthritis and Rheumatism Patient Societies organised by the Social Leagues of EULAR for 2000.

She is President of AFLAR (Associative French League Against Rheumatism) and has been involed in many areas including Editor, Journal de l'AFLAR, Chair of the AFLAR Annual Congresses, Member of working parties of the French Health Ministry (struggle against Pain, Osteoporosis), Founder Member of IAPO (International Alliance of Patient Organisations), and Coordinator of the Patient Partner Programme in France.




Mieke Hazes, MD, PhD
Department of Rheumatology Z713
P.O. Box 2040
3000 CA Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Dr. Mieke Hazes did her medical training as well as her specialist training in Rheumatology in the Leiden University Hospital, The Netherlands. Her research area is the clinical epidemiology of the rheumatic diseases. Her first research (Thesis) was about oral contraceptive use, pregnancies and the risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The areas of research interest include outcome of inflammatory arthropathies, in particular RA, diagnostic and prognostic strategies in early arthritis, rheumatoid surgery and rehabilitation research. She has published over 80 articles in international journals.

After her specialist training she did a year fellowship in clinical epidemiology at the 'Arthritis Research Council Epidemiology Research Unit' in Manchester UK (Head Prof. Dr AJ Silman). In the years 1990-2000 she was assistant, and later associate, professor of Rheumatology in the Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands. She served first as the Medical Head of a specialized rheumatology hospital Sole Mio in Noordwijk, and from 1996-2000 as the head of the Rheumatology Outpatient Department and Deputy Head of the Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Hospital. Since September 2000 she was appointed Professor of Rheumatology and head of a new Department of Rheumatology in the University Hospital Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

She is member of the editorial board of the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases and secretary general of the Dutch Society of Rheumatology and, until recently scientific secretary of the Dutch Society of Rheumatoid Surgery (NERASS). She served in many national and international committees. Since 1998 she is member of the International Steering Committee of the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) and chair of the Dutch National Action Network of the BJD.

Wahid al-Kharusi, MD, FRCS
Khuola Hospital
P.O. Box 3007 Ruwi
Code 112
Oman

Wahid Al-Kharusi is the Head of Khuola Hospital in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Dr Al-Kharusi is President of Oman Sports Medicine and Secretary General in Asian Federation of Sports Medicine. His specialities are sports injuries and trauma.



Shoichi Kokubun, MD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Tohoku University School of Medicine
1-1 Seiryomachi, Aoba-ku
Sendai 980-8574
Japan

Shoichi Kokubun is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tohoku University School of Medicine in Sendai, Japan. He moved back to his alma mater in 1986 after 18 years of training and clinical practice at a local hospital, a spine center in Sendai and at the University of Hong Kong. Following one-year stay in Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxford, he was promoted to his current position in 1995.

His major research and clinical activities are spine and spinal cord diseases such as spinal deformities and injuries and radiculopathy and myelopathy due to degenerative pathologies. At home, as Congress President, he is holding the JOA Annual Congress in May 2004. Internationally, he is National Delegate to the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SICOT), Chief National Delegate to the Asia-Pacific Orthopaedic Association (APOA), and Vice President of the Spine Section, APOA. The 2nd Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Paediatric Orthopaedic Societies (IFPOS) was held under his presidency in Sendai in 2001.

He has been making every effort to improve orthopaedic surgery, especially spinal surgery, in many Asian countries by visiting there or by accepting fellows to his department for training. Because of the achievements, he has been granted an honorary professorship from Norman Bethune Medical School in Changchun, China, and the Ho-Chi-Minh City Medal from Ho-Chi-Minh City, Vietnam.



Armin U Kuder, Esq.
Kuder, Smollar & Friedman, PC
1925 K Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington
DC 20006 USA

Armin graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, A.B. (Magna Cum Laude) and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

His professional experience includes U.S. Navy, Office of the Judge Advocate General, 1960-1963, Mehler, Smollar & Buschmann, Washington, D.C. from 1963-1965, Smollar & Kuder from 1965-1968, Kuder, Sherman, Fox & Meehan, P.C.from 1968-1978, Armin U. Kuder, Chartered from 1978-1983, Kuder, Smollar & Birkel, P.C. from1983-1985, Kuder, Temple, Smollar & Heller, P.C. from 1985-1987, and Kuder, Smollar & Friedman, P.C., 1987 to present.

He was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia (1959), and Maryland (1987), and before the U.S. Court of Military Appeals (1962) and the U.S. Tax Court (1967). He has been a leader in numerous professional organizations including the D.C. Bar Clients' Security Fund, D.C. Bar Board on Professional Responsibility, D.C. Bar Task Force on Family Law Division, National Health Lawyers Association, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and listed in "The Best Lawyers in America, Naifeh Smith (1983-1992), and in surveys of recommended family lawyers by the Washingtonian Magazine, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2000. He is the author of several legal and health related articles and publications. He is also a member of the American Bar Association; D.C. Bar; Bar Association of the District of Columbia; Maryland Bar Association; Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland; Family Law Sections of the American, Maryland and District of Columbia Bars; and Health Law Section of the American, District of Columbia and Maryland Bars.

He served as the first President of Arthritis & Rheumatism International (ARI), Geneva, Switzerland--an international consortium of national patient-oriented non-profit agencies concerned with arthritis, 1997-1998, and is presently Treasurer. He has held numerous leadership positions with the Arthritis Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia, including Chair (1993-1994); Senior Vice-Chair, (1991-1992); and held other volunteer positions in the national organization as well as the Metropolitan Washington Chapter since 1971. He is presently Trustee Emeritus.

He also has held leadership positions with the Hyde School, Bath, Maine, the Center for Marine Conservation, Washington, D.C. (formerly, Center for Environmental Education, the National Institutes of Health, Mental Health Study, and the National Health Agencies, National Capitol Area Council.

He has been involved with the Bone and Joint Decade since 1997.



Ghassan Maalouf, MD, Prof
St. George Hospital
Balamand University
Faculty of Medicine
Beirut, Lebanon

Orthpaedic Surgeon Saint George Hospital, Balamand University, faculty of Medicine – Beirut. Chief of the Orthopaedic department at Saint George Hospital – Balamand University (Faculty of Medicine)– Beirut. Head of Osteoporosis Unit – Saint George Hospital – Balamand University (Faculty of Medicine)– Beirut. Member of Lebanese Orthopaedic association. Member of the Lebanese order of Physician. General secretary of the Lebanese Osteoporosis Prevention Society (L.O.P.S). President of the Lebanese Accident Prevention Society. Member of International Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Member of British Orthopaedic Association. Member of French Orthopaedic Association and Traumatology (SOFCOT). Member of “Groupe de Recherche et d’Information sur l’Ostéporose Européenne (GRIO). Member of the National British Society for Osteoporosis. National and international speaker. Member of the Jury for doctorate-Paul-Sabatier-Toulouse (Orthopaedic Department). Member of the executive board of International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) patient Society. Elected Internationally. Middle East representative of the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Member of the governance board of International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Member of the executive board of the Mediterranean Orthopaedic Association. Member of American Academy for bone and mineral research (ASBMR). Member of the BJD International Steering Committee (ISC).



Marcos E Musafir, MD
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Rua Teresa Guimarates, 92-Botafogo
Rio de Janeiro, 22280050
Brazil

Marcos Musafir completed his medical graduation and Residency in Orthopedics and Traumatology in Rio de Janeiro in 1982. He received his post graduate training in Sports Medicine, Work Medicine and Master's in Orthopedics at the Federal University. He received ATLS instructor training and heads the ATLS course in Rio de Janeiro.

Dr. Musafir was head of the busiest Trauma Center and Emergency Hospital in Rio, Miguel Couto, from 1988 to 1995. He was then designated to the newest Trauma Hospital of Rio de Janeiro. He also Chief of Emergency Medicine and Trauma at the Federal University of Rio. He is a Fellow in three different countries and is the author of many book chapters and papers.



Nicolas E Walsh, MD, Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
The University of Texas
Health Science Center at San Antonio
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio
Texas 78284-7798
USA

Dr. Nicolas E. Walsh was promoted to the Chairman of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio in 1989. He joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in July 1982 after completing his residency in Rehabilitation Medicine. In the short period of time since Dr. Walsh became Chairman, the Department has increased faculty and residents, formed important new clinical affiliations, and become a national leader in research in Rehabilitation Medicine. The ongoing development of a computer assisted design/computer assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) of prosthetic devices has attracted considerable interest from industry as well as the research community.

Dr. Walsh is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and received his Master of Science degree in Biology from Marquette University in 1974. He earned his Medical Degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1979.

After graduation from the Air Force Academy, Dr. Walsh transferred to the United States Navy and entered Underwater Demolition Team training in Coronado, California. Following training Dr. Walsh was assigned to SEAL Team I and served two tours of duty in Viet Nam. He was awarded numerous decorations for bravery, including two Silver Stars.

Dr. Walsh has been instrumental in the research and application of laser and ultrasound technology for the CAD/CAM of prosthetic and orthotic devices. His ongoing work includes design of CAD/CAM devices for developing countries, innovative usage of artificial intelligence in the design of prosthetic sockets and continued efforts in the design of high performance state-of-the-art prosthetic components. Dr. Walsh was certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on May 26, 1983 and the American College of Pain Medicine on June 26, 1992. In 1989, he was named the Health Care Professional of the Year by the Governor's Committee for Disabled Persons in Texas. Dr. Walsh received the Excellence in Research Writing Award from the Association of Academic Physiatrists and American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1991. He received the prestigious Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1991, and he was named Physician of the Year, Bexar County Hospital District in 1992. In 1993 Dr. Walsh was named Reviewer of the Year by the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and he been a Selectee, The Best Doctors in America, since 1996.

Dr. Walsh is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Chairman of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is also President of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Foundation, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Physiatrists. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Walsh is the President of University Physicians Group and served as the Executive Associate Dean of the Medical School for two years. Additionally, he is a member of the International Steering Committee for the Bone and Joint of the Decade, 2000-2010.

Dr. Walsh and his wife, Wendy, have four daughters.



Anthony D Woolf, BSc, FRCP, Professor
Duke of Cornwall Rheumatology Unit
Royal Cornwall Hospital
Truro TR1 3LJ
UK

Anthony Woolf is Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro and Honorary Professor of Rheumatology at University of Plymouth Postgraduate Medical School, United Kingdom. His undergraduate medical education was at the London Hospital Medical College, and he trained in rheumatology at The London Hospital, the Hammersmith Hospital, Guy’s Hospital, the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases and Bristol Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom.

He has a special interest in improving patient management through professional and patient education, through working closely with patient groups to address their specific needs and also through raising priority for the appropriate care of musculoskeletal conditions.

He is a member of the Executive and of the Education Committee of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology. He is Chairman of the European League Against Rheumatism Standing Committee for Education and Training and member of the Executive Committee and is involved in developing and providing educational programmes in Europe. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Board of Rheumatology with responsibility for developing standards for undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes in rheumatology. He is a member of Council of the British League Against Rheumatism, an umbrella organisation of professional and user groups involved with bone and joint disorders, and is responsible for developing such multidisciplinary groups at a regional level within the UK. He is Past Chairman of the National Osteoporosis Society, UK.

His research interests are osteoporosis and the management of rheumatic diseases. He has written widely on rheumatic disorders and osteoporosis, including 5 books and many articles. He is Editor-in-Chief of Baillieres Clinical Rheumatology and Associate Editor of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the EULAR Journal.

He co-ordinates the Bone and Joint Monitor Project which is an international collaboration that aims to support the Bone and Joint Decade by providing evidence of the global burden of musculoskeletal conditions and developing prevention strategies.



Kristina Åkesson, MD, PhD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Malmö University Hospital
S-205 02 Malmö
Sweden

Kristina Åkesson is an Associate Professor at the University of Lund Medical School in Sweden and an orthopedic surgeon in the Department of Orthopedics, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden. Her clinical sub-specialty is in joint replacements and she has clinical and administrative responsibilities in the Osteoporosis Unit, Dept of Orthopedics. She is also a Faculty Research Advisor, Lund University Medical School.

Her honors include Olmed Studiestipendium and the Olmed Charnley Award from the Swedish Orthopedic Society, 1995, and the New Investigator Recognition Award from the Orthopedic Research Society (US, Japan, Canada, Europe).

University and professional positions held include Associate Professor and Assistant Professor, University of Lund Medical School, Sweden. She was a Postdoctoral - Research fellow in mineral metabolism at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. She also worked at Karlshamn Community Hospital.

Her research includes Women's Bone Health - a prospective population-based study of 1000 women, 75 years of age in Malmö with advisor, Paul Gerdhem, and a prospective study of fractures occurring after a first hip fracture 1984-85 with advisor, My von Friesendorff.

Her teaching positions have included Clinical tutor - Orthopedics, Dept of Orthopedics, Malmö University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, and orthopedics for registered nurses.

She serves as chairman of Samrådsnämnden för Osteoporossjukvård inom Södra sjukvårdsregionen (Swedish Osteoporosis Society). She has been involved with the Bone and Joint Monitor Project and a member of the International Steering Committee of the Bone and Joint Decade since 1998.

Kristina received her MD, PhD and Bachelor of Medicine degrees from the University of Lund, Sweden.



International Steering Committee meeting in Zürich, Switzerland, January 19–20, 2002.
Left to right, back row: Prof Lars Lidgren, Dr Karsten Dreinhöfer, Armin U Kuder, Esq, Prof Bruce D Browner.
Centre row: Dr Marcos E Musafir, Prof Anthony D Woolf, Dr Kristina Åkesson, Prof Nicolas E Walsh, Prof Edward D Harris Jr.
Front row: Prof Mieke Hazes, Prof Liana Euller-Ziegler, Mary Andersson, Amye L Leong, Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, Agneta Jönsson.