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LAXER RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED CLINICIAN SCHOLAR AWARD FROM AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RHEUMATOLOGY

ATLANTA – Ronald M. Laxer, MD, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Toronto and staff rheumatologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, received the Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award from the American College of Rheumatology during the ACR Annual Scientific Meeting, October 16 – 21 in Philadelphia, Pa. 

The Distinguished Clinician Scholar Award is given to a rheumatologist who has made outstanding contributions in clinical medicine, clinical scholarship, or education.

Dr. Ronald M. Laxer graduated from McGill University Medical School. After completing a pediatric residency at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and McGill University, he did his pediatric rheumatology fellowship with Ross E. Petty, MD, PhD at the University of British Columbia and joined The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto in 1984. He became head of the division of rheumatology in 1990 and remained in that capacity until 1996 when he became associate chief and vice-chair of the department of pediatrics. In 2002, he became vice-president, clinical and academic affairs at SickKids. He led the development of The Learning Institute at the hospital and of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Patient Safety. He is also a professor of pediatrics and medicine.

Dr. Laxer has published widely in many areas of rheumatology, and has made a number of important clinical observations. His description of the camptodactyly-arthropathy-pericarditis syndrome helped to ultimately identify the genetic mutation. He was the first to describe the association of psoriasis with chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis. The treatment protocol described by him and his group has become the standard for treating children with localized scleroderma. In addition, Dr. Laxer has led the development of an internationally renowned pediatric rheumatology training program, with trainees from 23 countries. He pioneered the development of an academic training program for physical and occupational therapists, the PT/OT Practitioner Program, which has now been adopted across Canada. He has authored, edited or co-edited seven books, including The Hospital for Sick Children Atlas of Pediatrics, issues on Pediatric Rheumatology for the Pediatric and Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America, Patient Safety for the Pediatric Clinics of North America, Pediatric Rheumatology in Clinical Practice, and Cassidy and Petty’s Textbook of Pediatric Rheumatology.

Dr. Laxer has served two terms as a member of the executive of the Pediatric Section of the ACR.  He has served as a member of the Abstract Selection Committee and chaired the Pediatric Section in 1994. He was a member of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and chaired the Clinical Section in 2005 and 2006. He has served as an ACR visiting professor. He was a member of the planning committee for Park City IV, V and VI, and co-chaired the committee in 2003. He was a member of the editorial board of Arthritis and Rheumatism and the Journal of Rheumatology.

Dr. Laxer has been medical advisor to the Ontario Lupus Foundation, the Ontario Juvenile Arthritis Association and the Juvenile Scleroderma Foundation. He was a founding member of the Canadian Pediatric Rheumatology Association and served as its secretary-treasurer. He has received numerous awards, including awards for teaching and clinical excellence from the University of Toronto, the Humanitarian Award from The Hospital for Sick Children and the Council Award from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The ACR is an organization of and for physicians, health professionals, and scientists that advances rheumatology through programs of education, research, advocacy and practice support that foster excellence in the care of people with or at risk for arthritis and rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

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