DAIKH NAMED PRESIDENT OF ACR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION
CHICAGO – David I. Daikh, MD, PhD, was elected the 2011 president of the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation and will assume his new position this week during the ACR Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.
Dr. Daikh is an associate professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and chief of Rheumatology at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, and co-director of the Lupus Research Center at UCSF. He received his Medical Degree and Doctorate of Philosophy from the Oregon Health Sciences University, and he completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in rheumatology at UCSF. Dr. Daikh is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians.
Dr. Daikh’s current clinical activities include general rheumatology clinic and attending on the rheumatology consult service and the general medicine inpatient service. His research focuses on the role of T cells in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, preclinical development of novel treatment strategies for lupus and other autoimmune diseases, and measurement of immune responses in patients with autoimmune disease.
Dr. Daikh’s other major professional interest is in medical education and training. He is the director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program at UCSF and a member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators. He is a member of Rheumatology Specialty Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He served on the ACR Committee on Training and Workforce Issues where he led the development of a competency-based curriculum for rheumatology fellowship and completed a three-year term as chair of the ACR Training Committee. Dr. Daikh also represented the ACR Training Committee on the REF Scientific Advisory Council, where he led a reorganization of the REF Clinician Scholar Educator Award. As an REF board member, he chaired the 2008 REF Blue Ribbon Panel that undertook a review and revision of the REF core grant portfolio.
Dr. Daikh is chair of the Medical and Scientific Committee and vice chair for Medical Affairs on the board of directors of the Northern California Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.
Dr. Daikh’s wife, Wendy Manley, practices environmental law. His 12-year-old daughter, Clara, is a seventh grader. His personal interests include music, cooking, fly fishing, gardening, woodworking and auto restoration.
The ACR Research and Education Foundation was established in 1985 as a 501c3 organization with a mission of advancing research and training to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases. Over the last decade, the REF has grown to become the largest private funding source of rheumatology training and research programs in the U.S. On average, 90 cents of every dollar donated to the REF is used to fund rheumatology training and development, and targeted research programs to advance patient care and accelerate discoveries in the rheumatic diseases. For more information, visit www.rheumatology.org/REF.
