*UPDATE: September 12, 2017*

Dear Rheumatology community,

As we kick off our seventy first year, I look forward to our upcoming schedule of events. These meetings have always been about much more than lecture content. These gatherings have been part of the professional glue that keeps us together sharing our ideas and experiences. We all grow by listening and learning from each other as we attempt to tackle some of the most complex and difficult to understand clinical situations. Our meetings benefit us and most importantly all our patients.

This year our board met over the summer and suggested a fantastic group of potential speakers. At this time, we have in our line up Zachary Wallace, a Georgetown Medical School and now a faculty member at MGH, who will talk to us about updates on IgG4 related disease. Later in the year we have Dr. Julius Birnbaum, a dual boarded rheumatologist and neurologist from Johns Hopkins, who will lead a talk on autoimmune neurologic disease. Dr. Jane Salmon will make the trip down from the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC to talk to us about the latest on Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome. Several more talks will be finalized shortly.

I look forward to our first meeting of this year on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at the North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center. Please make sure that any new colleagues who have moved to the area know about our organization.

Our website is at www.dcrheumatism.com (thank you Dr. Collins for being our webmaster.) Dues are $100 (basic Member Level) however if you wish to contribute more, your generosity will be noted on the Membership Directory. Fellow trainees will have dues covered by the society ($0). The other membership levels are:

$250 (Partner Level)
$350 (Patron Level)
$500 (Benefactor Level)

Events will be held at the North Bethesda Marriott (5701 Marinelli Rd, Rockville, MD 20852 for the first 4 sessions. The last 2 sessions will be held at the Pooks Hill Marriott (5151 Pooks Hill Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814.) Events start at 6:30pm. We start with a meet and greet with our sponsors. At 7pm our dinner buffet is served. At 7:30pm our speakers and any other special guests take the floor.

CME will be provided through MedStar using the same telephone text system as in the past. The telephone number is (202) 796-7323. To get CME credit you send a text message with the message 274. If you are registered in the past, you will get confirmation in a few seconds. You only need to register once. The system will remember you by your phone number.

Later in the spring we will also sponsor our annual fellow’s forum. This is a highlight event where trainees from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area are able to showcase their research. This meeting is always one of the highlights of the year.

I would also like to recognize our key leadership changes. As I move into the role of president, Dr. Daniel El-Bogdadi becomes our vice-president. Dr. Victoria Shanmugam will become this year’s treasurer

I am excited about this upcoming year and I look forward to seeing all of you at our meetings!


Sean Whelton, MD