A Letter from the Chair

By Daniel O. Clegg, MD

The 2011 SPARTAN Annual Meeting is later this week. We will see you in Portland, Oregon this year for a truly Pan American conference. Registration for the meeting has been unprecedented. We are pleased to welcome SPARTAN members along with members from the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR), members from the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC), rheumatology fellows from all across the country, along with Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) officials and industry sponsors.

This year's meeting will highlight the “Critical Appraisal of the Guidelines for the Management of Ankylosing Spondylitis.” Annual Meeting Chair, Atul Deodhar, MD, has done a remarkable job coordinating over 25 experts to come together to educate us about the 'State-of-the-Art' principles in the management of ankylosing spondylitis and also develop important questions about the „gaps” in our knowledge where more research is needed. Conference attendees will be divided into groups to discuss and debate various topics, then vote on questions presented relating to each of these important subjects. We look forward to improving understanding and developing consensus for treating ankylosing spondylitis in the Americas. Please come prepared to actively participate in what we hope will be a lively and productive meeting.

See you in Portland!

Dan Clegg, MD Chair, SPARTAN