There are 3 SPARTAN Membership Categories: Full Member, Associate Member and Trainee Member. Membership Descriptions are outlined below. To download complete membership descriptions click here

Membership in SPARTAN will be approved by the Board of Directors on submission of a curriculum vitae and one letter of support by a SPARTAN Full Member. Prospective members should be health care professionals with a significant interest in spondyloarthritis.

Full Member:

Requirement to Apply: 3 publications in the spondyloarthritis field – independent research.
Need to reapply: Only if not actively involved in the organization*, spondyloarthritis research§, and no meeting attended in last 2 years#
Meeting Attendance Requirement: 2 in 5 years.
Voting: Yes.
Committee Service: Yes.
Full members: To apply for full membership, the applicant should have a track record in the field, defined as a minimum of 3 publications in spondyloarthritis. For currently established full members, if involvement in SPARTAN is demonstrated with committee work and/or ongoing research activities, no reapplication will be necessary to remain an active member. For those full members who have not been active or have not attended the annual meeting in the last several years, membership will need to be renewed.

Associate Member:

Requirement to Apply: Interest in spondyloarthritis research.
Need to reapply: Yes, after 3 years. Will need to demonstrate transition to full member or be reevaluated to remain associate (case-by-case).
Meeting Attendance Requirement: 2 in 5 years.
Voting: No.
Committee Service: Yes, if nominated by full member.
Associate members: To apply for associate membership, applicants should demonstrate an interest in the field of Spondyloarthritis. They do not need to have published or have an independent research program. As an organization, we are committed to nurturing young investigators and will facilitate pairing researchers who do not have a spondyloarthritis mentor at their own organization with a senior mentor elsewhere.

Trainee Member:

Requirement to Apply: Interest in spondyloarthritis research.
Need to reapply: Cannot remain trainee member after completion of final training stage. Will need to apply for associate or full membership.
Meeting Attendance Requirement: 2 in 5 years.
Voting: No
Committee Service: No
Trainee members: Any trainee at any level is encouraged to apply if they are interested in the field. This includes medical students, graduate students, residents, clinical fellows, and post-doctoral (MD and/or PhD) fellows.

* Involvement in the organization includes serving on a committee or involvement in the SPARTAN registry with active enrollment of patients.
§ Research is defined as publications in the field (at least 1 in 3 years) or active grants in spondyloarthritis.
# Meeting attendance alone is not sufficient to maintain full membership.