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Media Releases
Health Professionals to Gather to Honor World-Renowned MU Physician's Contributions
Columbia, Mo. (Oct. 3. 2006) An international group of physicians and health professionals will gather in Columbia, Missouri on Saturday, October 7, for an educational symposium to honor the lifelong contributions of world-renowned pediatric rheumatologist James T. Cassidy, MD.
Cassidy has been Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at the University of Missouri-Columbia for the past 18 years. He is a pioneer in the field of pediatric rheumatology and his work has been a major influence in this area of specialized medicine since the early 1960's.
Pediatric rheumatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics dedicated to the prevention and treatment of rheumatic diseases of childhood, such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), an autoimmune disease more common among children than juvenile diabetes, according to Dr. Cassidy.
As a founding member of the specialty, Cassidy has influenced generations of health professionals and caregivers through his teaching, research and practice, as well as the training units he has established. He is the major editor and a leading author of the Textbook of Pediatric Rheumatology, the leading textbook on pediatric rheumatology that is now in its fifth edition.
Cassidy's passion extends beyond academic boundaries. He has persistently pushed for early diagnosis of juvenile arthritis and increased access to proper health care. He has improved the quality of life for children with rheumatic diseases through his participation and leadership in numerous professional organizations, public health programs, and fights for new legislation.
Cassidy's interests will be a major theme of his namesake symposium on Saturday, according to Carol B. Lindsley, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist and longtime associate of Dr. Cassidy, and planning committee member of the symposium. Domestic and international pediatric rheumatologists will discuss the state of the art of pediatric rheumatology, new therapies, evolving issues and future research during this symposium in Acuff Auditorium at the MU School of Medicine.
"The message we want to convey through this is pediatric rheumatology focuses on an important aspect of chronic disease in children and this is a growing and developing field even today," says Lindsley, who serves as Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at the University of Kansas and Director of Mid-America Pediatric Arthritis Program, "However, it's still one of the smallest subspecialties in pediatrics with relatively few board certified pediatric rheumatologists practicing in the field."
Ross Petty, M.D., PhD, a co-editor of Cassidy's "Textbook of Pediatric Rheumatology," will travel from Canada to attend the symposium. Petty, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, will also conduct a grand rounds on "Reactive Arthritis: The Infection Connection" at 8:15 am, October 6 in Acuff Auditorium.
For more information about the Cassidy Symposium, please visit http://www.muhealth.org/~cme/cassidy/index.shtml.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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