News and Announcements
04.22.2026
The OAI CORE Knowledgebase Presents: OAI.edu - Live Webinar Series
with Dr. Charles McCulloch
Data Analysis Strategies for the OAIMonday, May 11
3:00 pm (ET)Dr. McCulloch is Recall Professor and Professor Emeritus of Biostatistics in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. This presentation will describe data analytic methods for the OAI study with a focus on accommodating the hierarchical (e.g., regions within knees within people) and the longitudinal (repeated measurements over time) nature of the dataset. The talk will be non-technical with a focus on overarching strategies.
For any questions, please reach out to the OAI CORE Team at: oaiknowledgebase@umassmed.edu
- 04.13.2026
Social Forces & Clinical Cases
Breaking Boundaries with The Lancet’s Global Social Medicine Cases
Panel Discussion and Keynote Address by Sir Michael MarmotThursday, April 16
5:00 – 6:30 pm (CDT)This event is free and open to the public. This in-person event will be available via livestream
Frank Billings Auditorium, P-117, University of Chicago Campus
Entrance through Goldblatt Pavilion lobby (860 E. 59th St.)Sir Michael Marmot, a preeminent epidemiologist renowned for his work exposing the social determinants of health, leads this event that introduces a new series from The Lancet, produced by the Case of the Human research project at the Neubauer Collegium. The “Cases in Global Social Medicine” series centers real clinical cases from around the world that together form a practical social medicine toolkit. Each case traces a clinical course shaped by social forces, introduces a social theory concept to make sense of those forces, and distills actionable implications for clinicians, public health practitioners, health system leaders, and policymakers.
Designed for scholars and practitioners of medicine, public health, the social sciences, and related fields, the event emphasizes how social analysis can sharpen diagnosis, guide care delivery, and inform structural intervention across clinical settings. The program includes a presentation of cases from Japan and Peru, a keynote by Sir Marmot, and an audience Q&A.
PANELISTS
- Michele Heisler (University of Michigan)
- Junko Kitanaka (Keio University)
- Mirko Pasquini (University of Gothenburg)
- Mayssa Rekhis (Independent Scholar)
- Scott Stonington (University of Michigan)
This event is presented as part of an international conference (April 16–18) organized by the Case of the Human research project at the Neubauer Collegium. Learn more and register
If you need directions or accommodations to participate in events at or sponsored by the Neubauer Collegium, please contact collegium@uchicago.edu.
- 03.12.2026
The OAI CORE Knowledgebase Presents: OAI.Edu - Live Webinar Series
Join our upcoming webinar on April 13 with Dr. Michelle Yau: Genetic Data Resources in the OAI: A Primer. Register here.
Dr. Yau is an Assistant Scientist at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. OAI participants were genotyped as part of the Genetic Components of Knee Osteoarthritis (GeCKO) Study, which was initiated in 2009 as a genetic ancillary study to perform a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with radiographic osteoarthritis. This webinar will provide an overview of the available genotyping data, explain how researchers can access these datasets, and discuss important considerations for integrating genetic data with the rich phenotypic information available in the OAI dataset.
Catch up on our previous webinars! Recordings are available to watch on our website.
For questions or support, contact us at oaiknowledgebase@umassmed.edu
- 03.03.2026
Submit Your Abstract & Application for the Rheumatology Research Workshop 2026 by March 13
The Rheumatology Research Workshop (RRW) is an invitation-only, in-person workshop that promotes interaction between rheumatology trainees, early career investigators, PhD students, post-doctoral research fellows, established investigators, and junior faculty who conduct rheumatology-related research to foster collaboration and facilitate career mentoring.
RRW 2026 will take place on June 25-26, in Atlanta, Georgia and includes two days of scientific lectures, oral abstract presentations, and opportunities for early career investigators to interact with senior investigators.
Trainee applicants may be eligible for a $750 travel scholarship! Submit your abstract and application by March 13 at 11:59 PM ET. - 07.02.2025
Sam Dowling, MD, PhD, a Pediatric Rheumatology fellow at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, has received a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Arthritis National Research Foundation!
Dr. Dowling completed his pediatric residency at Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he joined Dr. Harris Perlman’s research group. Dr. Dowling’s research interest is in the pathogenesis and treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). He is defining genetic signatures of immune cells, with a particular emphasis on monocytes and macrophages, from the synovium, the tissue that lines the inside of the joint and is the main site of disease activity in JIA.
Congratulations, Dr. Dowling!