Prof. JOHANNE MARTEL-PELLETIER, Ph.D. is Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Accredited Member of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Montreal. In 1981, she co-founded with Professor Jean-Pierre Pelletier, the Osteoarthritis Research Unit at the University of Montreal Hospital Centre, which today is world renowned for its research in the field. In 2000, they initiated a University Chair in Osteoarthritis at the University of Montreal and have been appointed titular heads of this Chair.Her research interests lie in the mechanisms involved in the etiology of osteoarthritis, such as joint tissue catabolism and cartilage repair, the molecular and biochemical mechanisms involved during the osteoarthritis process of certain proteases, pro- and anti-inflammatory factors, and growth factors in humans and targeting new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of osteoarthritis. In addition, she is involved in developing systems using magnetic resonance imaging technology for the automatic quantification of structural tissue changes in the human knee and hip.She is an active member of several editorial boards and committees and is a highly respected reviewer for numerous rheumatology and connective tissue journals and governmental and private research funding agencies at national and international levels. She has authored more than 410 publications including journal articles, reviews and book chapters and over 730 abstracts, as well as being guest editor of several journals and editor of four books. In addition, she has been an invited guest speaker at numerous national and international meetings and conferences. She is recipient of several distinguished scientific awards honouring her excellence and outstanding achievements in osteoarthritis research.

Jean-Pierre PELLETIER, MD, CSPQ, FRCP(C)Accredited member, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine
Professor, Department of MedicineHead, Chair in Osteoarthritis, Université de Montréal
Head, Arthritis Centre, Université de Montréal
Head, Arthritis Division, Université de Montréal Hospital Centre (CHUM)
Director, Osteoarthritis Research Unit
University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM)
Notre-Dame Hospital
1560 Sherbrooke Street East
Montreal, Quebec, H2L 4M1 CanadaTél. : 514 890-8000, poste 26666
Téléc. : 514 412-7582TrainingMedical degree, University of Montreal (1974)
Internal medicine FRCP(C) – CSPQ (1978)
Rheumatology (1980)
FACP (1980)
FLEX (1980)
Research fellow in rheumatology (1979-1981), Department of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Areas of ResearchPathophysiology and molecular mechanisms of human and experimental osteoarthritis
Pro-inflammatory cytokines and receptors
Proteolytic enzymes and inhibitors
Intracellular signaling pathways (i.e. MAP kinases) and transcription factors
Imaging (MRI) of osteoarthritis structural changes
Development of new therapeutics (DMOADs) for osteoarthritis
Techniques usedMolecular and cellular biology
Biochemistry
Immuhistology
Pharmacology
Animal models of osteoarthritis
Joint imaging
Clinical research
Laboratory personnelResearchers, research assistants, technicians, students: MSc, PhD, post-doctorate.
PublicationsWildi, L.M., Raynauld, J-P., Martel-Pelletier, J., Beaulieu, A., Bessette, L., Morin, F., Abram, F., Dorais, M., Pelletier, J-P. : Chondroitin sulphate reduces both cartilage volume loss and bone marrow lesions in knee OA patients starting as early as 6 months after initiation of therapy : a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled pilot study using MRI. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 70 :982-989, 2011.
Pelletier, J-P., Troncy, É., Bertaim, T., Thibaud, D., Goulet, A-C., Abram, F., Caron, J., Boileau, C., d’Anjou, M-A., Moreau, M., Lussier, B., Martel-Pelletier, J : Treatment with tiludronic acid helps reduce the development of experimental OA lesions in dogs with ACL transection followed by reconstructive surgery : A 1-year study with quantitative MRI. J. Rheumatol. 38:118-128, 2011.
Raynauld, J-P., Martel-Pelletier, J., Beaulieu, A., Bessette, L., Morin, F., Choquette, D., Haraoui, B., Abram, F., Pelletier, J-P. : An open-label 12-month pilot study evaluating by magnetic resonance imaging the potential for a disease modifying effect of celecoxib compared to a modelized historical control cohort in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Semin. Arthritis Rheum. 40 :185-192, 2010.
Pelletier, J-P., Raynauld, J-P., Caron, J., Mineau, F., Abram, F., Dorais, M., Haraoui, B., Choquette, D., Martel-Pelletier, J. : Decrease in serum level of matrix metalloproteinases is predictive of the disease-modifying effect of osteoarthritis drugs assessed by quantitative MRI in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 69 :2095-2101, 2010.
Raynauld, J-P., Martel-Pelletier, J., Bias, P., Laufer, S., Haraoui, B., Choquette, D., Beaulieau, A.D., Abram, F., Dorais, M., Vignon, E., Pelletier, J-P., and the Canadian Licofelone Study Group: Protective effects of licofelone, a 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase inhibitor, versus naproxen on cartilage loss in knee osteoarthritis: A first multi-centre clinical trial using quantitative MRI. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 68:938-947, 2009.

Prof. Bernard Combe is Professor of Rheumatology at Montpellier University, France, and Head of the Bone and Joint Department at Montpellier University Hospital.
He completed his medical education at Montpellier University and was subsequently awarded a research fellowship in clinical immunology at the University of Texas, San Antonio, USA.
Prof. Combe was elected member of the National Board of Universities (Rheumatology) from 1994–2000 and again from 2006, as well as being president from 2010–2013. He is an active member of numerous EULAR and ACR task forces. Prof. Combe is Editor-in-Chief of RMD Open (EULAR / BMJ journal) and of La Lettre du Rhumatologue. In addition, he is a member of the editorial boards of Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, Arthritis and Rheumatism and Joint Bone Spine. Prof. Combe has co-authored more than 315 articles published in international
peer-reviewed journals, and has been a coordinator or main investigator in 131 clinical trials.

Prof. Boulos Haraoui, MD FRCPC is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Université de Montréal and head of the Clinical Research Unit in Rheumatology at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the Institut de rhumatologie de Montréal.
Dr Haraoui received his medical degree from St. Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. Following his post graduate training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Montreal, he completed a research Fellowship at the Arthritis Branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
He is a founding member and vice-chairman of the Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium (CRRC). He also chairs the Canadian Initiative in Outcomes in Rheumatology Care (CIORA), the research granting committee of the CRA
Doctor Haraoui is a Past-Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Canadian Rheumatology Association.
He was an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and a member of the Subspecialty Committee on Rheumatology of the RCPSC. He is also a past chairman of the Laurentian Conference of Rheumatology
Doctor Haraoui serves on several provincial, national and international educational and advisory committees, especially on issues pertaining to the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Jordi Monfort Faure Graduated in Medicine at the Universitat Central de Barcelona, Specialty Registrar of Rheumatology, Parc de Salut Mar. Hospital del Mar Barcelona, Master in Biomedical Sciences, Université de Montréal, Profeciency University of McGill. Montreal, Master in hospital management International University of Catalonia, PhD, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona 2010-2013
He is currently an Associated Professor of Rheumatology Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Dr. Mike Berger graduated from the MD/PhD program at Western University in London, Ontario in 2013. His PhD in Kinesiology, completed in 2011 under the supervision of Dr. Tim Doherty, examined the role of quadriceps muscle dysfunction in knee osteoarthritis. Following completion of his PhD, he undertook additional research training in the assessment of autonomic diseases in the laboratory of Dr. Kurt Kimpinski in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at Western. Mike has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed papers and abstracts and has presented his research at many international conferences. He is past-president of the Clinician-Investigator Trainee Association of Canada and continues to mentor young trainees interested in careers as clinician-scientists. He is currently a resident in the Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of British Columbia, where he continues to pursue his research interests in ageing, exercise, neuromuscular disease and spinal cord injury.

Dr. Francisco J. Blanco is a rheumatologist at the Hospital Universitario A Coruña (Spain), Scientific Director of the Research Biomedical Institute (INIBIC) and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). He trained as a rheumatologist at the Hospital 12 de Octubre of Madrid (1989–1992). He has been a fellow researcher at the University of California, San Diego-La Jolla during 1993 and 1994, obtaining a PhD from the University of A Coruña in 1998. Dr. Blanco leads a research group that studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cartilage destruction and repair in osteoarthritis, as well as searches for useful Biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response of Rheumatic Diseases. He was Secretary General of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) from 2013 to 2015 and was member of the Director Board of OARSI from 2009 to 2013. In addition, he is a member of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), belonging to the Red de Inflamación y Enfermedades Reumáticas (RIER) and he is director of the Nodo of A Coruña of the Red Nacional de Proteómica del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Proteo-Red/ISCIII). Dr. Blanco leads, at the University of A Coruña, the «Catedra-Bioibérica» which studies the degradation and reconstruction of joint cartilage and, since 2013, he is the national coordinator for the Biology and Disease platform of the Human Proteomic Project. Dr. Blanco is member of the EULAR study group of OA.

Dr. Flavia Cicuttini is a clinical rheumatologist and epidemiologist in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine with a long history of research in the area of musculoskeletal health. A major focus of her work has been on improving the methods for assessing joints using new methods such as magnetic resonance imaging. This has enabled a greater understanding of the mechanisms of early joint disease and has enabled new approaches to the prevention and treatment of arthritis.

Prof. Philip Conaghan MBBS PhD FRACP FRCP is Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Leeds and a Rheumatologist for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a Senior Investigator for the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Deputy Director of the NIHR Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit. His research spans translational studies through large clinical trials, with major interests in understanding pathogenesis and therapeutic response for common arthritides including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. He is a senior executive member of the international outcomes group OMERACT. He was inaugural Chair of the EULAR Standing Committee on Musculoskeletal Imaging and is Past-President of the International Society for Musculoskeletal Imaging in Rheumatology. He is on a number of journal editorial boards, is co-editor of the most recent Oxford Textbook of Rheumatology and has authored over 400 publications as original research, reviews and book chapters.

Prof. Thomas Dörner is professor of rheumatology and clinical immunology at the Dept. of Medicine/Charite University Hospitals Berlin, Germany and leads the “Humoral immune memory group” at the German Research Center of Rheumatology Berlin. Since 2009 he holds a professorship by the German Foundation for Science (Essen) of Innovative Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases.
He is board certified internist/rheumatologist and hemostaseology and currently leading the Division of Clinical Hemostaseology at the Charite University Hospitals Berlin.
His efforts for the last several years have focused on patient care, student and physician education as well as preclinical and clinical research. He directs the program of difficult-to-treat patients with autoimmune diseases including co-coagulation morbidities. In this context he is involved in the Novel Therapeutics program at the Department across different inflammatory diseases, including PI roles for a number of clinical studies. He is also the national PI for the German Registry of Autoimmune Diseases (GRAID) collecting safety and efficacy data of biological treatment in previously refractory patients across disciplines. Because of his interdisciplinary expertise, he has served on a variety of safety boards. As an investigator, he has participated in various clinical trials of rheumatic diseases, including SLE, Sjögren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis since 1998.
Within the last years his group is studying differences of the activation in the immune as well as coagulation system under the conditions of various autoimmune diseases with the main aim to translate insights into new therapeutic principles.
A main pre-clinical research area of his group is to identify abnormalities of B cell differentiation under autoimmune conditions that may permit innovative therapeutic approaches, including re-establishing immune tolerance. His group identified abnormalities of B cell differentiation and/or maintenance in SLE with enhanced memory and plasma cells in patients with SLE, especially HLA-DR++/CD27++ peripheral plasma cells correlating with disease activity. The striking resistance of memory B cells against conventional therapies (including corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide) represents a further finding in SLE that is of interest for distinct therapies. A number of monoclonal antibody therapeutics in clinical development have been studied in his group at the preclinical and clinical level, including biomarker studies. Current projects also comprise detailed characterization of antigen-specific memory B and plasma cells after tetanus vaccination and the survival requirements of bone marrow plasma cells.

Dr. Hassan Fahmi is an associate professor at the University of Montreal and a laboratory Head at the CRCHUM. He received his PhD degree in Immunology from the University of Paris-Sud, France. Dr. Fahmi directs a research program, which is focused on osteoarthritis, the most prevalent chronic illnesses and leading causes of disability in the world. Dr. Fahmi has published over seventy peer-reviewed papers, including book chapters and articles related to inflammation and osteoarthritis.
He has received awards of excellence from the Osteoarthritis Research Society International, the Global Arthritis Research Network and the Canadian Rheumatology Association. His projects are funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Arthritis Society, the Fonds de Recherche en Santé du Qubéc, and the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis.

Dr. Graeme Jones attended Sydney University graduating with first class honours in Medicine in 1985. He then did training in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology in Sydney and Newcastle. He became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1991. While at Newcastle he also did a Masters degree in Clinical Epidemiology. He then moved to the Garvan Institute in Sydney where he completed a doctorate in Osteoporosis Epidemiology in 1994. He is also a fellow of the Australian faculty of Public Health Medicine. Since 1995 he has been in Hobart, Tasmania where he combines clinical practice and research. He is currently Professor of Rheumatology and Epidemiology and Head of the Musculoskeletal Unit at the Menzies Research Institute as well as Head of the Department of Rheumatology at Royal Hobart Hospital. An NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship funds his position. He is also the current Medical Director of the Arthritis Foundation of Australia. He has received grants from competitive and non-competitive sources totalling over $16 million dollars and has published >250 articles primarily on the epidemiology of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. In more recent years he has concentrated on both industry sponsored and investigator initiated clinical trials. He has received awards and given numerous oral presentations at the annual scientific meetings of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the American College of Rheumatology, OARSI and EULAR. His current research interests are the development of peak bone mass and fracture aetiology in children, genetic and environmental risk factors for osteoarthritis, health promotion, the role of environmental factors such as diet and physical activity in osteoporosis and fractures in the elderly, clinical trials and meta-analysis.

Dr. Emmanuel Maheu Medical Doctor, Consultant Rheumatologist at St-Antoine Hospital, and private practice.
Involved in clinical research on: Hand osteoarthritis (clinical and imaging issues ; clinical trials guidelines) ; clinical trials in OA ; radiographic assessment methods in hip/knee OA ; intra-articular therapy, hyaluronic acids.
Member of the OARSI since its foundation; Member of the French Society of Rheumatology Board until 2014.
Chair of the Working group Association Geriatry and Rheumatology (AGRHUM).
Chair of the OARSI subgroup on the recommendations for hand OA clinical trials
Author of more than 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Reviewer for several Rheumatology Journals: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Arthritis and Rheumatology, Arthritis Care and Research, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, The Journal of Rheumatology, Rheumatology.
Member of the Editorial Board of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Santiago Palacios is Director of the Instituto Palacios de Salud y Medicina de la Mujer, (Palacios’ Institute of Women’s Health), in Madrid, Spain, and also, he is President of the Spanish Foundation for Woman and Health (FEMYS).
He is also Past President and Honorary Member of the Spanish Menopause Society (AEEM), Past Chairman of the Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies (CAMS) of the International Menopause Society (IMS), and Past President of the Ibero American Society of Osteology and Mineral Metabolism (SIBOMM).
Education:
Dr. Palacios received his MD degree, completed his residency in obstetrics and gynaecology, and earned his PhD degree from Complutense University of Madrid.
Research and special interests:
Dr. Palacios is highly experienced as a principal investigator, having participated in more than 50 clinical trials. His most important areas of research are menopause, osteoporosis and female sexual dysfunction. In 1989, Dr. Palacios founded the first Spanish unit devoted to the advancement of information on menopause at the Jimenez Diaz Foundation.
Publications and congresses:
Dr. Palacios has contributed to more than 300 books and journal articles, nationals and internationals, on women’s health. He is editor in chief and member of the Editorial Board of several indexed journals related to menopause and gynaecology. He is a frequent speaker in national and international congresses and has participated in more than 600 presentations.

Dr. Ingrid Moller
Director and consultant in Rheumatology and musculoskeletal sonography at the Institut Poal de Reumatología, Barcelona 1997
Assistant professor of anatomy, University of Barcelona
Organizer of the SONOANATOMY Workshops under the scientific endorsement of EULAR (2008-2013)
Faculty of:
The Sonoanatomy MASTER Universidad de Barcelona ( from 2011)
he Ultrasound School of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology from 2002
The EULAR courses of Ultrasound from 2006

Dr. Janet Pope is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and also Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), Schulich School of Medicine, London, Ontario, Canada. She is the Division Head in Rheumatology at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, London. She obtained her MD, and Fellowship in Internal Medicine at UWO and a Fellowship in Rheumatology and Masters of Public Health were acquired at Boston University. She then completed a Canadian Arthritis Society Research Fellowship in Scleroderma. She is a founding member in the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group (CSRG) and CaNIOS (Canadian Network for Improved Outcomes in SLE). She is a member of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium. She chairs both the Canadian Rheumatology Association Clinical and Research Summer Studentships. She is on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the CATCH cohort (Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort) and the OBRI (Ontario Biologics Research Initiative). She is on the Editorial Boards of Arthritis & Rheumatology, Journal of Rheumatology, Arthritis Care Research and Nature Reviews Rheumatology. Her research includes epidemiologic studies in scleroderma, SLE and RA, including outcome measurements, clinical trials and disease manifestations. She has published over 360 peer-reviewed articles, 15 chapters, 450 abstracts and several Cochrane meta-analysis reviews. Mentoring of students and trainees numbers more than 50. She was awarded the Lupus Hope Award. She has received the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Canadian Rheumatology Association, Rheumatologist of the Year from the Ontario Rheumatology Association, Department of Medicine Research Achievement Award, and the Dean’s Award of Excellence in Research.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Raynauld obtained his medical degree at the University of Montreal (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) in 1983 and was appointed at the Department of Medicine at the University of Montreal in 1996. He completed his training in Clinical Rheumatology at the University of Montreal in 1989 and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology, in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, at Stanford University in California, USA from 1990 to 1993. He is a Fellow in Internal Medicine and in Rheumatology of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.Doctor Raynauld is an expert in the field of clinical research in osteoarthritis. He is Head of the Osteoarthritis Clinical Research Unit at the Montreal Rheumatology Institute affiliated with the University of Montreal Hospital Centre (CHUM). He was formerly vice-president of the Royal College of Physician Examination Board (rheumatology) and sits as President of the Canadian Laurentian Conference of Rheumatology. He was recently member of the Editorial Board of the Osteoarthritis and Cartilage journal.Doctor Raynauld’s research interests focus on the evaluation of the progression of osteoarthritis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He is also interested in evaluating intra-articular approaches to the treatment of osteoarthritis. He has participated as principal investigator or co-investigator in several studies addressing clinical outcomes using intra-articular viscosupplements and corticosteroids, as well as having conducted studies using MRI technology to evaluate oral medications such as bisphosphonates, strontium ralenate, chondroitin sulfate, and other inhibitors of cartilage degradation in patients with knee osteoarthritis. He has published more than 75 original articles related to osteoarthritis and has presented at numerous meetings in North America.

Prof. François Rannouis Qualified in rheumatology and physical medicine, my clinical domain of expertise is devoted to osteoarthritis and spine diseases. In our research team, we study the effect of mechanical stress on articular chondrocytes and intervertebral disc cells. In clinical research, we are mostly interested in the assessment of non pharmacological treatments in rheumatic diseases.
I co-lead the scientific committee of the French society of rehabilitation (SOFMER) and assume the role of treasurer of the osteoarthritis research society international (OARSI).

Prof. Pascal Richette is Professor of Rheumatology and Head of the Rheumatology Department in Lariboisière Hospital (Paris, France).
His main research interests are osteoarthritis (OA) and gout. He has expertise in clinical studies and fundamental researches.

Piet van Riel is principle investigator at the Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare at the Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands and practicing rheumatologist at Bernhoven, Uden, The Netherlands. After graduating in medicine from the Catholic University of Nijmegen in 1978, Professor Dr van Riel trained in internal medicine at St Radboud Hospital, Nijmegen. In 1983, he completed his PhD thesis and went on to receive rheumatology training at the Academic Hospital, Nijmegen. From 1984 until January 2014 he was respectively stafmember, deputy head and head of the department of Rheumatology at the Radboud University Medical Centre . In January 2014 he was asked to start a new, state of the art, department of Rheumatology in Bernhoven, Uden. At this department innovative management strategies for patients with (non)inflammatory rheumatic conditions with the emphasis on patient self management are implemented and evaluated in cooperation with the Scientific Institute for Quality of healthcare of the Radboud University Medical Centre.
Professor van Riel is an active member of many professional societies, including the Dutch Society of Rheumatology, of which he was Chairman from 2003 to 2009, the American College of Rheumatology and the British Society of Rheumatology. From 1999 to 2003 he was Chairman of the EULAR Standing Committee for International Clinical Studies including Therapeutic Trials.
Professor van Riel’s research interests include clinical research in rheumatology, clinical pharmacology and clinimetrics. He is on the editorial board of a number of journals and has authored or co-authored several books and over 600 international publications.