Former prof awarded rheumatology honor

Rheumatology Professor Emeritus Joseph Hollander recently was named the winner of the 1991 Gold Medal Award from the American College of Rheumatology. The annual award is given to an ACR member who is "recognized nationally as a major contributor to the field of rheumatology." Hollander said he was glad to receive the award. "I think that it's a great honor, and it's more of an honor since I was able to live long enough to receive it," he said. "There are many other people in my field who deserve the honor." Although Hollander modestly attributed his success to longevity rather than accomplishment, others had high praise for him. Robert Zurier, former Rheumatology Department chairman and who currently works at the University of Massachusetts, said that Hollander has done important work in his half-century medical career. "As a young intern, Dr. Hollander was so appalled by the sight of young rheumatoid arthritis patients in body casts that he decided to learn more about arthritis, thus launching a distinguished career in rheumatology," Zurier said. Hollander graduated from the Medical School in 1935 and interned at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In 1946 he returned to the University to become an instructor at the Medical School and he went on to become a Rheumatology professor. Hollander said that he became a rheumatologist because of the "inspiring lectures" which he attended at the Medical School. "I had been considering orthopedic surgery until I saw how much there was about arthritis which needed to be learned," he said. Hollander and his colleagues did studies of blood circulation in the joints, injection of cortico-steroid directly into joints and climate effects on arthritis. In the 1960s, Hollander and colleague Daniel McCarty discovered that uric acid crystals in joints were responsible for causing gout. With almost 5000 members, ACR is the largest professional organization of arthritis specialists in the world. The national organization has a goal of eventually eradicating the more than 100 types of arthritis and related disorders of the joints, muscles and bones. The award will be officially presented at the group's 55th annual scientific meeting, to be held November 17 in Boston. Hollander is a former president of ACR and holds "Master" status in the organization.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.