WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Richard F. Loeser, Jr., M.D., chief of the section of molecular medicine and professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, has been named chairman of the Skeletal Biology Structure and Regeneration Study Section of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR). His term as chairman of the CSR is effective immediately and will end June 30, 2011.
Membership on a study section is selected on the basis of demonstrated competence and achievement in scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.
The CSR is the portal for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific merit. The skeletal biology study section reviews grants in the areas of cartilage, bone, tendon, ligament and intervertebral disc research that is relevant to common musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and degenerative disc disease.
“I am happy to serve as a chairman for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study section,” said Loeser, who also holds joint appointments in rheumatology and orthopaedic surgery at Wake Forest Baptist. “The NIH grant review process is critical for helping the federal government select the best research projects to support so that the taxpayer’s money is spent on promising, innovative, and relevant research that will improve the health of our nation.”
Loeser completed an undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech University and received a medical degree from West Virginia University.
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Media Relations Contacts: Lisa Davanzo, ldavanzo@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-6906; or Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (www.wfubmc.edu) is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Brenner Children’s Hospital, Wake Forest University Physicians, and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine and Piedmont Triad Research Park. The system comprises 1,056 acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and has been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report since 1993. Wake Forest Baptist is ranked 32nd in the nation by America’s Top Doctors for the number of its doctors considered best by their peers. The institution ranks in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health and fourth in the Southeast in revenues from its licensed intellectual property.