DAVID BURMEISTER, PHD
David Burmeister is a research physiologist and proud father of two. Having grown up on the low country coast of South Carolina, he is a graduate of the College of Charleston’s Honors Program, where he received his BS in Biology. After a cross country bicycle trip, he matriculated in the Physiology and Pharmacology program at Wake Forest University in 2006. His doctoral research there was performed at the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, and focused on endogenous mechanisms of organ regeneration in the lower urinary tract.
After receiving his doctorate in 2011, he embarked on a through- hike on the 2184-mile long Appalachian Trail. He promptly eloped after finishing the trail, and then began a postdoctoral fellowship in San Antonio with the US Army Institute of Surgical Research. He is currently an assistant professor there where his research focuses on resuscitation strategies for the treatment of our wounded warriors. His interest in CACP was triggered by the news that his daughter had a mutated copy of the protein lubricin. Currently he is very dedicated to advancing the potential for helper adenovirus delivery of PRG4 as a treatment option for CACP.
MARK GORELIK, MD
Dr. Gorelik is an assistant professor of pediatric rheumatology at the Columbia University School of Medicine and the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York. He is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric rheumatology and allergy/immunology. Dr. Gorelik has a clinical and research interest in arthritis of childhood and other autoimmune disease, and spends most of his time at present in the laboratory setting. His interest in CACP is as a result of caring for a patient with severe arthritis that was found to be due to CACP, and is eager to support the foundation in its work in spreading awareness and raising funds for research.
Dr. Gorelik obtained his medical degree at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN, and completed his pediatric residency at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. Dr. Gorelik completed his fellowship education at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh PA and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute in Baltimore, MD.
RONALD LAXER, MD
Dr. Ronald Laxer has been an Academic Physician and Physician Administrator at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto since 1984; he was made an assistant professor at U of T and a staff physician in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Paediatrics. In 1990, he became Head of Rheumatology and in 1995, a full professor of Paediatrics and Medicine. He is currently practicing in the Division of Rheumatology.
In 1996 he was named Associate Paediatrician-in-Chief of SickKids and Associate Chair (Clinical), Department of Paediatrics, followed in 2002 by his appointment as hospital Vice-President, Clinical and Academic Affairs. His portfolio included the Department of Quality and Risk Management, hospital-wide education and hospital-university relations. In 2009, he returned full-time to the Division of Rheumatology.
As a member of the Division of Rheumatology, Dr. Laxer has continued his practice as an academic paediatric rheumatologist. He has received many awards from his patients, students, and colleagues, in recognition of his clinical and teaching excellence, and his compassion and caring for patients. Some of these include the Claus Wirsig Humanitarian Award from SickKids, The Clinical Council Award from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Distinguished Clinical Scholar Award from the American College of Rheumatology, the James T. Cassidy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Dafna Gladman Award from the University of Toronto and the Distinguished Rheumatologist Award from the Canadian Rheumatology Association.
He has been involved in genetic discovery in many inflammatory diseases. His interest in CACP began with the first patient he saw at SickKids in 1984; his patient contributed to the discovery of the gene involved in CACP.
He graduated from McGill University in 1977.