Directors’ Message January 2024
Welcome to 2024!
A new year brings a fresh opportunity to reflect on the past and plan for the future. For the G-CAN leadership, 2024 is an especially appropriate time for reflection and planning as we mark our 10-year anniversary, and a decade of advancing research in the field of gout and crystal-associated diseases.
Looking Back
In 2014 James Mackay, then CEO of Ardea Biosciences, suggested the creation of a scientific society to advance research in gout and crystal disease. His generous support in the form of an unrestricted grant made this possible and, in the fall of 2015, the Gout, Hyperuricemia and Crystal Associated Disease Network held its first meeting in San Francisco. Seventy researchers and industry representatives attended the half day of scientific sessions, laying the groundwork for a volunteer organization dedicated to creating research and educational initiatives that would fill the gout, urate biology and crystal-associated diseases knowledge gap.
Under the 10-year leadership of President Robert Terkeltaub, MD, Vice President and Treasurer Hyon Choi, MD, DrPH, and a 9-member board, G-CAN has emerged as a dedicated international meeting space for research that also encourages and mentors early career investigators in this field. Our membership has expanded to almost 300 members from North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and several other regions. In more recent years, the organization has overseen a growing number of projects and programs including the CPPD Nomenclature Project and the launch of the first online, peer-reviewed journal in the field in 2023.
Our annual meeting weathered the 2020 COVID challenges by adding virtual attendance options. We now offer two full days of clinical research and scientific sessions in a hybrid virtual and in-person format. The program is enriched with multiple networking opportunities, plenary abstract sessions of work by early career investigators, and two concurrent workshops dedicated to gout clinical-translational research and trial methodology and design, and to CPPD and other calcific crystalline arthritis. Attendance of the annual scientific symposium has grown steadily; since 2015 our attendance has gone from 70 to 188, with attendees from over 30 different countries. We expect this number to be even greater in the future, with our dynamic growth made possible in part by the generous support of multiple industry sponsors.
Looking Forward
Last December, following the 2023 Annual Symposium, the G-CAN Board of Directors met to consider the organization’s future direction and goals, as well as discussing plans for the 2024 meeting.
In this letter, we share some of our exciting new changes and plans for the future.
We are grateful for the continued support of our leadership, members, and industry sponsors. Cheers to all and here’s to another 10 years!
Sincerely,
Robert Terkeltaub, MD, President
Hyon Choi, MD, DrPH, Vice President and Treasurer
G-CAN Annual Research Symposium and Workshops
Our 2023 meeting in La Jolla was well attended with positive feedback for location, timing and content. Among the 45 speakers and awardee presentations, G-CAN welcomed members of the Japanese Gout Society to present for the first time.The concurrent gout clinical research, and the CPPD/Calcific Crystalline Arthritis workshops were popular, and we will offer these annually, in a similar format.
This year’s 10th annual meeting will be held during the week of November 11, most likely November 13 and 14 in Alexandria, Virginia, the location of the 2022 meeting. The format will be similar to 2023, with virtual and in-person attendance options, two full days of sessions and two workshops at the end of the first.
Breaks and meals will be longer as well, to allow for additional time to network, and time for viewing industry sponsor exhibits. More details and an agenda will be available in the coming months.
G-CAN Leadership Expansion
With the growth of our organization and the addition of projects, the G-CAN Board of Directors voted to add several new leadership positions and board members.
Congratulations to our new Executive Vice Presidents and board members:
Executive Vice Presidents
Nicola Dalbeth, MD FRACP, New Zealand: VP of Programs and Projects
Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, USA: VP of CPPD/HA USA
New Board Members
Abhishek Abhishek, MD, United Kingdom
Lisa Stamp, MBChB, FRACP, PhD, New Zealand
Changgui Li, MD, China
Hiro Matsuo, MD, PhD, Japan