By Trish Reynolds, M.S., R.N. | August 2, 2013
Dr. James Katz.
Dr. James Katz.
Credit George Washington University.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced the appointment of James D. Katz, M.D., as the Director of the Rheumatology Fellowship and Training Branch in the intramural research program. In this role, Katz will oversee the agency’s Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program. He will also serve as the Director of the intramural NIAMS Community Research and Care Branch.

Katz received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1986, and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine in 1989 at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital. In 1991, Katz completed a rheumatology fellowship training program at the University of Connecticut Health Center. He is a Fellow in the American College of Rheumatology and the American College of Physicians.

Most recently, Katz served as the Director of the Division of Rheumatology at the George Washington University, where he led the Rheumatology Fellowship Program from 2001 to 2007. He published studies on decision-making skills in physician trainees and has received a number of honors and awards for his clinical expertise, teaching and mentoring. These skills will be essential in his new position leading the Rheumatology Training Program at NIH.

Katz has also published papers in myositis, osteoarthritis, and diagnostic imaging and pain management in rheumatology. He was recently appointed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Arthritis Advisory Committee. Katz also has delivered many regional and national invited lectures, and has sat on a variety of clinical practice panels sponsored by professional societies. In addition, he was selected as a Rheumatology Consultant to the White House Medical Unit.

"Dr. Katz is an accomplished clinician and educator," said NIAMS Clinical Director Richard Siegel, M.D., Ph.D. "His leadership in rheumatology practice and training will serve the Institute and NIH extremely well."

For more information on the NIH Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program, visit http://rheumatology.nih.gov/.

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The mission of the NIAMS, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, is to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. For more information about the NIAMS, call the information clearinghouse at (301) 495-4484 or (877) 22-NIAMS (free call) or visit the NIAMS website at https://www.niams.nih.gov.

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