New fellowship focuses on arthritis research

Vancouver, BC – July 12, 2004 – A PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia has been named by the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC) as the first recipient of the Pfizer Research Fellowship in Arthritis.

The fellowship was endowed in the fall of 2003 with an investment of $200,000 by Pfizer Canada, and will provide the resources to further research examining the importance of familial support for people living with the daily burden of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The first recipient of the two-year fellowship is Allen Lehman, a PhD candidate in educational studies at UBC and an ARC researcher. His research will identify the types of support that people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) feel they want and need and assess how that support is associated with their overall health.

“In diseases like arthritis there is a great need to develop strategies that will help people better cope with their illness. Doing this will contribute to a much better quality of life for them,” said Dr. John Esdaile, scientific director of ARC and professor and head, division of rheumatology, department of medicine at UBC.