Rheumatology Research Foundation Announces Recipient of Norman B. Gaylis, MD, Clinical Research Award
THRIVE is a practice-based research project allowing for advancement in telehealth.
January 27, 2021
ATLANTA – The Rheumatology Research Foundation (Foundation) is pleased to announce Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, FACR, as the recipient of the Norman B. Gaylis, MD, Clinical Research Award. This distinguished designation provides funding for rheumatologists in clinical settings to test their own observations through research.
The need to enable and improve the value of care provided by rheumatology providers in community settings through telehealth has significantly increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Venuturupalli has received a two-year, $400,000 grant from the Foundation to support the project Telehealth-delivered Healthcare to Improve Care (THRIVE) in Community Practice Rheumatology.
TThe THRIVE project seeks to define, solidify and incorporate the best practices in telehealth rheumatology and disseminate these tools to community rheumatologists through a variety of channels. With support from the Norman B. Gaylis, MD, Clinical Research Award, Dr. Venuturupalli will examine virtual reality as an intervention for pain management and a vector to improved outcomes in patients with non-inflammatory or residual pain with well controlled inflammatory arthritis.
“It’s gratifying to continue to see this opportunity grow and be able to make this project happen,” Dr. Gaylis said. “This is a novel approach to an extremely difficult situation for the practicing rheumatologist. More information about treatment approaches for this challenging and common problem in general rheumatologic practice will help us develop a better understanding of this condition and eventually, this could point to potential pathways for improved treatments for patients.”
Dr. Venuturupalli is the founder and director of Attune Health, a clinic in Beverly Hills, Calif., that focuses on autoimmunity and inflammation care and research. He is also an associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Putting together this multidisciplinary team to solve this very, very important problem was the basis of how we thought through this grant. We felt that it’s important because telehealth might actually be here to stay beyond the pandemic. We, as rheumatologists, feel that the way to solve these complex problems is a systematic approach. This is what this grant tries to address," said Dr. Venuturupalli in a recent interview with Rheumatology Consultant.
The Norman B. Gaylis, MD, Clinical Research Award was established by the Foundation, with a generous commitment from Dr. Gaylis, as a way to encourage practicing clinicians to research their ideas for new and improved treatment for rheumatic disease. Dr. Gaylis says his commitment was inspired by his own career as a practicing physician and clinical researcher and desire to give back to colleagues in the same environment he has spent his life working in.
Norman B. Gaylis, MD is a rheumatologist in Aventura, Fla.