In Honor: Specific Arthritis Research Awards

Annual awards honor four giants in the field of arthritis research

Each of the men described below is or was considered a giant in the field of rheumatology research. And, each served on the ANRF Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. John Vaughan was instrumental in developing the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Eng Tan and Dr. James Klinenberg were also very important in supporting the Arthritis National Research Foundation. We chose to honor these men by naming an annual award to the ANRF grant recipient whose research work most closely mirrors that of Drs. Vaughan, Tan and Klinenberg.

The Eng Tan Scholar Award

Dr. Eng M. Tan is recognized in the world’s scientific community as a top researcher in his field of molecular medicine, earning countless awards, honors and designations. His significant contributions have led to a better understanding of lupus and related autoimmune diseases.

To honor Dr. Tan’s contribution to arthritis and autoimmune disease research, the Arthritis National Research Foundation has named a grant in his name. Each year, one ANRF grant recipient carrying on Dr. Tan’s work in rheumatic autoimmune disease research is designated that year’s Eng Tan Scholar. This honor is recognition of the young investigator’s exemplary career path and importance of their scientific project.

Dr. Tan obtained his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Except for five years from 1977-82 as head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Colorado in Denver, Dr. Tan has been at The Scripps Research Institute since 1967. He served as president of the American College of Rheumatology from 1984-85. Dr. Tan is a member emeritus of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Arthritis National Research Foundation, having volunteered on that board from its inception.

The Gale Granger Scholar

Dr. Granger is a former grant recipient of the Arthritis National Research Foundation. Early in his career as a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Granger received funding from ANRF to study the immunological processes occurring in the tissue destruction observed in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

This early research ultimately led to the discovery that the white blood cells present in the joints of RA patients induce the tissue destruction by releasing molecules termed cytokines. This finding, in turn, led to the recent development of agents that block cytokine activity and hold great promise for therapy for patients with this debilitating disease.

Dr. Granger has been a Professor of Immunology at the University of California, Irvine, since 1967 and is a consultant to numerous hospitals, research institutes and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has served on the Arthritis National Research Foundation board of directors since 1990, including as president from 1997-99. It was his vision and guidance that led to the establishment of ANRF’s Scientific Advisory Board in 1998.

As the director of a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research program, Dr. Granger was responsible for supervising basic research in cancer and autoimmune disease, and for conducting clinical trials in patients. This program was designed to bring basic and clinical scientists together with the objective of understanding how the body’s immune system causes the tissue destruction observed in autoimmune diseases and how it interacts with cancer cells. The results of these basic studies are then employed to design and test new methods of therapy for these diseases.

The John Vaughan Scholar Award

Until his death in 2006 at the age of 85, Dr. John Vaughan was a seminal figure in the complex field of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Vaughan’s research showed how abnormalities in the human immune system can cause arthritis and allergies by activating inflammatory pathways that normally fight infections. From his early years, he continued to carve an impressive and forward-thinking path for the world to follow.

To honor Dr. Vaughan’s contribution to arthritis and research specifically in rheumatoid arthritis, the Arthritis National Research Foundation awards a grant in his name. Each year, one ANRF grant recipient carrying on Dr. Vaughan’s work is designated that year’s John Vaughan Scholar. This honor is recognition of the young investigator’s exemplary career path and importance of their scientific project. has named a grant

Dr. Vaughan’s standout career began after first serving as a medical officer in Anchorage, Alaska. After his honorable discharge, Dr. Vaughan joined the faculty of the Medical College of Virginia in 1953. While there as an assistant professor of medicine, he conducted research that led to a career-long interest in rheumatoid arthritis.

From there, he served in 1966-67 as president of the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology and, in 1970-71, as president of what is now the American College of Rheumatology. He joined Scripps Clinic in 1970, and rose four years later to Chairman of the Department of Rheumatology.

From 1977 to 1986, when he headed the Division of Clinical Immunology at Scripps Clinic, Dr. Vaughan continued to focus on rheumatoid arthritis and the possible role of viral infections in rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In 1990, he joined the UCSD faculty as a professor of medicine in residence, a post he held until his retirement in 1997. During this time, Dr. Vaughan’s laboratory received several grants from the Arthritis National Research Foundation.

In 1998, Dr. Vaughan was instrumental in helping the Arthritis National Research Foundation develop a Scientific Advisory Board of world-renowned physicians and researchers.

While his professional stature was well known among colleagues, his friends, family and community members knew him best as a champion of youth scholarships and teacher exchange programs between our country and third world countries. “He was one of the foremost rheumatologists in the country but very humble about it,” said Richard Woltman, a past president of the Rotary Club of La Jolla.

The James Klinenberg Scholar Award

James Klinenberg, M.D., was a founding member of the ANRF Scientific Advisory Board, past president of the American College of Rheumatology (1983-84), and a world-renowned researcher and clinician in rheumatic diseases.

Sadly, Dr. Klinenberg died in 1999 at the age of 65. His legacy lives on in the numerous awards, research chairs and rheumatology symposiums named in honor of his contributions to, and achievement in, the specialty of rheumatology and arthritis research.

The James Klinenberg Scholar Award of the Arthritis National Research Foundation is given annually to the ANRF grant recipient whose work most closely follows that of Dr. Klinenberg.

Dr. Klinenberg earned his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine. He was Director of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Professor and Vice Chairman of the UCLA School of Medicine.