Congratulations to Herbert Baraf, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), who was recognized with the Paulding Phelps Award at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Meeting in Boston, Nov. 15.
The Paulding Phelps Award is awarded to a clinical rheumatologist for outstanding service to patients, community, and the practice of medicine. Recipients of this merit-based award receive a $3,000 cash award. Patience H. White, M.D., retired professor of medicine and pediatrics at SMHS, was a past recipient of this award.
Baraf has served as a principal investigator on more than 300 clinical trials studying new therapeutics for more than a dozen rheumatic disorders including gout, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, osteoporosis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis.
A nationally recognized authority on issues of rheumatology practice management, Baraf has lectured at regional and national meetings throughout the U.S. on topics of importance to practicing rheumatologists. He has also co-authored several publications concerning therapeutics in rheumatology. He has presented his work on gout, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and the safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy at national and international meetings. He lectures widely on the manifestations of and treatment for the rheumatic diseases.
At the ACR, Baraf has served on numerous committees contributing to programming for its annual meeting, helping to develop quality of care measures for rheumatology and more recently lobbying Congress for more rational systems of patient care. His efforts were instrumental in the ACR’s development of freestanding musculoskeletal ultrasound courses for rheumatologists.
Baraf received his B.S. degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his medical degree at S.U.N.Y., College of Medicine, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. He completed his internal medicine internship and residency at SMHS and his fellowship in rheumatology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. He is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology.
He has been recognized as an outstanding specialist in the field of rheumatology in Washingtonian Magazine, Washington Consumers’ Checkbook, and Best Doctors in America.
