Kaleb Michaud, PhD, Named 61st President Association of Rheumatology Professionals
November 7, 2026 | ACR ConvergenceACR News
ORLANDO – The Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP), a division of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), is proud to announce Kaleb Michaud, PhD, its 61st president. Dr. Michaud is a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha.
The Association of Rheumatology Professionals, which serves more than 1,500 members, equips rheumatology professionals with the tools needed to provide quality care for patients, support medical practices, and advance research and advocacy for rheumatology. Association members include nurses, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, physician assistants, physical therapists, pharmacists, practice managers, researchers, social workers, and other nonphysician professionals.
Dr. Michaud has lived with rheumatic disease his whole life. He was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 3. Those experiences drive his work to improve rheumatology and patient outcomes, and they shape how he will lead the ARP.
“As a lifelong patient, I know firsthand how much the whole rheumatology care team matters: nurses, therapists, pharmacists, researchers, coordinators, and so many others,” said Kaleb Michaud, PhD. “I'm honored to lead the ARP as we support these professionals and work together toward better outcomes for every patient.”
As a UNMC professor, Dr. Michaud makes research mentoring a priority. He works with students and junior faculty across many fields. He also directs FORWARD, The National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases. FORWARD is a long-term, open-cohort observational study with more than 50,000 participants, and it keeps growing into new disease areas and settings.
His research covers pharmacoepidemiology, health informatics, and cost-effectiveness. He has been a leader in research using patient registries. He is the principal investigator of the RAIN database, a rheumatology clinical registry at Nebraska Medicine. He also helped build the ACR's Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) registry.
Dr. Michaud has volunteered with the ACR and ARP since 2004. He has served on about two dozen committees and work groups, and most recently he was ARP president-elect and secretary. He has received the ARP President's Award twice, in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, he was the ARP Distinguished Lecturer at ACR Convergence, where he shared his own story of living with rheumatic disease. He holds a PhD in physics from Stanford University.
As ARP President, Dr. Michaud will lead strategic initiatives to enhance professional development, foster research collaboration, and promote equitable care for patients with rheumatic diseases.
Media Contact
Teri Arnold
Director, Public Relations & Communications
tarnold@rheumatology.org
757-272-7002
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About the Association of Rheumatology Professionals
The Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP) is a division of the American College of Rheumatology. It is built by rheumatology professionals, for rheumatology professionals. It gives them education, advocacy, and practice management tools so they can provide quality care for patients with arthritis and rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
About the American College of Rheumatology
Founded in 1934, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is a not-for-profit, professional association committed to advancing the specialty of rheumatology that serves nearly 10,500 physicians, health professionals, researchers and scientists worldwide. In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatology professionals are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases.
About ACR Convergence
ACR Convergence, the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, is where rheumatology meets to collaborate, celebrate, congregate, and learn. With hundreds of sessions and thousands of abstracts, it offers a superior combination of basic science, clinical science, business education and interactive discussions to improve patient care and advance the specialty. For more information about the meeting, visit the ACR Convergence page, or join the conversation on X by following the official hashtag (#ACR26).