Charles Goldsmith, a clinical epidemiologist and biostatistician passionate about helping people with musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis, is the first appointee to a new arthritis chair.

The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) professor has published more than 270 papers in the field of clinical epidemiology. He is an internationally acclaimed leader in the development of evidence-based decision-making in medical practice.

“Researchers need to use statistics more effectively to make the science behind what causes arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases more credible and understandable to clinical practitioners,” says Goldsmith, appointed for five years.

“This will help clinicians translate research into therapies and medicine and help mitigate the $16-billion annual cost of Canada’s second most costly group of diseases.”

The latest available statistics (2000) indicate arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases debilitate nearly four million Canadians over age 15—approximately one in six people. By 2026, Health Canada estimates that more than six million Canadians will have arthritis.

The Milan and Maureen Ilich Foundation, Merck-Frosst Canada Ltd., ARC and FHS raised $4 million to fund the endowed chair, the foundation for the world’s only interdisciplinary research partnership devoted to arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases.