APS ACTION at Hospital for Special Surgery

Antiphospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and International Networks

The Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) Clinical Research Task Force (CRTF) was one of six task forces developed by the organization committee of the 13th International Congress on Antiphospholipid Antibodies (aPL), which was held in Galveston, Texas in April 2010. The CRTF was co-chaired by Hospital for Special Surgery rheumatologists Doruk Erkan, MD and Michael D. Lockshin, MD,  Professor Emeritus of Medicine at HSS. 

The task force recommended that there is an urgent need for a true international collaborative approach to design and conduct well-designed prospective large-scale multi-center clinical trials of patients with persistent and clinically significant aPL profiles.

Thus, an international collaborative working meeting took place in Miami (November 2-4, 2010), which resulted in the formation of a clinical trial research alliance entitled: AntiPhospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and International Networking ("APS ACTION").

Mission

Primary Mission

To prevent, treat, and cure antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) associated clinical manifestations through high-quality, multi-center, and multidisciplinary clinical research.

Secondary Mission

To refine and advance the definitions of aPL associated clinical manifestations through international collaboration and data sharing.

Approach

Members will work together to create a research alliance that will design and conduct clinical trials, and collect data via an international registry.

For more information, please visit apsaction.org

Executive Committee

• Doruk Erkan, MD, Chair - US
• Ware Branch, MD - US
• Paul Fortin, MD - Canada
• Munther Khamashta, MD - Europe
• Steven Krilis, MD - Asia-Pacific
• Roger Levy, MD - Latin America
• Michael Lockshin, MD - US
• Pierluigi Meroni, MD - Europe

USA

• Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY
• Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
• Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY
• SUNY Health Science Center, Downstate Stroke Center, Brooklyn, NY
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
• University of Texas, Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX
• University of Texas, Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
• Univeristy of Utah, School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT

Canada

• Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Quebec, Quebec, Canada 

Australia

• St. George Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney

Europe

• University College London Hospitals, London, UK
• St. Thomas Hospital, London, UK
• Nancy University, Nancy, France
• University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
• University of Milan, Milan, Italy
• University Hospital, Padova, Italy
• University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands
• Hospital Clinic, University de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

South America

• Universdade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  

Caribbean

• University of West Indies, Jamaica