Oct. 20, 2009 | Richard McCarthy, M.D., a spine deformity specialist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been named president of the international Scoliosis Research Society.

McCarthy, who treats adults at UAMS and children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, assumed the presidency of the prestigious organization at its 44th annual meeting in San Antonio on Sept. 26.

The term scoliosis describes the abnormal curvature of the spine, and McCarthy has become a world leader in the development of a surgery-sparing treatment device.

During his year as president, McCarthy will speak and teach around the globe, including such countries as South Africa, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Japan and Turkey. He also will oversee administration of the society, which has 1,059 members from almost every country in the world. His tenure also will include oversight of major meetings of the group in Toronto and Kyoto, Japan.

The Scoliosis Research Society’s membership is made up of researchers and fellowship-trained spine specialists who treat a range of spinal conditions, including adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, growing spine, kyphosis, adult deformity, trauma, neuromuscular scoliosis and tumors.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a new 540,000-square-foot hospital, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,775 students and 748 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.