Otto Kamensek

Otto Kamensek has been a volunteer at ARC (Arthritis Research Centre) and other arthritis related groups since 2003. During this time he has been a member of the Knowledge Exchange Task Force as a Research Ambassador for the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, where he worked with other consumers volunteers, health professionals and researchers. In addition, he served a five-year term with the Patient Partners in Arthritis program where he also acted as a coordinator for the BC Regional program. Otto was the first term Co-Chair and a standing charter member of the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) for the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada.

His current volunteer duties include a continuing membership in CAB with the responsibility of disseminating information to consumers, health professionals and the general public. Delivering lectures on living with arthritis to health care and sociology students is an example of his work in knowledge dissemination. He is also a steering committee member and co-creator of ROAR (Roundtable on Arthritis Research).

The above volunteer work compliments his communication skills acquired from his employment in the electronic manufacturing industry as a purchaser, where he was responsible for buying and sourcing items from North America, Asia and Europe.

Otto was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (now called Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis) over thirty-five years ago, at the age of nine. Over those years he has had many different treatment plans and a combination of total replacements and revision surgeries for his hips and knees alone.