Arthrities Research UK

Research interests and role:

Director, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

Understanding why the immune system gets “out of balance” in young people with arthritis, myositis and related diseases, and how to help the immune system get back to a healthy balance

Working out ways to predict which medication works best for each patient (so-called personalised medicine)

Understanding how arthritis and myositis affects young people in the their lives as they grow in to adults

Research interests and role:

Co-Director, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

Development of Assessment tools for patients with the autoimmune rheumatic disease

Investigating the structure, function and pathological consequences of autoantibodies

Understanding the long term consequences of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Research Interests and role:

Co-Director, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

Adolescent and Young Adult rheumatic disease generally with specific interests including:

Spinal inflammation

Pain

Longer term outcomes

Data science

Research interests and role:

Principal Investigator, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

Understanding how the immune system is influenced by puberty and why teenagers develop lupus around puberty

Using research to identify what is unique about a patient and how can this help us select the best treatment

Developing and conducting clinical trials in adolescent patients with in lupus and inflammatory arthritis

Understanding how useful ultrasound and MRI are for diagnosing and treating young people with arthritis

Research interests and role:

Co-Principal Investigator, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology

Long term outcomes of autoimmune diseases

Developing new tests to predict outcome, define prognosis and optimise therapy

Conducting clinical trials of new medicines and gene therapy in young people with inflammatory diseases

I am a scientist and biostatistician. My research involves using and combining different kinds of data to improve our understanding of rheumatic conditions like myositis. I’m particularly interested in genetic risk factors, finding out which genes are switched on or off, long-term outcomes and real-world evidence for different types of treatments. I’m so passionate about the research at the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology that I still have an active part-time role that I do remotely from Australia

Role and Interests:

Interested in enabling young people to take an active role in their care, promoting self-management and independence in the transition from Paediatrics to Adolescent/Young adult care. Involved in the creation of an online forum for young people with Lupus, one of founding members of a national support group for young people with Lupus.

My current role is the Adolescent Rheumatology clinical nurse specialist for UCLH. My day to day tasks include undertaking blood monitoring, providing education, advice and support for young people with connective tissue diseases and inflammatory arthritis, arranging prescriptions for home delivery of medications, assisting on our daycare ward for patients requiring urgent review and joint injections, running nurse led clinics alongside the Rheumatology doctors. Attending transition clinics in GOSH to ensure a smooth transition of care is provided for our patients moving from paediatrics to Adolescent or Young Adult care.

Research role and interests:

I have a fantastic role as half-time Research Nurse and half-time Clinical Nurse Specialist at Great Ormond St Hospital for Children.

I meet children, young people and their families to explain about their medical condition and advise how to manage their care. I explain about the research opportunities available to them and how it has changed the care of our patients today and I recruit and manage some of the studies.

I have a particular interest in Lupus and Juvenile Dermatomyositis and improving the transition from children’s services to adolescent care. I work with the adolescent team at UCLH to provide continued high quality care of our patients.

Role and interests:

I work with young people between the ages of 13 and 19 years old who present with persisting musculoskeletal symptoms. I am interested in the effectiveness of multidisciplinary patient management programmes in Adolescent Rheumatology, how web-based information can support young people in self-management and the impact of activity and exercise in young peoples’ wellbeing and function.

Role and interests:

I support young people transition across from the Paediatrics department at Great Ormond street to the Adolescent department at University College London Hospital.

This involves introducing myself to all transition patients in both locations, providing tours for patients prior to their first appointments at UCLH, providing young people and their families with an information pack containing useful information to support their journey in transitioning.

In addition I will also be running focus groups based on service development to gain the advice and opinions from young people to further develop our adolescent rheumatology service to create one that caters to their needs.

Research interests and role:

To improve the psychosocial health of children and young people with Juvenile Dermatomyositis across the United Kingdom.

To bring my unique paediatric rheumatology nursing background to this study to work with the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology and to be the first Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children to complete a National Institute Health Research PhD

Research interests and role:

Long term prognosis in young people with arthritis, in particular in those with the enthesitis related arthritis subtype (ERA)

Understanding why some young people with ERA develop arthritis of the back whilst others mainly have arthritis affecting the knees and ankles

Understanding the role of hormones on arthritis

Research interests and role:

I am a rheumatology registrar based in London and I have been working at UCL as Clinical Research Fellow since 2016. My main area of research is investigating why young people with lupus suffer from high levels of fatigue. We know that severe tiredness is one of the most difficult symptoms of lupus to live with and we do not have much in the way of good treatment for this at the moment. I hope that my research will help us find newer treatments for this really difficult symptom.

Research interests and role:

I am a paediatric rheumatologist from Greece who is doing research at the Centre, as part of her PhD. I work at Great Ormond Street Hospital and look after children and adolescent patients.

I am interested in the variations in severity of the disease and to identify new treatments to allow a more ‘personalised’ approach for the treatment of JDM.

Research interests and role:

I am scientist who specialises in understanding how a kind of white blood cell known as B cells contributes to the development of adolescent rheumatic conditions. B cells produce antibodies and are currently targeted for therapy by drugs such as Rituximab. I am also interested in understanding whether males and females have different B cell responses, which could explain why women are more likely to develop diseases like lupus and arthritis, as well as investigating how our diet and gut health can impact disease severity. I am currently funded by Versus Arthritis and the Medical Research Foundation. I have been a scientist for over ten years and I am extremely passionate about research that can impact patient health and quality of life. When I’m not in the lab, I am chasing my cats around my house (see picture), gardening or playing the piano.

Role and interests:

I design and build systems and applications relevant to the research and clinical activities of the research teams.

Together with patients, parents and healthcare professionals, we have co-designed a smartphone app platform to better manage JIA.

I also work on architectures for multi-centre studies, their governance models, interoperability and integration with existing research infrastructure and facilities at the Centre’s core NHS Trusts. I am also looking into aspects of their security, privacy and usability.

I have previously worked out processes for transitioning rheumatology data from the paediatric GOSH clinics to the adult ones at UCLH.

Research interests and role:

I have been involved with the Centre of Adolescent Rheumatology since its inception in 2012.  In my role as a research assistant at the Centre, I helped to set up the first dedicated adolescent rheumatology research database and biobank of samples from teenage patients with rheumatic disease.

In 2019 I started a PhD investigating the role of cytotoxic cells in JSLE. The cytotoxic cell compartment is not well studied in JSLE and increased knowledge in this area will help us to understand how these cells contribute to disease.  In my research I will be working with blood samples from patients with JSLE and from healthy volunteers.

I am immensely grateful to all patients and volunteers who have donated their time and samples to our biobank over the years.  The existence of this amazing resource allows us to undertake research projects aimed at addressing crucial questions that will ultimately help in improving patient care.

Research interests and role:

I’ve been at the centre since 2015 when I completed my MSc research on autoantibodies in JIA. For several years following that I was working as a research assistant, collecting samples from the young persons’ rheumatology and endocrinology clinics, as well as child and teenage healthy controls.

In 2019 I started my PhD, investigating the roles of sex, hormones and puberty on B-cells (antibody-producing immune cells) in JSLE. We know that Lupus affects more females than males, and I am interested in finding out how hormones (e.g. oestrogen, testosterone) and the sex chromosomes (XX in those born female and XY in those born male) may impact the immune system. I work with blood samples from JSLE patients, young cis-gender healthy controls at different stages of puberty, and young transgender people who attend clinics at UCLH to receive cross-sex hormone therapy for gender reassignment.

I am passionate about science communication and very keen to support young people who want to be involved in research!

Research interests and role:

I am a Post-Doctoral fellow at UCL GOSH Institute of Child Health. I have a dual fellowship with CUREJM and GOSH BRC. I have been involved in researching adult and juvenile dermatomyositis since 2014. My PhD focused on B cell immunology and the pathogenesis in dermatomyositis. My fellowship is investigating the pathogenesis of dysregulated metabolism in monocytes from JDM patients, as a potential novel therapeutic target for the treatment of JDM. I have been an active member and contributor to the Juvenile Dermatomyositis research Group (JDRG) and the Versus Arthritis Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology. I am currently the secretary for the PReS JDM working party.

Research interests and role:

I am a postdoctoral researcher working in adolescent rheumatology.

My research is focused on juvenile-lupus, specifically investigating differences in fat metabolism and cardiovascular disease risk in patients.

I also investigate immunological differences in disease as well the reason for disease bias towards women.

I love research and I am proud to work in this fantastic group.

Research interests and role:

I am a PhD student at the UCL GOSH Institute of Child Health. I investigate rare genetic autoinflammatory conditions across all age groups: children, adolescents and adults. Behçet’s disease (BD) is a multisystemic autoinflammatory condition with a wide range of symptoms, which makes it challenging to diagnose and treat. I am recruiting patients across the UK who have been diagnosed with BD and sequencing their DNA to find if there is a genetic cause of their symptoms, and if so, find the best way of treating that patient. I am particularly interested to see if the diagnostic outcomes of the patients can be correlated with their age, and whether this could change the way BD is diagnosed across different age groups.

Research interests and role:

In 2018 I joined the Centre as a medical student to study B cells – the cells that produce the antibodies that make people with auto-immune diseases sick – in children with JIA.

In 2020 I returned to start a PhD and expand on this research. My main project focuses on how sex differences in the cholesterol metabolism influence B cells in people with JSLE. We know that the cholesterol metabolism is different in people with auto-immune diseases. I am interested in finding out how this affects the B cells, and whether we can influence this to reduce inflammation. This last bit is very important to me; as a doctor, I believe research should intend to improve patients’ lives!

After my PhD, I would like combine research with clinical training to become a paediatrician.

Role and interests:

I help look after the Centre by supporting our doctors and scientists in their clinical and research work.

I really enjoy working with people, and a big part of my job includes working with young people to find ways that we can improve our services and better support them.

Research interests and role:

I am the Research Coordinator and PPIE officer for CLUSTER. My is to coordinate the research studies that feed into CLUSTER at UCL. I am also responsible for public and parent involvement and engagement throughout the project, including coordination of the CLUSTER Consortium Champions. I holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and have varied experience across clinical research and charity sector, joining the team from Cancer Research UK.

Role and interests:

I took my B.Sc. in Psychology at the University of Palermo and my M.Sc. in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology at the University of Edinburgh.

I am the Study Coordinator for the Juvenile Dermatomyositis Cohort and Biomarker Study (JDCBS) and Research Administrator for the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis.

I like working with people and my role here is supporting and coordinating clinicians across all UK involved in the JDCBS, and scientists that works in the Centre.

Research interests and role:

I am the Research Coordinator and PPIE officer for CLUSTER. My role is to coordinate the research studies that feed into CLUSTER at UCL. I am also responsible for public and parent involvement and engagment throughout the project, including coordination of the CLUSTER Consortium Champions. I have a BSc in Biomedical Science & MSc in Genomic Medicine, with previous experience in research coordination of various projects.

Research interests and role:

I am a bioinformatician and statistician for the centre. My role spans from supporting bioinformatics, statistics, and quantitative design for the centre, to doing my own research projects.
My research interest is mainly involved in various levels of genomics data and how to combine them using statistical and machine learning methodology. I used these approaches to understand the “why” of biological mechanisms of diseases.

Outside of my research, I am particularly interested in various kinds of martial arts and philosophy. I believe science is (philosophically) the martial art of the mind.

I am the Research Assistant for the Juvenile Dermatomyositis Cohort and Biomarker Study at UCL Institute of Child Health (ICH). My role is to assist with basic and clinical research in Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM), and to support clinicians across the UK to work towards JDM research. At ICH, I have a great opportunity to meet and learn from a multidisciplinary team, which allows me to work on transferrable skills such as coding and data-mining.

Outside of research, I like to design and illustrate science-related characters and contents. When I am not in the lab or at my desk, I enjoy going on adventures, experiencing new cuisine, and learning the history of the places I visit.

Role and interests:

I’m involved in helping coordinate and run our PPI engagement events, particularly with the photography. I also maintain the ReMission charity website.

I work at the Biomedical Research Centre team at GOSH as the Rare Disease Cohorts’ theme manager, focusing on rare diseases and translational research.

Research interests and role:

I’m a research assistant focusing on JDM, my primary role is in the lab working on a large RNAseq project within the CLUSTER consortium. I am helping to coordinate the research studies for JDCBS. I have a BSc in Genetics and an MSc in Complex Trait Human Genetics from the University of Edinburgh.

Research interests and roles:

I joined the CLUSTER consortium 2 years ago as a Research Assistant. My primary focus is understanding the disease mechanisms of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and identifying predictors of treatment response in patients with JIA. Previous to this I worked in the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in the development of bioassays. I have a BSc in Biomedical Sciences & an MSc in Clinical Immunology and hope to do a PhD at some point in the future.

Research interests and role:

My role as Senior Research Technician is to provide specific support to the team facilitating the performance of our different studies.

I really fancy working at the clinical side and in a laboratory environment. I usually attend UCLH clinics and meet generous patients who kindly help us with our studies donating a sample or filling some of our questionnaires. The rest of the week I carry out experiments and help our students with their projects.

My main area of research is focused on an autoimmune disease called Sjögren´s syndrome. My aim is to gain a better understanding of the immune system of these patients that could lead us to find better treatments options.

I am also passionate about patient and public engagement and involvement. I enjoy participating in all kind of events where there is social interaction, science, and immunology.

Research interest and role:

I am a rheumatology registrar and I started my PhD in UCL in 2019.

My research aims to assess if we can improve the detection of musculoskeletal inflammation in adolescent patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, using whole-body MRI. My hope is that this will help us treat patients more effectively.

The supervisor for my PhD is Professor Margaret Hall-Craggs. I also work closely with the adolescent rheumatology team in UCLH, in research and clinics.

Research interest and role:

I first became interested in the immunology of childhood arthritis in 2016 when I worked with the Wedderburn group to introduce a test (MRP8/14) to predict response to treatment into use in the Immunology lab at Great Ormond Street Hospital where I work as a Senior Clinical Scientist.

This interest remained, and I joined the Centre in late 2020 to start a part-time PhD under the supervision of Prof. Lucy Wedderburn. My project aims to investigate whether we can predict which patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) will not respond sufficiently to conventional treatment by detecting the presence of a pathogenic, metabolically active, immune cell ‘signature’ in the blood and joint fluid of these patients.

I am a keen advocate for translational research. As a Clinical Scientist still working part-time in the NHS, and now as a part-time PhD fellow at UCL, I hope to be able to continue to ‘bridge the gap’ between the two, now and after my PhD.

When not in either of the two labs I enjoy yoga, travelling and street food.

Research interests and role:

I am PhD student at the centre, applying machine learning approaches and advanced data analyses to study autoimmune diseases.

My research interests are to identify universal signatures across juvenile-onset autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs), to better characterise the multi-omics profile of ARDs patients and investigate its links with disease trajectories over time.

My research aims to discover methods for precise patients stratification and will hopefully contribute to better treatment outcome, drug discovery and clinical trial design