News & Awards
News
Awards
Young Scientist Day, 2nd March 2023
On Thursday 2nd March, 8 students from Woodbridge Sixth form in East London attended for the first Young Scientist Day of 2023! Pupils had the chance to meet members of our diverse multidisciplinary team for a careers workshop, before heading to the lab to try their hands at some practical lab skills. All 8 young people also donated blood for our research as healthy control heroes! Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive, with accompanying teacher saying:
“Thank you to your team for the fantastic opportunity, we really appreciate everything you’ve done and our students were so very happy to have this experience”.
We look forward to following the journeys of these promising young future scientists and clinicians! 😊
Adolescent and Young Adults Rheumatology Newsletter - March 2023 Edition
We have release our third newsletter created for young patients and parents. We are really thrilled for the many events & initiatives happening. A big ‘Thank you’ to all who have contributed!
Click for Pdf version for printing
NIHR Advanced Clinical Academic Fellowship (ACAF) awarded to Dr Polly Livermore
Dr Polly Livermore, Centre Senior Affiliate who has been awarded a competitive and prestigious post-doctoral NIHR Advanced Clinical Academic Fellowship (ACAF). In her 3 year study, Polly will lead an experience-based study with children, young people and their parents to co-design and co-develop an Intelligent Virtual Assistant, to provide support for families who have a child or young person with a rheumatic diseases. Polly is the first ever nurse at GOSH to have received this prestigious award – many congratulations to Polly!
Polly said “I am delighted to be awarded a NIHR post-doctoral fellowship. This is the first award given to a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital and I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this far, including all at the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, but especially the children, young people and their parents who helped develop the original research idea. I am really hoping this intervention can make a real difference to the lives of those affected by Rheumatic diseases of childhood”
Mitochondrial problems in immune cells in Juvenile Dermatomyositis
We are really excited to showcase Dr Meredyth Wilkinson latest publication. Please find below the link to access the full paper.
“In this paper, we have examined genes (the human code) and the pattern of expression of these genes in immune cells called monocytes from JDM patients. We discovered that genes that code for mitochondria (the ‘powerhouse’ energy producers of the cell) were less active in JDM patients (even those already on strong treatment compared to healthy children of the same age). We also found that markers of inflammation were more switched on in these same JDM patients. Looking at the mitochondria in more detail we discovered that the mitochondria were more varied in size and there was more release of mitochondrial DNA in JDM compared to controls. We showed that this mitochondrial DNA was oxidised and could switch on gene markers of inflammation. These genes could be switched off by blocking pathways that lead to inflammation and by using an anti-oxidant drug (already used in clinic) called N-acetyl cysteine (NAC).
We believe that these discoveries now allow us to look for new and very specific drugs to improve the treatment of JDM.
George Robinson: How does your biological sex and your gender impact how your immune system works?
Dr George Robinson, Professor Liz Jury and Dr Coziana Ciurtin (and the team at the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis) look at this question in relation to the development of autoimmune conditions at the time of puberty, when according to a person’s sex chromosomes, hormones begin to influence their gender and internal biology. George and the Centre can see that these changes go right down to an individual’s immune cells, and whether they are primed to attack or defend. In particular, in a type of white blood cell called a Regulatory T cell (or Treg for short) that helps to stop the immune system after it has triggered an inflammatory response. Tregs can help to stop the desired immune response tipping over into autoimmunity (attacking itself/ healthy tissue). As well as from cis-gendered individuals, George and team have access to samples from transgender individuals who are taking sex-hormone treatments to affirm their (reassigned) gender, and therefore have been able to uniquely see how sex hormones impact the immune system and its component cells.
Oestrogen (and/or less testosterone) can mean fewer (or less effective) Treg cells – fewer gatekeepers, which could contribute to the risk of autoimmunity. Testosterone (and/or less oestradiol) can mean more (or more effective) Treg cells, which could contribute to a reduced risk of autoimmunity. These effects were also influenced by underlying sex chromosomes and were altered in an autoimmune disease setting of juvenile-lupus, supporting a sex specific role for Tregs in disease development and presentation.
we need to think about a person’s sex and gender (chromosomes and hormones) when considering how to treat/prevent autoimmune conditions, and how their immune system will react to different challenges. You can find the open access paper in The Lancet Rheumatology journal here.
Dr Lizzy Rosser awarded Senior Research Fellowships
Congratulations to Dr Lizzy Rosser who has been successful in securing a 5-year Senior Research Fellowship from the Kennedy Trust. Lizzy has previously received two other fellowships, which are awarded to support promising researchers, completing a Versus Arthritis Foundation Fellowship at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health and another from the Medical Research Foundation at UCL’s Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology. Her project “Gut-derived metabolites and modulation of pathogenic B-cells in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis” will focus on understanding how molecules, called ‘metabolites’, can affect the function of a population of white blood cells known as B cells in childhood arthritis.
“I am delighted to be awarded a Senior Fellowship from the Kennedy Trust investigating novel pathogenic mechanisms in JIA, especially in an area of research we know is important to our patient populations – understanding if there is an interaction between the diet, gut-microbiota and the development of inflammatory immune responses. I would especially like to thank Centre Director Professor Wedderburn for her support while I have established my group in the paediatric and adolescent research space and in particular for her mentorship during the grant writing process.”
Young Scientist Day, 7th July 2022
We are happy to announce that on Thursday 7th of July we hosted our second ‘Young Scientist Day’ of 2022! A group of 8 students from Longsands Academy (St. Neots in Cambridgeshire) came to the Rayne building to know more about our Centre and have a lab work experience. Some of our post- docs shared their experience studying Medicine/Sciences, their career path and the students had the opportunity to ask questions and know more about what it means to be a Researcher! All students kindly agreed to donate small blood samples for the centre’s work and became ‘Research Heroes’! These samples will act as vital age-matched ‘healthy control’ samples, for centre scientists to use alongside samples from adolescent patients with rheumatic diseases.
Everybody had a great time, and we received a heart-warming feedback from the teacher:
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your colleagues for today (as well as Sam for organising it so seamlessly from our end). Our students absolutely loved listening to Coziana explain a little about her work as a doctor and research in Rheumatology, they all commented about how passionately she spoke, and I know it inspired and enthused them. In addition, they also hugely appreciated being able to chat to you and the other Post Doc students in the Q&A session and then more informally throughout the day. Finally, they really enjoyed the practical session using new equipment and being able to work so closely with you, Hannah and Ania in the lab.”
Photo © Dauda Bappa, a big Thank You!
Young Scientist Day, 24th June 2022
On Friday 24th June, the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology team hosted the first ‘Young Scientist Day’ of 2022! 8 sixth form students from Woodbridge high school in Redbridge (East London), currently studying science or health subjects were invited into the Rayne building for a day of lab work experience and career talks with our team. After an introduction to the world of research, and interactive discussions with some of our scientists and clinical fellows, the students donned their lab coats to get to grips with learning to pipette and running a PCR gel. A great time was had by everyone, and all students also kindly acted as ‘Research Heroes’, by donating small blood samples for the centre’s work- some even overcoming needle phobias to do so! These samples will act as vital age-matched ‘healthy control’ samples, for centre scientists to use alongside samples from adolescent patients with rheumatic diseases. The team had a fantastic time hosting such mature and enthusiastic young people, and likewise received some lovely feedback from their teacher –
“Thank you to you and all your colleagues for giving up their time and sharing their knowledge with our students. You were all so friendly and approachable which makes all the difference when working with students. The students pretty much raved about how much they enjoyed speaking to you all as well as the lab work. It really seemed to hammer home to them that there were many routes available to them and that they didn’t have to decide right now what their career paths would be. For me, I loved how you were all pitching your information at the right level for these students, very open and yet so respectful of our students, their backgrounds etc. It was quite honestly, a joy to see other passionate professionals be interested in students.”
Photos © Dauda Bappa, a big Thank You!
Adolescent and Young Adult Rheumatology Newsletter - June 2022 Edition
We have release our second newsletter created for young patients and parents. A big ‘Thank you’ to all who have contributed!
COVID-19 vaccination study opens at GOSH
For the first time, patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Southampton Children’s Hospital who are aged 12-17 years and immunocompromised are taking part in research to work out how they respond to COVID-19 vaccination.
“We are so excited to see this study open for the over 12s. Young people are often missed out as part of the research process, as they are deemed ‘too old’ for childhood research but ‘too young’ for adult research. This is a huge step forward to meet that area of unmet research need”. Professor Lucy Wedderburn. Director, Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology at UCL, UCLH and GOSH
Congratulations to Dr. Meredyth Wilkinson and Dr Elizabeth Rosser who recently held a session at Nonsuch High School for girls as part of their careers day event
Congratulations to Dr. Meredyth Wilkinson and Dr Elizabeth Rosser who recently held a session at Nonsuch High School for girls as part of their careers day event which took place on Thursday 10th February 2022. Dr Meredyth Wilkinson spoke about STEM (Science), with her talk titled: So you want to be a scientist? Do you need mitochondria to be a scientist? Dr Elizabeth Rosser gave a talk on: Life as a research scientist; asking the right question. In total 74 students signed up and asked a lot of interesting questions which was a rewarding experience for both our speakers and students!
We hope to take part in more activities with schools in the future.
Congratulations to Dr George Robinson, Postdoctoral research fellow for receiving his Arthritis Career Development Fellowship
Congratulations to Dr George Robinson, Postdoctoral research fellow in the department of Inflammation in the Division of Medicine.
Following his extremely successful PhD and postdoctoral studies within the Centre for Rheumatology at UCL, George has been awarded a 5-year Versus Arthritis Career Development
Fellowship for his project ‘The role of CD8+ T-cells and type-I IFN in juvenile-SLE and accelerated atherosclerosis’.
This multidisciplinary project will span across the Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis and the Centre for Cardiometabolic and Vascular Science at UCL, with international collaborations with leading Rheumatology and Cardiovascular disease researchers. Through this project, George aims to improve long term cardiovascular disease outcomes for young patients with juvenile-SLE.
“I am over the moon, and would like to say a huge thank you to my current supervisor Professor Liz Jury, my fellowship sponsors Dr Coziana Ciurtin and Professor Ines Pineda Torra, and also to Professor Derek Gilroy, Professor David Abraham, Professor Lucy Wedderburn, and to all other members of the division that helped me to prepare. The support has been fantastic, and I am really looking forward to starting this new project!”
Congratulations to Dr George Robinson, Postdoctoral research fellow who has been awarded the extremely prestigious British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) Garrod Award.
Congratulations to Dr George Robinson, Postdoctoral research fellow in the department of Inflammation in the Division of Medicine at UCL, who has been awarded the extremely prestigious British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) Garrod Award.
This award is presented to a scientist from a non-clinical background who demonstrates distinguished contribution to the field of rheumatology. George will receive his award formally and present his work at the 2022 BSR congress.
Within the Centre for Rheumatology and Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis at UCL, George’s multidisciplinary research investigates immune mechanisms of adolescent rheumatological disease development, as well as risk factors of cardiovascular disease in patients.
Through this work, George aims to understand of how autoimmunity develops in young patients and to improve long term cardiovascular disease outcomes for young patients with juvenile-lupus.
“Thank you to the BSR committee, I am over the moon with this award! I would like to say a huge thank you to Professor Liz Jury, Dr Coziana Ciurtin and Professor Ines Pineda Torra, who have supported me throughout this work and given me a platform to develop my career in adolescent rheumatology and cardiovascular disease research. I am really looking forward to presenting at the Annual BSR Conference this year!”
New paper published!
Biomarker to identify adolescent lupus patients at increased cardiovascular risk
Dr George Robinson has recently published some work looking at a new
Biomarker to identify adolescent lupus patients at increased cardiovascular risk
Adolescent and Young Adults Rheumatology Newsletter - December 2021 Edition
Please take a look at our first newsletter created for young patients and parents.
53 years, 5 months ago