Faculty

Stefano Alivernini is Associate Professor of Rheumatology and consultant rheumatologist at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow (UK). He leads the Synovial Tissue Biopsy Unit (SYNGem) and the Spatial Transcriptomics Team at Gemelli Science and Technology Park. His research focuses on tissue-resident macrophages and dendritic cells in immune-mediated diseases, aiming to define their role in tissue homeostasis and inflammatory arthritis pathogenesis, and to identify novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for precision medicine.

Mansi Aparnathi is a scientific associate in Dr. Nigil Haroon’s laboratory at University Health
Network, Toronto. Her research focuses on the molecular immunology of axial
spondyloarthritis, with an emphasis on identifying biomarkers, dissecting disease pathways,
and uncovering therapeutic vulnerabilities. She is particularly interested in the role of
ubiquitination in AxSpA. Mansi’s background includes a PhD in vascularized bone tissue
engineering and postdoctoral experience in cancer epigenetics, bringing a translational and
multidisciplinary perspective to her research in rheumatology and autoimmune disease.

Esmeralda Blaney Davidson graduated in 2002 in Biomedical Health Sciences  at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, specialized in patholbiology. During her PhD at the department of Rheumatology, Radboudumc, she studied the role of TGF-beta in ageing cartilage in osteoarthritis 2002-2007. After a decade of deep diving into joint biology in osteoarthritis she got intrigued by pain after discovering cartilage generated NGF, a crucial pain-inducing factor. As associate professor she still researches joint biology, but predominantly  specialized in interplay of the immune system and pain and sex- and gender differences therein. In addition she is an educational innovator at Radboudumc.

I am a clinical rheumatologist with longstanding experience in the treatment of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. I am also a translational scientist with a strong background in immunology, molecular biology and immune metabolism, focusing primarily on basic and translational aspects of rheumatology research. My major interests are to understand cellular, metabolic and molecular aspects of myeloid cell biology in inflammation, especially osteoclasts.

Paul Bowness is Professor of Experimental Rheumatology at Oxford University, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science (2011-present), and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre.  He trained in Natural Sciences and then Medicine at Cambridge University and then undertook postgraduate medical training in London.  He received a DPhil (PhD) in Immunology from Oxford University in 1993, under the supervision of Sir Andrew McMichael.

His principle research interests are in the immunology and treatment of Spondyloarthritis.  He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in major scientific journals and has written reviews and chapters in textbooks including in the Oxford Textbook of Medicine. He was co-president of the International Congress of the Spondyloarthropathies for 2012 and gave the Gent Oration in 2024.

MAXIME BREBAN

MD, PhD, Professor of Rheumatology, University of Versailles-Paris-Saclay

Research Director, Faculty Simone Veil-Santé

Research area: Chronic Inflammation and Immune System

Head of the Department of Rheumatology, Hospital Ambroise Paré,

Boulogne-Billancourt, France

Email: maxime.breban@aphp.fr

Maxime Breban is Director of the Team: Chronic Inflammation and Immune System at Simone Veil-Health Faculty, and Professor of Rheumatology in the Department of Rheumatology of Ambroise Paré Hospital in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

He trained in Paris Hospital where he acquired his MD degree (1984-1990). His PhD degree was obtained in 1994, after training supervised at the French National Institute for Medical Research. He was a post-doctoral fellow in Harold Simmon’s Research Center at the University of Texas in Dallas, USA, under the supervision of Pr Joel D. Taurog (1990-1993). He worked as a clinical fellow, then Associate Professor of Immunology in Cochin Hopital, Paris (1993-2002). He then joined the Rheumatology Division of Ambroise Paré Hospital, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, as a Professor of Rheumatology (since 2002) and became Head of the Division in 2011. In the mean time, he acted as director of a research team dedicated to chronic inflammation in rheumatic disorders that moved from Cochin Institute to the Faculty of Simone Veil-Santé in 2013.

He splits his time between clinical duties, teaching and research activities. His research is on the Immuno-Genetics of ankylosing spondylitis and related spondyloarthritis (SPA). He has been a Principal Investigator and Coordinator for several clinical and basic research projects. For the past 20 years, he contributed > 100 original papers, and 40 review papers in the field of SPA. He has coordinated a French book on SPA. He received several awards, including the American College of Rheumatology Fellowship award for Excellence in Scientific Research in 1992 and the Guillaumat-Piel Prize from Foundatun for Medical Research in 2018. He has chaired several meetings and scientific groups and has served on the editorial boards of many scientific journals.

SPEECH TITLE:

Microbiome and axSpA pathogenesis

ABSTRACT:

Microbiota and axSpA pathogenesis

Maxime Breban, MD, PhD

Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Inserm, Infection & inflammation, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, and Rheumatology Division, Ambroise Paré Hospital, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

The role of gut microbiota in spondyloarthritis (SpA) has recently become under intense scrutiny, based on long-standing evidence that gut inflammation belongs to the SpA spectrum and that this disease is characterized by a dominant type 3 immune response. A growing number of cross-sectional studies tried to decipher the complexity of gut microbiota in the context of SpA but yielded quite disparate results. In general, they could separate SpA from control samples based on b-diversity and most often showed some degree of dysbiosis in SpA consisting of reduced a-diversity. We will review our own studies using the simplest 16S-rDNA sequencing and the most comprehensive shot-gun sequencing technics. We will discuss how major changes of microbiota composition may reflect the influence of genetic background and some degree of gut inflammation. We will speculate on the pathogenic significance of gut dysbiosis in the context of SpA and on some of its therapeutic consequences.

MATTHEW BROWN

Chief Scientific Officer

King’s College London – Genomics England Ltd.

London, UK

Email: matt.brown@kcl.ac.uk

Matt Brown is a clinician-scientist who trained initially in medicine and rheumatology in Sydney, Australia before completing a Doctorate of Medicine based at University of Oxford, focusing on genetics of ankylosing spondylitis.  He was appointed Professor of Musculoskeletal Sciences at University of Oxford in 2004.  In 2005 Matt returned to Australia, firstly to University of Queensland, and since 2016, at Queensland University of Technology, where he was Professor and Director of Genomics.  In 2013 he was elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Sciences in recognition for his achievements in genetics research.  In 2019 he moved to King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Trust to direct their NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, and in 2021 moved to the position of Chief Scientific Officer of Genomics England. He continues to work in genetics of human diseases, with a particular focus on common and rare bone and joint diseases, and in cancer genomics and personalized medicine. He continues to practice rheumatology, with a particular focus on spondyloarthritis. 

SPEECH TITLE:

Overview on genetic in axSpA

ABSTRACT

Ben is an MD-PhD student from the UQ Medical School’s Clinician Scientist Training Program, currently undertaking his PhD studies in Prof Ranjeny Thomas’ group at UQ Frazer Institute. He received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Psychology from Emory University and post-graduate research training in Biochemistry at Emory University School of Medicine. Since moving to Australia and joining the Thomas group in 2022, he has contributed to the mechanistic studies on the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis. His PhD project hopes to understand how dysbiosis contributes to arthritis in SpA.

Dr. Bilade Cherqaoui is a French paediatric rheumatologist at Ambroise Paré Hospital in Boulogne-Billancourt, AP-HP, and a postdoctoral researcher in the 1173 Unit –Inflammation– at Université Paris-Saclay. He currently focuses his research on the early immunogenetic mechanisms involved in the development of juvenile spondyloarthritis. His work bridges clinical care and translational science, aiming to improve early diagnosis and targeted therapies for paediatric inflammatory diseases.

Prof. Chimenti has accumulated clinical experience in Internal Medicine, Immunology and Rheumatology.

The beginning of her clinical research career was focused on the study of the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease as SLE and APS. Subsequently, she focused her clinical research activity on the pathogenesis of Spondyloarthritis.

During the last years, she participated at the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of treatments for psoriatic arthritis and on safety and efficacy of biological treatments in inflammatory arthritis. She also works in the field of autoimmune diseases, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and osteoporosis.

She is the coordinator of a combined Rheumatology and Dermatology out-patients Unit for the early diagnosis and treatment of psoriatic arthritis at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and of a combined Rheumatology and Gastroenterology out-patients Unit for the early diagnosis and treatment of enteropathic arthritis at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. She is coordinator of the unit of Musculoskeletal ultrasonography at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

The results of her clinical activity are also documented by several publications on peer reviewed journals.

She is a teacher in EMC courses on Rheumatology and on Dermatology on the use of biologic drugs in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and on the use of ultrasonography for psoriatic arthritis management.

Antonio Ciancio is a rheumatologist and PhD candidate at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”. Following the residency program in Naples, he joined the Rheumatology research team led by Prof. Francesco Ciccia. His research work is mainly focused on translational studies in spondyloarthritis and systemic sclerosis, with emphasis on gut–joint axis and immunometabolism.

Fabrizio Conti, MD, is a Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the Post-graduate School of Rheumatology at Sapienza University of Rome, as well as the Head of Rheumatology at Policlinico Umberto I University Hospital, Rome

He is involved in the Italian Society of Rheumatology as Coordinator of the Standing Committee for the study of Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR), member of the Standing Committee for the study of biological treatments in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (LIRE) of SIR, member of the Standing Committee for the study of neuropsychiatric lupus of SIR.

Professor Conti has a broad experience in clinical studies (Phases II and III) involving new biological products and in the clinical management of patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, including paediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

His main research interests are ethiopathogenesis, clinical features and treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune rheumatic diseases, leading to over 360 Institute of Scientific Information publications

Félicie Costantino, MD, PhD, is Professor of Rheumatology at Versailles Saint-Quentin University (France). She shares her time between clinical practice, translational research, and teaching, all mostly dedicated to SpA. Her work has contributed to advancing the clinical and genetic understanding of SpA, with the aim of translating genetic discoveries into clinical benefits for patients. Author of 34 original articles, she serves on the scientific committees of the axSpA DESIR and PsA APACHE French cohorts and the Ghent International SpA Congress, and contributes to educational initiatives including the EULAR online courses.

Maria Antonietta D’Agostino, MD, MSc, PhD, is Professor of Rheumatology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome and Head of the Rheumatology Department at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli since 2020. Formerly Professor at Paris-Saclay Versailles-Saint-Quentin University (France) and Honorary Professor at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine (UK), her research focuses on the validation of imaging biomarkers—particularly ultrasound—in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis, and autoimmune diseases. She has led major international clinical trials, published extensively, and received the 2022 Carol Nachman Prize. Prof. D’Agostino is Vice Director of the Research Committee at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Co-Chair of the OMERACT Strategic Advisory Group, member of the GRAPPA Scientific Committee, and former Chair of the EULAR Imaging Committee.

Nick Dand is a genetic epidemiologist at King’s College London. He originally trained in mathematics (MMath) and bioinformatics (PhD) and subsequently held a Health Data Research UK Fellowship. His research focuses on using large observational data resources, such as disease registries and biobanks, to study genetic and environmental factors contributing to complex diseases and disease outcomes. He has led several projects on the genetic basis of psoriasis, and more recently a wider range of inflammatory skin diseases, frequently through large international collaborations. These have contributed to both better understanding of disease mechanisms and insights supporting clinical translation.

Kurt de Vlam is Head of Clinic at the department of Rheumatology at UZ Leuven and Professor at the Skeletal Biology & Engineering Research Centre, KU Leuven. He received his medical degree (Ghent University, 1989), trained in internal medicine and rheumatology (1990–1995), and earned a PhD in 2000 on axial involvement in spondyloarthritis. He leads clinical–translational research in spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis, and established specialist clinics and registries (BEPAS, BIOSPAR, SPAR/RECORD). De Vlam has published over 190 papers, participated in over 100 phase I–IV trials, and works on inflammatory pathways and biomarker discovery. He serves in GRAPPA and co-founded Spondyloarthritis Immunobiology Research Alliance.

Dr. Dong is Feng Ying Chair Professor at Westlake University, where he also is Vice President and Dean of School of Medicine.

Dr. Dong’s research is to understand the molecular mechanisms whereby immune and inflammatory responses are normally regulated, and to apply this knowledge to the understanding and treatment of infection, autoimmunity and allergy disorders as well as cancer. The work from Dr. Dong’s group has led to the definition of Th17 and T follicular helper (Tfh) cell subsets in the immune system and elucidation of their biological and pathological functions, which was rated in 2021 by Nature Reviews Immunology as two of “twenty major immunological breakthroughs” in the past twenty years.

Dr Lucy Durham is a rheumatology physician with a PhD in immunology of rheumatic diseases from King’s College London. Her research focuses on understanding inflammatory mechanisms in psoriatic arthritis, particularly exploring the inflammatory infiltrate and cellular interactions in skin and synovial tissue through spatial transcriptomics and single cell RNA sequencing. Lucy is currently based at AstraZeneca, where she works on early-stage clinical development projects in rheumatology.

DIRK ELEWAUT

MD, PhD

Full Professor of Rheumatology and Immunology

Chair of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology

Ghent University and VIB Center for Inflammation Research, Ghent University

Ghent, Belgium

Email: Dirk.Elewaut@UGent.be

Dirk Elewaut is a Full Professor of Rheumatology and Immunology and Chair of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium, a European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) and Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) centre of excellence. He received his medical degree at Ghent University in 1991 and his PhD in 1997 at the same institution. Following his postdoctoral research at the University of California San Diego and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, CA, USA, he joined the faculty of the Department of Rheumatology at Ghent University Hospital in 2001.

He has published more than 330 scientific publications in leading scientific journals and is Principal Investigator of the Unit of Molecular Immunology and Inflammation of the VIB Center for Inflammation Research at Ghent University. Currently, he serves as Chair of the EULAR Research Center and as a member of the editorial boards of several leading rheumatology journals. He has received several awards including the 2020 Carol Nachman Award. His research interests are centred around translational aspects of immune regulation to combat inflammatory arthritis and associated joint damage, with a special focus on the link between gut and joint disease in Spondyloarthritis.

SPEECH TITLE

Mechano-inflammation in axSpA

ABSTRACT

Maria Teresa Fiorillo is Associate Professor of General Pathology at Sapienza University of Rome. She graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Naples Federico II and received her PhD in Biotechnology from the University of L’Aquila. She began her scientific career at IRBM in Rome, focusing on the functional characterization of the IL-6/IL-6 receptor axis in mice. In 1994, she worked at the NCI, NIH, USA. Her ongoing research studies are aimed at clarifying the role of CD8+ T cells in autoimmune diseases and the mechanisms underlying the association between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes and these disorders. She has authored over 70 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.

Shaghayegh Foroozan is a PhD candidate in Medical Science at the University of Toronto, working under the supervision of Dr. Nigil Haroon. Her research focuses on the role of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in gut inflammation and homeostasis, using the SKG mouse model of spondyloarthritis (SpA). She integrates single-cell transcriptomics, histology, and functional assays to uncover mechanisms linking epithelial barrier dysfunction with joint inflammation. Beyond her thesis, she has led several science communication events and co-founded IMS MedDash, an outreach initiative engaging underrepresented youth in biomedical research. She is passionate about advancing translational insights in SpA and fostering the next generation of scientists.

ROBERTO GIACOMELLI

Full Professor of Rheumatology – Head of Immuno-Rheumatology Unit

Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico

Rome, Italy

Email: r.giacomelli@unicampus.it

CHAIRMAN – Session 6 “Adaptive immunity”

Glatigny completed his PhD at the University of Paris 7. His work focused on Th17 cells, and their induction by APC during experimental arthritis. During a post-doctoral fellowship in the team of Dr Estelle Bettelli, he focused on the mechanisms of migration and control of Th17 cells during multiple sclerosis. Simon Glatigny has been recruited as a lecturer at the University of Versailles in September 2019. He joined the team led by Professor Maxime Breban. He is currently working on the interaction between immune cells and intestinal microbiota during SpA and more precisely on the bacterium R. gnavus and the pathogenicity of IL-17⁺ cells during SpA.

Giuliana Guggino (MD) is Full Professor in Rheumatology at University of Palermo and Head of the Rheumatologic section of Policlinico Paolo Giaccone University Hospital, Palermo, Italy, where she has been there as Medical doctor since 2009. During 2007 and 2013 she was a Visiting Researcher at the Immunoregulation and Transplantation Department, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK. She received her  Ph.D. in Immunopharmacology  from University of Palermo in 2014. From 2005 to 2009 she also worked at the Immugen laboratory and then at  Central laboratory of Advanced Diagnosis and Biomedical Research, Policlinico Paolo Giaccone Hospital, Palermo, Italy.

Her research interests span both Immunology and Rheumatology fields. Much of her work has been on improving the understanding of the pathogenesis of immune mediated disorders, particularly focusing on Spondyloarthritis, Sjogren’s  Syndrome and  GCA.

She has given numerous talks and tutorials.

She is co-author of several papers published on international peer-reviewed journals.

Nigil Haroon, MD, PhD, MBA, is the Head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University Health Network and Sinai Health. University Health Network is the largest research hospital in Canada with over 17,000 active staff members (ranked #1 publicly funded hospital in the world). He is a professor of medicine and rheumatology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, a state-of-the art research facility in Toronto. He holds several national and international leadership positions: Immediate Past President of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) and of the International Congress of Spondyloarthritis (Belgium). He serves as Vice-Chair of Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN, USA).

Miaozhen Huang is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Huji Xu at the School of Basic Medicine, Tsinghua University, funded by the Tsinghua – Peking University Joint Center for Life Sciences (CLS).She obtained her Master of Science degree in Genetics and Bioinformatics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and completed her Ph.D. in Genetics at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the Netherlands. Her research interests focus on Immunogenomics, applying single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and long-read genome sequencing to investigate the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, particularly Ankylosing Spondylitis.

ROBERT INMAN

Dr. Inman completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University, and his medical degree at McMaster University. He did his training in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University and his fellowship in Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He completed a Research Fellowship at the Hammersmith Hospital in London. He then moved to the University of Toronto where he was appointed Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Immunology.

He is currently Co-Director of the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, Co-Director of the Spondylitis Program at Toronto Western Hospital, and Deputy Physician-in-Chief for Research at University Health Network. He is Past-President of the Spondyloarthritis Resarch Consoritium of Canada (SPARCC).

Marije Koenders studied Biomedical Health Sciences at the Radboud University Nijmegen, and obtained her master degree in Pathobiology in 2001. Subsequently, she received her PhD in Medical Sciences from the Department of Rheumatology in January 2007 based on her thesis “Interleukin-17 and its relation to IL-1 and TNF in experimental arthritis”. She is now working as assistant professor at the Laboratory of Experimental Rheumatology of the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen. The IL-17 pathway and Th17/Treg balance in inflammation and autoimmunity are Koenders’ first research pillar. Her second research pillar is fibroblast-based imaging and targeted therapy. Koenders’ passion is to unravel disease mechanisms and to apply this knowledge in the development of novel therapeutic approaches to fight these diseases and to reduce the disease burden for patients.

Emma Le Guyader is a PhD student in the LGBC laboratory at the University of Versailles Saint Quentin / Paris Saclay under the direction of Pr Isabelle Guenal and co-direction of Dr Aurore Rincheval. Prior to her doctoral studies, she completed her undergraduate degree in life science at Aix-Marseille University and her master’s degree in Gene, Cell, Development at Paris Saclay University. Her current PhD project is focused on investigating HLA-B27-mediated gut dysfunctions in Drosophila model. Her work might illuminate pathogenic mechanisms underlying the gut-joint axis in spondyloarthritis.

Emmerik Leijten was born 19th of January 1984 in Miami, Florida. He went to elementary school in the Netherlands and attended high school in New Jersey, the United States. In 2002 he moved to Groningen to study Medicine at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. After finishing Medical School in 2008, he took courses on Medical Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Edinburgh in 2009 and worked as clinician on the Internal Medicine ward of the Diakonessenhuis in Paramaribo, Suriname in 2010. Afterwards he starting his training to become a rheumatologist at the UMC Utrecht. In 2013 he started doing research at the Laboratory of Translational Medicine in the group of prof. dr. Radstake and dr. Boes. He performed translational research on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, striving to uncover clinical and immunological questions. In 2021 he completed his PhD thesis entitled “Letting go of the dichotomy between psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis” and in the same year completed his training as a rheumatologist. Subsequently he has worked as rheumatologist at the Sint Maartenskliniek (Woerden and Nijmegen) and continued with research in the field of psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis as part of the research team in the Sint Maartenskliniek. He enjoys teaching medical students, with specific enthusiasm for the field of rheumatology. He has been an invited speaker at congresses, has been a member of the editorial board of a scientific journal and helps supervise medical students and PhD students in the research field of psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Outside of work Emmerik enjoys football, (fly)fishing and spending time with his family.

Dr. Zhixiu Li is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Health and Emergency Management, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). She earned her bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2009 and completed her PhD in Informatics at Indiana University in 2015.

Following her doctoral studies, she worked with Prof. Matthew Brown, first at the University of Queensland (2014–2016) and then at Queensland University of Technology (QUT, 2016–2018). During this period, her research focused on the genetic susceptibility of ankylosing spondylitis and the development of precision diagnostic approaches. In 2018, she was awarded a Vice-Chancellor Research Fellowship at QUT, where she further advanced her work in genomic medicine and precision health.

She joined SUSTech in 2023. Her research centers on the genetic basis of immune-mediated diseases and the development of precision strategies for their diagnosis and prevention.

Dr. Liu focuses on genomic and phenotypic studies of enthesitis and spondyloarthritis. His
research primarily centers on three areas: clinical diagnosis and therapeutic response
prediction in SpA, elucidation of its pathogenic mechanisms, and molecular regulation of
tendon injury and repair. To date, he has published more than 20 SCI papers in leading
journals such as ARD, ART, Rheumatology.

Rheumatologist and translational researcher at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (Naples). MD (Magna Graecia University, 2013) and PhD in Experimental Medicine & Rheumatology (William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London). He works within Prof. Francesco Ciccia’s group, focusing on axial spondyloarthritis, the gut–joint axis, neuro-immune mechanisms, and mucosal immunology. He has authored publications in leading rheumatology journals and is active within EULAR initiatives. His clinical practice centers on SpA, PsA, SLE, and Vasculitis.

Dennis McGonagle is a Professor at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Medicine.  He has used imaging and laboratory research to formulate various theories including the unified SpA concept based on enthesis, the synovio-entheseal complex, the immunological disease-continuum immune classification and the “MHC-1-opathy” SpA disease diseases highlighting potential CD8 T-cells targeting.  His group have defined normal human spinal enthesis immune populations.   He has served on the editorial boards of A&R and ARD, EULAR and UK MRC and has won several international prizes

Dr. Gerlando Natalello is a rheumatologist at the Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS, Catholic University of Rome and PhD candidate at the Graduate School “Life Sciences and Health” at Paris-Saclay University. His clinical activity focuses mainly on the follow-up of patients with Spondyloarthritis, Connective Tissue Diseases with microvascular involvement, and the coordination of the cell therapy program for autoimmune diseases. His research is mainly focused on the study of the link between gut inflammation, dysbiosis and rheumatic diseases through ex-vivo cellular models.

Addison Pacheco is a researcher in the Dr. Inman lab at the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, University Health Network, Toronto. He studies how CD4⁺ T cells influence biologic response in axial spondyloarthritis. Addison also applies his analytical skills to pro-bono consulting with UCG and Verax and serves as co-founder and VP of Marketing & Communications for MedDash, a STEM outreach event providing marginalized high school students with career exploration opportunities.

Zoya Qaiyum is a research technician at the Inman laboratory, Schroeder Arthritis Institute, University Health Network, Toronto Ontario. Her work in basic science research investigates the biological pathways linking gut and joint inflammation in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Her special interests lie in the use of single-cell sequencing technologies to examine clonal expansion in axSpA.

After earning her medical degree from the University of Milan, Maria Gabriella Raimondo completed her residency in Rheumatology at H. Pini Hospital in Milan. During her training, she was actively involved in translational research on autoimmune diseases and collaborated with University College Hospital in London as a clinical research fellow. Following her specialization, she joined the University Clinic Erlangen in Germany, where she enrolled in a clinical-scientific program that allowed her to integrate basic research with clinical practice. She later took on responsibility for the biopsy unit within the Department of Rheumatology at the University Clinic Erlangen and became young principal investigator.

I am a researcher in Rheumatology at the University of Palermo. My work focuses on the immunopathogenesis of Spondyloarthritis, with particular interest in Psoriatic Arthritis, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and ultrasound-guided procedures applied to rheumatic diseases.

During my training, I had the opportunity to attend the Rheumatology Department at the Clinic Hospital of Barcelona, the Biopsy Unit of Policlinico Gemelli in Rome, and the University Paris-Saclay, where I acquired skills in performing synovial biopsies and key laboratory techniques.

I am currently involved in several national and international projects and actively contribute to patient care at the SpA outpatient clinic of my hospital.

Roula SAID-NAHAL, is MD, in the Department of Rheumatology of Ambroise Paré Hospital in Boulogne-Billancourt, France since 2004.

For the past 20 years, she collaborated, as clinical investigator in several studies in the field of Spondylarthritis; ultrasound studies, intestinal microbiota research and her major research interest is familial studies  in SpA.

Professor Schett’s interests include basic, translational and clinical research on molecular and cellular pathogenesis of rheumatic and autoimmune diseases. In 2008, he initiated in collaboration with colleagues the priority program IMMUNOBONE, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which aims to elucidate the interactions between the skeletal and the immune systems.
Since 2015, Prof. Schett has led the DFG CRC1181 “Checkpoints for Resolution of Inflammation” in Erlangen. Additionally, he is spokesperson of the project METARTHROS, which investigates the impact of the metabolism on arthritis. In 2019, he received funding for the ERC-Synergy grant “4D+ nanoSCOPE Advancing osteoporosis medicine by observing bone microstructure and remodelling using a four-dimensional nanoscope” of which he is spokesperson.
In 2021, Prof. Schett was appointed Vice President Research of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and also became a Leopoldina member of the National Academy of Sciences of Germany.
Professor Schett‘s scientific work has been honored with several awards, including the Carol-Nachman Prize from Wiesbaden and the 2023 “Funding Prize in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Programme” awarded by the DFG. He has published over 1100 peer-reviewed papers.

Carlo Selmi received his MD in 1998 and his PhD in Internal Medicine in 2002, both from the University of Milan. Between July 2005 and december 2014, he was Assistant Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the same Division at UC Davis. Since 2022, he is Full Professor of Internal Medicine at the Humanitas University in Milan; he currently leads the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at Humanitas research hospital in Milan.

Prof. Selmi has coauthored over 450 peer-reviewed publications with a Scopus H index of 77. His research track is dedicated to organ-specific and systemic autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, including the clinical epidemiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of connective tissue disease (particularly systemic sclerosis), and psoriatic arthritis. Since 2023, he is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Autoimmunity.

Archita is a PhD candidate working with Dr. Nigil Haroon studying the ubiquitin proteasome system as a potential therapeutic target for axial Spondyloarthritis. Her thesis investigates the role of a specific deubiquitinase molecule called TRABID and its role in inflammation and new bone formation. Prior to starting her PhD, Archita obtained her MSc. at the University of Toronto and her BSc. from McMaster University.

Since 2020, Efstratios Stratikos is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Chemistry at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. He studied  Chemistry at the University of Athens, obtained a PhD in Biochemistry in 1999 at the University of Illinois Medical School and postdoctoral training  at Harvard University from 1999 to 2004. From 2005 to 2020 he worked as the head of the Protein Chemistry Laboratory at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”. His research interests focus on the study of proteins and their role in human disease and in particular on the molecular mechanisms of the human immune system.aaaaaaaaaaaaa

Dr. Michael Tang is a scientific associate at the Schroder Arthritis Institute (SAI), University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. He completed his doctoral training in the field of cancer immunology at Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto. Following doctoral training, he completed his postdoctoral training engaging in translational research in Dr. Robert Inman’s laboratory. Throughout his research at SAI, he investigated CTL dysregulation and aberrant exhaustion mechanisms in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). He will be presenting his research on T-cell exhaustion resistance in axSpA. His work is funded by the Arthritis Society Canada, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

I’m Fataneh Tavasolian (She/Her), a Scientific Associate in the Rheumatology Department at University Health Network. My research focuses on immunoregulation, exosome biology, and regulatory T cell dysfunction in autoimmune diseases, especially ankylosing spondylitis. I use molecular profiling and translational approaches to explore immune instability and identify therapeutic targets that bridge basic science and clinical relevance.

Professor Thomas is Professor of Rheumatology at University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, consultant rheumatologist at Princess Alexandra Hospital, fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and member of the Order of Australia. She has founded two spin-off companies Dendright (2006-2021), and Liperate in 2022. Liperate recently opened a trial of a liposome-based tolerance immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes. Ranjeny and her team were recently awarded a MRFF Frontiers grant towards the moonshot goal of a cure for rheumatoid arthritis.

After her Medical Degree in 1987, she was trained at the Leiden University Medical Centre and became a Rheumatologist in 1997. She completed her PhD thesis in 1998. Between 1998-2021 she has been working at the Rheumatology department of the Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc and has coauthored over 400 peer reviewed publications. In 2018 she was appointed as Professor on Sex and Gender aspects in Musculoskeletal Inflammatory Diseases at the VU University in Amsterdam.

She has been member of the Executive Committee of ASAS, the EULAR task Force Gender Equity in Academic Rheumatology (GEAR), and Executive Board of the Dutch Society of Gender and Health. She is also member of the EUROSpA Steering Group and of the IGAS Steering Committee.

Since 2021 she is Full Professor in Rheumatology and Head of the Department of Rheumatology at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

I am a second year PhD student at the department of Rheumatology of the Radboudumc and Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. My supervision team consist of Prof. dr. Irene van der Horst-Bruinsma, Dr. Marije Koenders, Dr. Emmerik Leijten and Dr. Esmeralda Blaney Davidson. My PhD project is about sex-specific influence of IL-17 inhibition within spondyloarthritis. What I find most interesting about this project is the clinical translation together with the fundamental study of disease mechanisms, and the consideration of sex-specific outcomes to potentially implement and support personalized care.

HUJI XU

Huji Xu is Professor of Medicine in Second Military Medical University (SMMU) and Tsinghua University

Prof Xu graduated from SMMU where he also completed his residency and internship before he went to Australia to pursue his PhD in rheumatology and clinical immunology. He then worked in Flinders Medical Centre and Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Before he full time returned to China, he was an R.D. Wright fellow of Australian National Health & Medical Research Council and Professor in University of Queensland.

In 2003, Prof Xu has been appointed as a founder chair for the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at Shanghai Changzheng hospital affiliated to SMMU. His department under his leadership quickly developed into one of the largest clinical and research centres for rheumatology in China. In 2016, Prof Xu has been appointed as founder Executive Dean of School of Clinical Medicine in Tsinghua University.

Prof Xu’s research has encompassed many fields, including rheumatology, human genetics, and vaccinology. Currently, his major research interest is in the area of pathogenesis of rheumatic diseases. His research over last 10 years resulted in several major publications in Nature, Nature Genetics, Lancet Rheumatology, Arthritis & Rheumatism, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, The Journal of Experimental Medicine, and Annual Review of Immunology.

Steven is Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant Rheumatologist at the University of Manchester. His research combines epidemiologic and genomic approaches to improve patient care. With over 170 publications (H-index 38), he led the British Society for Rheumatology axial SpA guideline and co-authored the EULAR guideline. Steven is Associate Editor for Rheumatology and a member of ASAS and GRAPPA.