Meet The Country Liaisons 2024-2025

Enida graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Tirana, Albania and gained her rheumatology specialization at QSUT Hospital, Albania.

Her main research interests are radiographic axial spondyloarthrirtis, rheumatoid arthritis and rehabilitation.

Anna graduated as a medical doctor from the Yerevan State Medical University in 2013. She currently works as resident in rheumatology in the “Muratsan” University Hospital.

Her main research interests are antiphospholipid syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis and vasculitis.

Myriam studied at the Medical University of Vienna until 2019. Currently, she works as resident in the rheumatology department at the Medical University of Graz. Her research is focused on PMR and vasculitis.

She is an active member of the JÖGR (the Young Austrian Society of Rheumatology). She is very dedicated to clinical education and created the first rheumatological escape room in Europe. 

Rositsa graduated from the Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2013 . In 2020, she completed her rheumatology residency in UMHAT “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia.

She is currently working as a rheumatologist in Sofia, Bulgaria.  Her interests include inflammatory arthritis, interstitial lung disease, treatment strategies, systemic sclerosis and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Veronika graduated as a medical doctor from Charles University (Prague, 2015). She currently works at the Institute of Rheumatology in Prague.

In 2015, she started her PhD with a special interest in neuropsychiatric lupus. She is also part of a research group on systemic lupus erythematosus supported by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.

Morten graduated as a medical doctor in 2016 and completed his PhD in 2021 at Aarhus University. He is currently a rheumatology resident and postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University Hospital and Aarhus University.

His main research interests include stromal cells/fibroblasts, arthritis in vitro models, checkpoint receptors, rheumatoid arthritis, autoinflammation and translational research. Morten is a member of the Peer Mentoring EMEUNET Sub-committee.

Ramona graduated from the “Carol Davila” University in Bucharest in 2010 and has completed her training in rheumatology in Romania and Ireland. She is currently a certified rheumatology consultant in Ireland. She was awarded a EULAR research fellowship in Dublin regarding the use of ultrasound in patients with asymptomatic hyperuricaemia in 2014.

Her interests include patient care and imaging in rheumatic diseases.

Jennifer completed medical school at SUNY Downstate Medical Center followed by a residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and a fellowship in rheumatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Currently, she works as a full-time rheumatologist at the Barzilai Medical Center. She is involved in research exploring the use of fluorescence optical imaging to evaluate response of synovitis to pharmaceutical treatment and developing AI software to help rheumatologists better evaluate their patients. She is also dedicated to educating clinicians at all levels of training.

Emanuele graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele (Milan) in 2016 and completed his rheumatology residency at the Hospital ‘IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation’ in Pavia, where he currently works as a rheumatology consultant. Since 2021, he has been enrolled in the Experimental Medicine PhD Program at the University of Pavia.

His main areas of interest are rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease.  Since November 2020, he has been an elected member of the Young Rheumatologists Committee of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR Young).  

Ouidade is a rheumatologist at the Lebanese University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. She received her postdoctoral diploma in rheumatology from Saint Joseph University of Beirut and from Paris V University. She is a trained EULAR teacher in musculoskeletal ultrasonography. In addition, Ouidade has a Masters in clinical research from the Medical University of Vienna. 

Her main interests are musculoskeletal ultrasonography, psoriatic arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome and microcrystalline diseases.

Ona graduated as a medical doctor from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in 2011, and currently works at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas clinics and as an assistant at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. She is a member of the Council of the Association of Lithuanian Rheumatologists.

Her main areas of interest are MSK ultrasound and ultrasound-guided interventions. 

Victoria is an assistant professor at the Department of Internal Medicine of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu” in Moldova and a rheumatologist at the International Hospital Medpark, Moldova. She graduated from the same university in 2009. 

Her main research interests include systemic diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Rifat received his MD from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montenegro. He currently works as a specialist at the Department of Rheumatology and Internal Medicine of the Clinical Center of Montenegro.

His main interests are ultrasound imaging and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Maja became a rheumatologist in 2010 and is currently working at the Clinical Hospital of Rheumatology in Skopje, North Macedonia.

Her professional and scientific interests focus on patients with arthritis and postmenopausal osteoporosis. She also works as an assistant at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje.

Jens is a rheumatology fellow at Stavanger University Hospital, and a PhD student at University of Bergen. He is the author of an immunology textbook and is currently writing a rheumatology textbook for Norwegian medical students.

His main interests are IgG4-related disease, systemic sclerosis and interstitial lung disease.

Aleksandra graduated from the Medical University of Lodz in 2019. She is currently in the fourth year of her residency training in rheumatology at the Department of Rheumatology with Internal Medicine Subdivision USK-WAM in Lodz. She is also a research and teaching assistant at the Medical University of Lodz. In 2022, she received her PhD for research on cardiovascular involvement in IIM. 

Her main interests include myositis, antisynthetase syndrome and ILD.

Vasilia Iorgoveanu is a specialist in rheumatology in Bucharest, Romania. She received her PhD in salivary gland ultrasonography in Sjögren’s syndrome in 2019. She is a trained EULAR teacher in musculoskeletal ultrasonography.

Her main interests  are autoimmune diseases, especially Sjögren’s syndrome, musculoskeletal ultrasonography and articular degenerative diseases. 

Jelena Čolić is an internal medicine specialist and rheumatology resident at the University of Belgrade, Serbia.  She defended her PhD in epidemiology on a clinical overview of haemostasis disturbance in systemic sclerosis in 2023 (collaboration with Karolinska Institutet, Sweden). She is an active member of the Serbian National Rheumatology Society and is involved as an EMEUNET member in a task force.

Her main interests are systemic sclerosis, microparticles and treatment.

Muriel Elhai is an assistant professor at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She received her PhD in the immunology of mouse models of systemic sclerosis in 2015. She has been involved as an EMEUNET member in the EULAR task force on “updating the EULAR recommendations for the collaboration of patient research partners (PRPs) in scientific projects”.

Her main interests are systemic sclerosis, synovial fibroblasts and immunology, as well as PRP involvement in research.

Su-Ann graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Nottingham in 2012. She currently works as a rheumatology clinical research fellow at University College London.

Her main research interests are bDMARDs, rheumatoid arthritis, T- cells, TNF and treatment strategies.

Dr Olena Zimba has been involved in rheumatology research since 2005 and was awarded her PhD degree for studies of connective tissue dysplasia in 2010. Since 2013, she has been undertaking post-doctoral research in systemic vasculitis. Her current research interests also include axial spondyloarthritis, cardiovascular issues in rheumatic diseases and rheumatology research methodology.

She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine N2 of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (Lviv, Ukraine), Associate Editor of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Secretary General of the Ukrainian Council of Science Editors (UCSE) and Research Fellow at the Department of Rheumatology, Immunology and Internal Medicine of University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. She is an associate editor and social media advisor of several rheumatology and general medicine journals, including Clinical Rheumatology (ILAR journal) and Rheumatology International.