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Autumn 2025 Press Review – Miscellanous
April 2025 to July 2025
Author: Victoria Konzett
Upadacitinib FDA and EMA-approved for treatment of giant cell arteritis after positive results from the SELECT-GCA study
Blockmans et al. (10.1056/NEJMoa2413449) compared Upadacitinib 15mg daily and 7.5mg daily combined with a 26-week glucocorticoid taper with placebo combined with a 52-week glucocorticoid taper in 428 patients above 50 years of age, with new-onset or relapsing giant cell arteritis, in the double-blind, randomized, phase 3 SELECT-GCA trial. Upadacitinib 15 mg, but not 7.5mg, combined with a 26-week glucocorticoid taper significantly improved sustained remission rates through weeks 12 to 52 and reduced disease flares and steroid exposure in this study. Safety was comparable between groups. Serious infections were numerically higher in the placebo arms, while Upadacitinib showed increased rates of herpes zoster infections, non-melanoma skin cancers and non-pathologic Creatine kinase elevations. No major cardiovascular events were observed in the upadacitinib arms.
Methotrexate as a viable alternative to glucocorticoids as first-line treatment in pulmonary sarcoidosis
Kahlmann et al. (10.1056/NEJMoa2501443) compared methotrexate with prednisone – the currently recommended first-line treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis – in the multicenter, open-label, randomized, non-inferiority PREDMETH trial. In 138 patients with previously untreated pulmonary sarcoidosis methotrexate (15 mg per week increased by 5 mg every 4 weeks to a maximum dose of 25 mg per week if tolerated) was noninferior to prednisone for improving lung function over 24 weeks. Unadjusted mean change from baseline to week 24 in the percentage of the predicted forced vital capacity was 6.75 percentage points (95% CI 4.50 to 8.99) in the prednisone group and 6.11 percentage points (95% CI 3.72 to 8.50) in the methotrexate group (∆ −1.17 percentage points, 95% CI −4.27 to 1.93). Adverse event rates were comparable, but profiles differed: prednisone caused more weight gain, insomnia and increased appetite, while methotrexate led to more nausea, fatigue, and abnormal liver function tests.
Passive maternal immunity in children born to women with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases compared to healthy women
Mazzucato-Puchner et al. (10.1016/j.jaut.2025.103439) compared antibody titers in venous blood samples and umbilical cord blood in a case-control study of 25 pregnant women with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) and 30 healthy controls. An effective transplacental transfer of existing antibodies against varicella-zoster and rubella, as well as newly generated antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination during pregnancy could be observed both in the SARDs and the control group. This suggests a robust passive immunity in newborns to women with SARDs, including those receiving immunosuppressive therapy (hydroxychloroquine, azathioprine, TNF inhibitors, salazopyrine) during pregnancy.
Low-dose methotrexate failed to show relevant benefits on signs and symptoms of inflammatory knee osteoarthritis in a placebo-controlled trial
Zhu et al. (10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.1359) investigated the use of low-dose methotrexate for treatment of inflammatory knee osteoarthritis, in a multicenter, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of 215 patients with effusion synovitis due to osteoarthritis on MRI from China. Patients started methotrexate at 5mg weekly for two weeks and increased to up to 15mg weekly throughout to trial if tolerated. This strategy did not significantly improve knee pain or reduce effusion-synovitis over 52 weeks compared to placebo, and no meaningful effect was seen on secondary outcomes either. Adverse event rates were similar between groups. Methotrexate can not therefore not be supported for symptom relief or disease modification in inflammatory knee osteoarthritis.
Allogeneic CD19-targeting T cells induced clinical remission in four of five patients with refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis
Wang et al. (10.1038/s41591-025-03899-x) investigated YTS109, a hypo-immune allogeneic CD-19 targeting T cell product engineered using CRISPR–Cas9 to knock out TRAC, PD1, HLA-A, HLA-B and CIITA, in a phase 1 study in five patients with severe, refractory SLE and complicating lupus nephritis. The compound was well-tolerated, with only mild cytokine release symptoms on no graft-versus-host reactions observed. All five patients achieved SLE responder index 4 response at M3, and four of five patients showed a rapid and sustained reduction in SLE disease activity score (mean 31.30–5.35 by M6), while one patient flared at M6. Resolution of inflammation and tissue restoration was seen in renal biopsies.
Victoria Konzett
Victoria is a resident and PhD fellow at the Division of Rheumatology at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Her major research interests are clinical and translational research projects in rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, with a focus on strategic advancements and outcomes research in both diseases. Victoria is a member of the Newsletter Sub-Committee and the Young Division of the Austrian Society of Rheumatology.
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Autumn 2025 Press Review – Rheumatology (Oxford)
April 2025 to July 2025
Author: Jacob J.E. Koopman
‘Am I doing this right?’ Physician perceptions of the global assessment in clinical trials of systemic sclerosis
Sabanovic and colleagues (10.1093/rheumatology/keaf377) interviewed experts in the clinical assessment and research of systemic sclerosis on how they define, perform and interpret a physician’s global assessment. According to 18 rheumatologists and 1 patient, major themes were: i) physician uncertainty; ii) variation in the assessment; iii) physician efforts to improve its consistency; iv) its utility. Most thought that it should assess changeable aspects of disease, commonly conceived of as disease activity. The optimal method was uncertain. Participants were also uncertain about their own methods of assessment and their variability.
Changes to physical function and body composition during the first 2 years of polymyalgia rheumatica
Leung and colleagues (10.1093/rheumatology/keaf375) prospectively followed 36 patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and 32 age- and sex-matched controls 3 months after glucocorticoid initiation and 18 months later. Patients had greater disability scores than controls at both times. Female patients performed more poorly in the chair stand test, physical performance battery and gait speed than controls. Body composition was not different.
Clinical features in VEXAS syndrome: a systematic review
Al-Hakim and colleagues (10.1093/rheumatology/keaf293) studied publications about the clinical features of VEXAS syndrome. Analyzing 720 patients from 33 case reports and 21 case series across 32 countries, the following were counted: cutaneous involvement (82%), constitutional symptoms (69%), respiratory disease (61%), joint involvement (47%), ocular disease (44%), venous thromboembolism (42%), myelodysplastic syndrome (36%), cardiac involvement (8%), renal disease (7%) and central nervous system manifestations (8%).
Jacob Koopman
Jacob is a medical specialist in internal medicine and clinical immunology, working in the Netherlands. In his clinical work and research, he focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus, particularly its prediction before it becomes overt. He cares for patients with various other systemic immunological diseases. He is a member of the Dutch Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and of EULAR. He is an editor for the Dutch Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-committee.
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Autumn 2025 Press Review – RMD Open
April 2025 to July 2025
Author: Omar Dhrif
Long-term maintenance of remission with spacing of rituximab infusions based on the individualised patient risk profile in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a pilot study
Bartoletti et al. (10.1136/rmdopen-2025-005504) in this prospective pilot study evaluated risk-stratified rituximab (RTX) maintenance beyond 18 months in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). Nineteen patients were stratified as high-risk of relapse (RTX every 6 months, n=7), intermediate-risk (RTX every 12 months, n=9), or low-risk (switched to another immunosuppressant, n=3). Over 24 months, no severe relapses, deaths, or end-stage renal disease occurred. One minor relapse was observed in the RTX12m group. Severe infections occurred in 28.6% of RTX6m patients, with higher hypogammaglobulinaemia rates (57.1%). Yearly RTX maintained disease control with fewer complications, supporting tailored regimens.
Serum immunoreactivity to neurofilament-medium shows high sensitivity and specificity in patients with Behçet disease
Akbaba et al. (10.1136/rmdopen-2024-005100) assessed the diagnostic value of neurofilament medium protein (NF-M) immunoreactivity in Behçet disease (BD). Serum from 76 patients (33 BD, 16 MS, 15 SLE, 9 PsA, 3 NBU) and 22 healthy donors was tested on mouse brain tissue. NF-M staining was detected in 97% of BD sera (32/33) but not in controls or other diseases, which showed distinct alternative patterns (e.g., nuclear in SLE, oligodendrocytic in MS). NF-M immunoreactivity appears highly specific and sensitive for BD, suggesting potential diagnostic utility.
Combination therapy of rituximab and mycophenolate in patients with systemic sclerosis and primary cardiac involvement refractory to cyclophosphamide: a retrospective exploratory analysis of 10 cases
Adjailia et al. (10.1136/rmdopen-2025-005493) evaluated rituximab (RTX) plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in 10 systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with refractory primary cardiac involvement after cyclophosphamide. Over 6–12 months, all patients showed troponin T reduction (p=0.002), left ventricular ejection fraction improved by 3–23% in 5/6 with dysfunction, ventricular extrasystoles declined (p=0.0313), and NT-proBNP decreased in 6/9. Modified Rodnan skin score also improved (p=0.002). Therapy was generally well tolerated, though 7 serious adverse events (5 infections, 2 deaths) occurred during long-term follow-up. RTX/MMF may represent an effective option.
Automated ultrasound system ARTHUR V.2.0 with AI analysis DIANA V.2.0 matches expert rheumatologist in hand joint assessment of rheumatoid arthritis patients
Frederiksen et al. (10.1136/rmdopen-2025-005805) assessed the performance of the robotic ultrasound system ARTHUR V.2.0 with AI model DIANA V.2.0 in rheumatoid arthritis. Thirty patients underwent two automated scans and expert rheumatologist evaluation of 22 hand joints. ARTHUR achieved an 85.5% scanning success rate. Intra-robot repeatability was high (binary agreement 90.5% for synovial hypertrophy, 88.1% for Doppler). Agreement with the rheumatologist was encouraging (binary 87.3% for hypertrophy, 91.2% for Doppler), with kappa values 0.38–0.44. The system showed reliable repeatability and promising concordance with human assessment.
Predictive factors for therapeutic response and cluster analysis in syndrome of undifferentiated recurrent fever (SURF)
Palmeri et al. (10.1136/rmdopen-2025-005874) analysed 101 patients with syndrome of undifferentiated recurrent fever (SURF) from the Eurofever Registry to identify colchicine resistance predictors and assess interleukin-1 (IL-1) inhibitor efficacy. Common symptoms included fever, arthralgia, abdominal pain, and myalgia; PFAPA-like features were sporadic. Colchicine achieved complete response in 61% of 77 patients. Aphthous stomatitis independently predicted resistance (p=0.014). Tonsillectomy was ineffective, whereas IL-1 inhibitors were effective in refractory cases. Cluster analysis identified three subgroups, highlighting SURF heterogeneity and supporting personalised management.
Omar Dhrif
Omar is a Clinical Immunology and Internal Medicine MD, from University Tunis El Manar currently working in University Hospital Dijon Bourgogne, France.
His main clinical and research interests are focused on Vasculitis, Global access to health care and educational therapy. Omar is the past-Treasurer of the Tunisian Association of Young Internists, Co-Founder of the Francophonic Young Internists Group, member of the Research Committee of the Tunisian Society of Internal Medicine and American College of Rheumatology Social Media Ambassador. Omar is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-committee.
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Autumn 2025 Press Review – Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
April 2025 to July 2025
Author: Jacob J.E. Koopman
Current evidence on switching between biologic therapies for Still’s disease: a systematic literature review
Dagna and colleagues (10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152789) studied publications about the treatment of Still’s disease with biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). In 48 publications – of which seven guidelines – IL1 inhibitors were usually the recommended first-line treatment and switching to another IL1 inhibitor or an IL6 inhibitor was recommended in cases of lack of tolerability, inadequate response or treatment failure. Switching benefited treatment effects.
The role of surgery in esophageal involvement in systemic sclerosis: a systematic literature review
Matucci-Cerinic and colleagues (10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152791) studied publications about different types of surgical treatment of refractory gastro-oesophagal reflux disease related to systemic sclerosis. In 23 publications, 184 patients had a surgical treatment. Fundoplication was effective in 14 studies, of uncertain effect in 1 study and non-effective in 4 studies. All included studies reported low mortality and morbidity rates related to surgery. Relevant data were often lacking.
AA amyloidosis in inflammatory joint diseases: a systematic review
Savadogo and colleagues (10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152762) studied publications about the epidemiology of AA amyloidosis related to inflammatory joint disease. In 33 publications – with substantial heterogeneity – its prevalence in rheumatoid arthritis ranged declined over time from ca 20% to <1% and its prevalence in ankylosing spondylitis declined from ca 7% to ca 1%.
Developing efficient predictive models for the diagnosis of VEXAS syndrome
Montes and colleagues (10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152796) studied 144 patients who underwent UBA1 mutation testing to identify features associated with its presence. Predictive features included skin rash, chondritis, cytopenia, macrocytosis, uveitis and pulmonary disease. Models containing 5 features demonstrated good discriminatory capacity with an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.81. A model containing absolute monocyte count only had an AUC of 0.78.
Jacob Koopman
Jacob is a medical specialist in internal medicine and clinical immunology, working in the Netherlands. In his clinical work and research, he focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus, particularly its prediction before it becomes overt. He cares for patients with various other systemic immunological diseases. He is a member of the Dutch Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and of EULAR. He is an editor for the Dutch Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-committee.
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EMEUNET Committee 2025-2026
Links to other EMEUNET Sub-Committee membership posts:
Continuing EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
New EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Farewell to EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
EMEUNET Chairmanship
Dr Diego Benavent
Spain
Diego is currently working as a rheumatologist at Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge in Barcelona and as an assistant professor at the Universidad de Barcelona. Additionally, he collaborates as a Senior Medical Advisor at Savana, a company focused on artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine. Beyond his involvement in healthcare technology, particularly AI, his primary interests include spondyloarthritis, patient-reported outcomes, and musculoskeletal epidemiology.
Diego is the Chair of EMEUNET.
Dr Tue Wenzel Kragstrup
Denmark
Tue is currently working as a part-time associate professor in immunology and pharmacology and a part-time rheumatologist in Aarhus and Silkeborg, Denmark.
Kragstrup lab focuses on the immunological mechanisms of inflammatory arthritis with a special interest in building in vitro models and bioinformatics pipelines for drug discovery, target validation, personalised medicine and drug repurposing. The rheumatology section in Silkeborg has a large outpatient clinic involved in biobanking, clinical trials, cohort studies and quality improvement projects.
Tue is the past-chair of EMEUNET.
EMEUNET Sub-Committee Leadership Team
Dr Krystel Aouad
Lebanon
Krystel is an assistant professor in rheumatology and a full-time consultant rheumatologist at Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre in Lebanon, where she is actively involved in medical education and serves as the internal medicine coordinator for third-year medical students.
In 2019, she pursued her fellowship in Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris and obtained a Master’s degree in Science (MSc), biostatistics and Public Health (MPH) from Paris Saclay University under the mentorship of Prof Laure Gossec. Additionally, she holds a diploma in musculoskeletal ultrasound from Sorbonne Université, Paris. Her major interests are spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, patient-reported outcomes and imaging.
Krystel is the current Chair of the EMEUNET Visibility and Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Sytske Anne Bergstra
The Netherlands
Sytske Anne is a post-doctoral clinical researcher at the Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Medical Centre in Leiden. In 2018, she obtained her PhD on worldwide treatment opportunities of rheumatoid arthritis.
Her major research interest is rheumatoid arthritis, with a focus on the optimal use of current treatment strategies, often in an international context. She has an interest in advanced statistics and methodology, which she applies to bridge the gap between scientifically studied treatment strategies and what is done in actual care.
Sytske Anne is the project coordinator of the METEOR registry and the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic cohort, and co-chair of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Tania Gudu
United Kingdom
Tania is a Rheumatology Consultant working at ESNEFT, in Ipswich, UK, where she is leading the Spondyloarthritis Service. She is also a Visiting Fellow at ESNEFT Research Unit for Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, UK.
She has a special interest in spondyloarthritis, including axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis, with a focus on patient perspective/ patient reported outcomes, multidisciplinary working and service development. She is very passionate about patient education and psychology in rheumatic diseases.
She is a trustee/ member of the British Psoriatic Arthritis Consortium (BritPACT) Steering committee, a member of the British Society for Spondyloarthritis (BritSPA) and the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA).
Tania is the co-chair of the EMEUNET Social Media Subcommittee.
Dr Pierre-Antoine Juge
France
Pierre-Antoine is an assistant professor at the Rheumatology department, Bichat Hospital, Université de Paris Cité, Paris. His major interests are the pulmonary manifestations of connective tissue diseases and rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease, in particular. He also participates in innovative educational programmes at his university, such as the ECOS (Examen Clinique Objectif et Structuré), which is a situational exercise that assesses the skills and knowledge of medical students.
Pierre-Antoine is the chair of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Anastasia Madenidou
United Kingdom
Anastasia is a NIHR Manchester BRC Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Manchester and the Kellgren Centre, a Lupus UK Centre of Excellence, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Her research focuses on multi-omics to identify novel treatment targets and advance precision medicine in lupus spectrum disorders.
She is an author of the Oxford Handbook of Rheumatology (5th edition) and a member of the EULAR Task Force for the Lupus Nephritis recommendations.
Anastasia is the chair of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Mert Ozas
Turkey
Mert is a consultant rheumatologist at Acibadem University Atakent Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.
His major interests are vasculitis and connective tissue diseases.
He currently serves as a Chair of the EMEUNET Peer-Mentoring Sub-Committee
Dr Christiana Siero Santos
Spain/UK
Cristiana is a rheumatologist and clinical researcher trained at the Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León (Spain), currently serving as a Clinical and Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and at the Kellgren Centre for Rheumatology, Manchester Royal Infirmary (UK). She is pursuing her PhD at the University of León (Spain), focusing on vaccine immunogenicity in patients with immune-mediated rheumatic diseases. She also holds formal training in epidemiology from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (Portugal).
Her research interests centre on connective tissue diseases, including systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and reproductive health in rheumatic diseases.
She is actively involved in EUSTAR, SLEuro, and JOVREUM, and currently serves as a Social Media Editor for RMD Open and Associate Editor for Rheumatology (Oxford).
Cristiana is the Chair of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Subcommittee and also serves as the Advisory Country Liaison for Spain, promoting international collaboration and peer mentorship among early-career rheumatologists.
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New Members of the EMEUNET Sub-Committees 2025-2026
Links to other EMEUNET Sub-Committee membership posts:
Continuing EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Farewell to EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Dr Jennifer Amsler
Switzerland
Jennifer is a rheumatologist and senior physician at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital Bern and a PhD fellow at the Graduate Health School (GHS) at the University of Bern.
She has spent two years as a postdoc in an immunology laboratory at Institut Cochin in Paris, France, working on neutrophils in rheumatoid arthritis and ANCA-associated vasculitis. Her PhD topic involves translational research in vasculitis.
Her clinical focus lies on maternity and fertility in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, where she helps to build the Swiss RePreg cohort.
Jennifer is a student representative of the GHS in Bern and a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Alessandra Bettiol
Italy
Alessandra is Assistant Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Florence.
Her research interests focus mainly on translational research in rare systemic vasculitis, especially Behçet’s syndrome (BS) and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAVs).
She is also interested in biostatistics, epidemiology and guideline development. She is Convenor of the Study group on Epidemiology of the International Society for Behçet’s disease (ISBD), and is a member of the panel for the 2025 update of EULAR recommendations for BS.
Alessandra is a new member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Emanuele Bozzalla Cassione
Italy
Emanuele is a consultant rheumatologist and physician-researcher at the Division of Rheumatology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence.
He is the president-elect of the SIRyoung (young committee of the Italian Society of Rheumatology) and has been serving as Country Liaison for Italy and San Marino in the past three years.
His main research focus is on clinical and translational research in inflammatory arthropathies, especially rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis (RA, PsA, along with interstitial lung disease.
Emanuele is a member of the EMEUNET Visibility & Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Hannah den Braanker
Netherlands
Hannah is a rheumatologist in training at Maasstadt Hospital with a strong background in translational research. She holds a PhD and Master’s degree in molecular medicine, with her doctoral research focused on the transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis, investigating T cells, lymphatics, and their interplay in disease progression. Her main research interests encompass basic/translational science and psoriatic arthritis.
Currently, Hannah works on projects exploring the relationship between obesity, lymphatics, and inflammatory arthritis, contributing to understanding how metabolic factors influence rheumatic disease development. Her work bridges immunological research with clinical applications, translating basic science discoveries into improved patient care.
Hannah is an active member of Young GRAPPA and a new member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Andreu Fernández-Codina
Spain, Canada
Andreu is a clinical and postdoctoral research fellow at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain. He is also an Assistant Professor at the Rheumatology Division, Western University, Canada. His PhD thesis was centred on IgG4-related disease.
His research interests are clinical trials, epidemiological research and translational research in vasculitis, IgG4-related disease and systemic sclerosis. He is currently working on a new fast-track GCA clinic in Barcelona and investigating new antibody technologies in scleroderma in collaboration with Western University (Canada) and the National Institutes for Health (USA). He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, with an H-index of 20.
He has been a member of the ACR/EULAR classification criteria task force. He is the co-founder of the Spanish IgG4-RD registry. He is a member of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium, CANVASC and ACR.
He is a new member of the Peer Mentoring EMEUNET Sub-Committee.
Dr Alvaro Gomez
Chile, Sweden
Álvaro is a physician researcher and postdoctoral fellow at the Clinical Epidemiology Division, Karolinska Institutet, focusing on systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. His research examines how biological, social, economic, and psychological factors influence long-term outcomes, including somatic and mental health comorbidities.
Álvaro uses national Swedish registers, clinical cohorts, randomised controlled trials, survey-based studies, and systematic reviews to study prognosis and treatment outcomes. This includes work on B-cell–targeting biologics and the impact of (non-)pharmacological interventions on patient-reported outcomes in lupus.
Álvaro is part of the Junior Faculty steering group at the Clinical Epidemiology Division at KI, and a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-CommitteeDr Elvis Hysa
Italy, Albania
Elvis is a rheumatologist and PhD Candidate at the Laboratory of Experimental Rheumatology and Academic Division of Clinical Rheumatology, University of Genova, Italy.
His research focuses primarily on clinical and translational studies in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, imaging aspects of systemic sclerosis and other autoimmune connective tissue diseases (particularly capillaroscopy and skin ultrasound), and rheumatic-immune-related adverse events in oncology patients following immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
His PhD research centres on characterising cultured macrophages derived from peripheral circulating monocytes in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, both before and after treatment.
Elvis is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Margarida Lucas Rocha
Portugal
Margarida is a physician currently completing her Rheumatology training at the Unidade Local de Saúde do Algarve, Faro, Portugal. She has broadened her clinical experience through short-term internships at the Lupus and Vasculitis Service at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and within the Rheumatology Department at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
She is an enthusiastic researcher with a particular interest in Vasculitis and Systemic Sclerosis.
Since 2021, she has served as an invited referee for ARP Rheumatology and has been the facilitator for the EMEUNET Peer review Programme Facilitator & First Review since 2025.
Margarida is also an active member of the EUSTAR Young Investigators Group and a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Maxime Melchior
Belgium
Maxime is a PhD fellow at the Université Libre de Bruxelles Centre for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), where he conducts fundamental and translational research on spondyloarthritis and associated diseases. His research aims to decipher the role of genetic risk factors in shaping T cell dysfunction in these conditions.
Maxime is the co-chair of the Belgian Society of Rheumatology’s Young Rheumatologists Working Group (NextGen Academy – SRBR/KBVR) and a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Clara Mistegaard
Denmark
Clara is a medical doctor and researcher at the Department of Rheumatology at Odense University Hospital, specialising in clinical and translational research on inflammatory rheumatic diseases, with a particular focus on axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). She holds a PhD centred on the role of the complement system in axSpA.
She is an active member of the Danish Society of Rheumatology, where she contributes to the development of national clinical guidelines for the management of axSpA and the medical treatment of rheumatoid diseases.
Clara is involved in the EMEUNET Social Media Subcommittee and is also a member of Y-GRAPPA.
Dr Cécile Philippoteaux
France
Cécile is a physician and clinical fellow in the Rheumatology Department at Lille University Hospital, France. Her clinical and research interests primarily focus on bone diseases, including secondary osteoporosis, rare and constitutional bone disorders, and the use of real-world data for outcomes research. She is currently pursuing a PhD in medical informatics and epidemiology. Her work leverages the French nationwide health claims database to study pharmaco-epidemiological and prognostic aspects of bone diseases, such as drug-induced osteoporosis, fracture risk prediction, and comorbidity profiles in rare skeletal disorders.
Cécile is an active member of the young division working group of the French Society of Rheumatology (SFR) and a new member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Myriam Reisch
Austria
Myriam is a physician researcher at the Medical University of Graz, where she is involved in clinical and translational research with a focus on ANCA-associated vasculitis and large vessel vasculitis. She is currently pursuing a PhD project investigating the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis.
She is an active member of the young division working group (JOEGR) and of the visibility working group of the Austrian Society of Rheumatology. She is also a member of the EMEUNET Visibility & Global Affairs Sub-Committee
Dr Marc Scherlinger
France
Marc is a rheumatologist and translational researcher committed to advancing the understanding of autoimmune disease pathogenesis, particularly systemic lupus. His work also focuses on translational and clinical research into intensive immunotherapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and T-cell engagers, in the context of autoimmune disorders.
He is a member of the French Society of Rheumatology and serves as vice-president of the Club for Innovating Immunotherapies in IMIDs (C3I).Additionally, Marc acts as the country liaison for France within EMEUNET and contributes to its Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Agata I. Schramm-Luc
Poland
Agata is an internist and rheumatologist. She is a lecturer (research/teaching) in the Department of Internal and Rural Medicine of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where she earned a PhD in medicine for research entitled “T cell proinflammatory cytokine production and clinical manifestations of inflammatory diseases.”
In her work, she combines clinical practice at the Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics with research in the Translational Medicine Laboratory. Her main scientific interest is the role of the immune system in hypertension in rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory spondyloarthropathies.
Agata is an active member of the Young Rheumatologists’ Sub-Committee of Polish Society of Rheumatology, a member of the Polish Society of Internal Medicine and a member of the EMEUNET Peer-Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Gagandeep Sukhija
United Kingdom/India
Gagandeep is a Rheumatology Trainee in London, UK, currently working at St George’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He holds postgraduate degrees in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and has an academic background from both India and the UK. His clinical interests include SLE, systemic vasculitis, Myositis & ILD in rheumatology and global disparities in rheumatology care.
He has a strong interest in education and quality improvement. Gagandeep is also the current South London Rheumatology Trainee representative. He is passionate about global health equity and community engagement.
He is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Alessandro Tomelleri
Italy
Alessandro is a consultant rheumatologist at San Raffaele Hospital and adjunct professor at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan. His research focuses on polymyalgia rheumatica, large vessel vasculitis, autoinflammatory diseases, and VEXAS syndrome. He is part of the ACR-EULAR classification criteria committee for VEXAS syndrome. He is involved in an OMERACT project to define an ultrasound-based monitoring score in Takayasu arteritis. In giant cell arteritis, he has contributed to several national and international studies and has led a translational project on the role of IL-6R polymorphisms as predictors of treatment response.
Alessandro is actively engaged in international collaborations through OMERACT and the GCA-PMR study group, and is currently a member of the EMEUNET Visibility & Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Nikolaos Vlachogiannis
Greece
Nikos is a postdoctoral researcher in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine resident at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His main clinical and research interests include systemic sclerosis, and specifically the pathogenetic mechanisms connecting vasculopathy / innate immunity with fibrosis.
Nikos is the EMEUNET country liaison for Greece and a new member of the social media Sub-Committee.
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Continuing EMEUNET Sub-Committee Members 2025-2026
Links to other EMEUNET Sub-Committee membership posts:
New EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Farewell to EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Dr Rym Abida
Tunisia, UK
Rym is a specialty doctor who graduated in Tunis, Tunisia, focusing on autoimmune rheumatic diseases and vasculitis. She is currently a clinical research fellow and a PhD student in the department of Ageing, Rheumatology and Regenerative Medicine at University College London and an honorary clinical fellow in the Rheumatology department at University College London Hospital.
Her research interests are mainly focused on systemic lupus erythematosus, trying to identify predictive markers of prolonged remission. She is also contributing to the ongoing lupus research trials in the department. Rym is the past president of the Tunisian Association of Young Internists and representative of Tunisia in the European Young Internists board.
Rym is a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee
Dr Guillermo Carvajal Alegria
France
Guillermo is a professor of rheumatology at the University of Tours and in the rheumatology department of the Tours University Hospital, France.
His research interest are polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and giant cell arteritis, administration of biopharmaceuticals and ultrasonography and guided procedures. He participated in clinical and translational research on PMR. He spent one year in Groningen, The Netherlands, to work on biomarkers in PMR.
He is part of the board of directors of the French Rheumatology Society and of steering committee of the French College of Teaching Rheumatologists.
He is a member of the EMEUNET Visibility & Global Affairs sub-committee.
Dr Milena Bond
Italy, Austria
Milena is a rheumatology consultant based in northern Italy and a PhD candidate at Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg (Austria).
Her research focuses on polymyalgia rheumatica and systemic vasculitis, and she participates in several international task forces dedicated to these topics, including EULAR and ACR/EULAR initiatives.
She is an active member of EUVAS and part of the Italian and Austrian Societies of Rheumatology.
She is a member of the EMEUNET Visibility and Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Deniz Bayraktar
Bulgaria, Türkiye
Denis is a physiotherapist by background and an associate professor at Izmir Kâtip Çelebi University in Turkey.
His major interest is studying the effects of different exercise approaches in childhood and adulthood rheumatic diseases. He is the president of the Association of HPR (Turkish) and the HPR representative of the Auto-Inflammatory Working Party in PReS. He is also appointed as an affiliate scientist at Arthritis Research Canada.
Denis is a member of the EMEUNET Peer Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Lisa Christ
Switzerland,Germany
Lisa is a physician and clinical scientist at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Inselspital, University Hospital, in Bern, Switzerland. Her research interests focus on vasculitis, specifically giant cell arteritis, and Sjögren’s disease. She conducted the GUSTO trial, a proof-of-concept study in giant cell arteritis. Lisa is a founding member of the Vasculitis Association Switzerland (VASAS) and in the scientific commission of the Swiss Clinical Quality Management in Rheumatic Diseases Foundation (SCQM).
She is a member of the EMEUNET Peer Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Claudia Cobilinschi
Romania
Claudia is a specialist in rheumatology working in the Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology in Sfânta Maria Clinical Hospital, Bucharest. She combines clinical activities with teaching as an assistant lecturer at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Her doctoral thesis was in the field of spondyloarthritis and immunogenicity. Claudia actively attends numerous international conferences and workshops, while being involved in research. Her latest interest is in body composition in patients with autoinflammatory diseases, being a member of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). She is also involved in the Romanian Society of Rheumatology (SRR), EUSTAR Young Investigator Group and Autoinflammatory Disease Alliance AIDA Network.
Claudia is a member of the Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Jelena Čolić
Serbia
Jelena is an internal medicine specialist and trainee in rheumatology at the Institute of Rheumatology in Belgrade. She is a teaching assistant at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade. In 2023, she defended her PhD thesis in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, focused on digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis.
Her primary interests include systemic sclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, haemostasis disturbance, microparticles, immunology and therapy strategies. Jelena is a member of the Serbian national rheumatology society (RAS), EUSTAR YIG member and PhD representative at the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade. She was several times Secretary of the organising committee and secretary of the Scientific Committee of the Annual Serbian Congress of Rheumatologists. She is a social media coordinator for both EUSTAR and RAS.
Jelena is the EMEUNET Country Liaison for Serbia and is a member of the Peer-Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Rositsa Dacheva
Bulgaria
Rositsa is a consultant rheumatologist. She graduated from the Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria in 2013. In 2020, she completed her rheumatology residency in the Department of Rheumatology in UMHAT “St. Ivan Rilski” in Sofia.
Her main interests include inflammatory arthritis, interstitial lung disease, systemic sclerosis and musculoskeletal ultrasound.
Rositsa is the Country Liaison for Bulgaria. She is a member of the Visibility and Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Bohdana Doskaliuk
Ukraine
Bohdana is an Associate Professor at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, Ukraine. Her PhD research focused on pulmonary involvement in systemic sclerosis and its potential correction. Her primary scientific interests lie in exploring the complex pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders, with a particular focus on understanding their underlying mechanisms and impacts. Bohdana actively contributes also as a reviewer and editor. In 2019 she received Publons Peer Review Award in Clinical Medicine.
Bohdana serves as an Associate Editor for Rheumatology International and is the Editorial Board member for Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease, Rheumatology Advances in Practice and BMC Rheumatology. She is also affiliated with the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and European Respiratory Society. Bohdana is a Country Liaison Sub-Committee member.
Dr Omar Dhrif
Tunisia, France
Omar is an internal medicine specialist from University Tunis El Manar, currently residing in Dijon, France.
His main clinical and research interests are focused on vasculitis, global access to health care and educational therapy. Omar is the past treasurer of the Tunisian Association of Young Internists, Co-Founder of the Francophonic Young Internists Group, member of the Research Committee of the Tunisian Society of Internal Medicine and American College of Rheumatology Social Media Ambassador.
Omar is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Sarah Dyball
UK
Sarah is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK. Her clinical and research interests include systemic lupus erythematosus and undifferentiated connective tissue disease.
She is interested in real-world data, clinical trial design and how molecular profiling may help determine response to therapy.
Sarah is a member of the EMEUNET Peer Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Mustafa EkiciTürkiye
Mustafa is a researcher and clinician who completed his internal medicine and rheumatology training at Hacettepe University.
His primary research focus areas encompass rheumatoid arthritis, interstitial lung disease and inflammatory myopathies. Mustafa is an active member of the Turkish Society for Rheumatology, the Turkish Society of Young Rheumatologists, and GRAPPA.
Mustafa is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Olivier Fakih
France
Olivier is a rheumatology fellow at the Department of Rheumatology of Besançon University Hospital in France.
His research interests include the epidemiology of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, in particular, mortality and comorbidities in spondyloarthritis. Olivier is a member of the French Society of Rheumatology and the society’s young rheumatologists section (REF).
He is a member of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Bayram Farisogullari
Turkey,UK
Bayram is a rheumatologist in Turkey and currently a clinical research fellow at University College London (UCL) in the UK.
His main clinical interests include inflammatory arthritis, particularly spondylarthritis (SpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), autoinflammatory diseases, and ultrasound and injection. Furthermore, his main research interests are remission and imaging in SpA, biologic treatment in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), imaging and fatigue in RMDs. Bayram is a researcher with Versus Arthritis (UK) to establish fatigue evaluation in RMDs.
Bayram is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee and EMEUNET Podcast Team.
Dr Roba Ghossan
France
Roba is a rheumatologist at the Department of Rheumatology of Cochin Hospital APHP in Paris, France.
Her main interests include musculoskeletal ultrasound and the epidemiology of inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Roba is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Giovanni Fulvio
Italy
Giovanni is currently a PhD student at the University of Pisa. His research is focused on salivary gland ultrasonography and the role of multi-modal imaging techniques in rheumatology, particularly in the diagnosis and management of Sjögren’s syndrome.
He completed his fellowship at the Rheumatology Unit, University of Pisa, where he also serves as a tutor in salivary gland ultrasonography. Giovanni is actively involved in professional societies, being a member of the Società Italiana di Reumatologia, European Reference Network on Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ERN ReCONNET) and of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Alejandro Gómez-Gomez
Spain
Alejandro is a rheumatologist at Vall d’Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. His current clinical and research activities are primarily focused on Sjögren’s Disease and the application of –omic technologies in immunomediated diseases. Another area of interest is ocular inflammation, which was also the focus of his thesis on the use of immunomodulatory therapy in non-infectious uveitis.
He has served as a board member in the Society of Rheumatology of the Community of Madrid and as one of the coordinators of the Crystal-Induced Arthritis Study Group within the Spanish Society of Rheumatology.
He was a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee from 2023 to 2024, and since 2024 he has been part of the Visibility & Global Affairs Sub-Committee.Dr Rebecca Hasseli
Germany
Rebecca is a rheumatologist and deputy head of the Section of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at University Hospital Münster, Germany. She is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Münster and the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany. She initiated and coordinated the German COVID-19 registry for patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (www.COVID19-Rheuma.de).
In addition to COVID-19, her main interests include infectious diseases associated with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, vaccinations, inflammatory arthritides, systemic sclerosis and neuropathies in inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Rebecca is a member of the German Society of Rheumatology (DGRh) and the German Society of Internal Medicine (DGIM), a board member of the German Myositis Network (Myositis-Netz e.V.) and a lecturer in capillaroscopy.
She is the EMEUNET Country Liaison for Germany and a member of the Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Claudia Iannone
Italy
Claudia is a rheumatology resident at Milan University, carrying out her research at Gaetano-Pini Hospital in Milan, Italy.
Her research interests are focused systemic sclerosis, interstitial lung disease in rheumatic diseases and vasculitis. She is a member of the Italian Society of Rheumatology, the EULAR lung study group and EUSTAR YIG.
Claudia is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Ufuk Ilgen
Turkey
Ufuk is a rheumatologist and translational researcher. Currently, he is studying at Heidelberg University, Germany. His research interests are autoimmunity and endothelial cell biology. He is also interested in biostatistics. He was the EMEUNET Country Liaison (CL) for Turkey from 2019 to 2024 and is currently a member of the EMEUNET CL Sub-Committee. He is also a member of the Turkish Society for Rheumatology and one of the co-founders of the Turkish Society for Rheumatology-Young.
Dr Shalaleh Karkon
Canada,Ireland
Shalaleh is a researcher at Trinity College Dublin. She is a psychologist by training; however, she is currently in the occupational therapy department focusing on non-pharmacological interventions and self-management strategies for individuals with inflammatory arthritis.
Her major interests include cognitive dysfunction in inflammatory arthritides, self-movement and work interventions, as well as patient participation and patient–health care provider discussions. She is currently a member of the Irish Psychological Association (PSI), the Association of Occupational Therapists Ireland (AOTI), and as part of her role she sits in the Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disorders Advisory Group, Mental Health Advisory Group and AOTI conference planning committee.
Shalaleh is a member of EMEUNET Peer Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Jacob Koopman
The Netherlands
Jacob is a medical specialist in internal medicine and clinical immunology, working at Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam.
In his clinical work and research, he focuses on systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome, particularly the prediction of these diseases before they become overt. He cares for patients with any other systemic immunological disease. He is a member of the Dutch Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and of EULAR. He is an editor for the Dutch Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
He is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Victoria Konzett
Austria
Victoria is a physician researcher and PhD fellow at the Division of Rheumatology of the Medical University of Vienna, focusing mainly on clinical and translational research in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis (RA, PsA). She is currently studying for a PhD in medical informatics and statistics, with the aim of applying tools of conventional statistics and modern data science to different fields of outcomes research and epidemiology in RA and PsA research. In a translational research project, she also works on building a PsA at-risk cohort to forward understanding of factors and mechanisms that drive the transition from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis.
Victoria is an active member of the young division working group of the Austrian Society of Rheumatology (JOEGR), and is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Piotr Kuszmiersz
Poland
Piotr is a PhD in Medical Sciences and an internal medicine specialist, currently undertaking his rheumatology training at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, Poland.
His research interests focus on patient-reported outcome measures, epidemiology and the application of AI in medicine. Clinically, he specialises in inflammatory arthritis, systemic sclerosis and rare diseases such as idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD). Piotr is actively involved in research, including the Polnor Rheuma Research Grant working group.
Piotr is a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Saverio La Bella
Italy
Saverio is a resident in Pediatric Rheumatology at the IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini in Genoa, Italy. His research focuses on autoinflammatory diseases, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and the application of artificial intelligence and digital tools, such as social media as educational platforms, in pediatric rheumatology.
He is an active member of the JIR autoinflammatory disease working group and the young working group of the Italian Society of Pediatric Rheumatology (ReumaPed), Italian representative in the EMERGE group of the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS), and a member of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Stephanie Ling
UK
Steph is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and rheumatology consultant in Manchester, UK. Her research interests include analysis of multi-omics methods to explore disease outcomes in people with rheumatoid arthritis. She is a member of the British Society for Rheumatology. She is currently an author for the 19th EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases and is a Trusted Reviewer for Arthritis Research and Therapy journal. Steph is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter sub-committee.
Dr Clementina López-Medina
Spain
Clementina is a rheumatologist at the Department of Rheumatology of the University Hospital Reina Sofía in Córdoba, and a post-doctoral researcher at the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba (IMIBIC), Spain. In 2018, she finished her PhD on comorbidities in spondyloarthritis, and then she spent 3 years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Cochin Hospital in Paris, France.
Her major interests include epidemiology and real-world data in spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Clementina is a member of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER), Spanish group of interest in spondyloarthritis (GRESSER) and a full member of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS).
Clementina is a member of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Miranda van Lunteren
The Netherlands
Miranda is a post-doctoral clinical researcher and clinical trial coordinator at Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden. In 2020 she obtained her PhD on the burden of early axial spondyloarthritis. Her major research interest is the early stages of axial spondyloarthritis, with a focus on observational studies, imaging and patient-reported outcomes. She has an interest in methodology and clinical trials. Since the start of her PhD, Miranda contributes to the SPACE and the DESIR cohort, both cohorts with patients in an early stage of axSpA. She is currently the study coordinator of the ASAS CLASSIC study, an international initiative to reevaluate the ASAS classification criteria for axSpA. Miranda is an active member of the Y-ASAS Website Subgroup and of the EMEUNET Social Media Sub-Committee.
Dr Cristina Macía-Villa
Spain
Cristina is a clinical rheumatologist working at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital (Madrid, Spain), in charge of the psoriatic arthritis clinic. Her research interests are focused on psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis. She is a member of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology and GRAPPA.
Cristina is a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Renske Meijer
The Netherlands
Renske is a consultant rheumatologist at the rheumatology department of Haaglanden Medical Center, the Hague. Aside from working as a consultant, she is engaged in updating the Dutch curriculum for rheumatology trainees. She has a special interest in performing and teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound. This year, she passed the EULAR ultrasound trainers course in TTT in rheumatology, ready to continue teaching and organising courses.
Renske is part of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Fernando Montero
Paraguay
Fernando is a physician at the Division of Rheumatology, Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. His work primarily focuses on clinical and translational research in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, with particular emphasis on rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
He currently oversees the monographic consultation for interstitial lung disease, where he is actively involved in both clinical care and research.
Dr. Montero is a member of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology’s special interest group for early-career professionals (JOVREUM), as well as a member of the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Wan Lin Ng
Ireland
Wan Lin is a final-year rheumatology trainee in Ireland. She is a recipient of the Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) Doctor of Medicine (MD) scholarship from RCSI and the Irish Society for Rheumatology (ISR) Rheumatology Patient Initiative Fund. Her clinical interests include connective tissue disease and musculoskeletal ultrasound. Wan Lin is the lead representative for rheumatology trainees in Ireland, a board member of the Irish Society for Rheumatology and a Licentiate member of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland.
Wan Lin is part of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Magda OsipyanArmenia
Magda is a clinician at Vardanants Medical Centre and an Associate Professor at Yerevan State Medical University.
Her research interests are connected mainly with systemic lupus erythematosus, Behçet’s disease and familial Mediterranean fever. She is fond of organising conferences and training sessions and is currently working on establishing a patient educational school for rheumatology patients in Armenia.
Magda is the secretary of the Armenian rheumatological association and a member of the EMEUNET Visibility & Global Affairs Sub-Committee.
Dr Alexandros Panagiotopoulos
Greece
Alex is a rheumatology resident at the First Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine at Laiko Hospital, part of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
His primary clinical interests include systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic vasculitides. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD, with his research focusing on the long-term outcomes of lupus nephritis.
Additionally, Alex is an active member of the Greek Society of Rheumatology and serves on the EMEUNET Country Liaison Sub-Committee.
Dr Antony Psarras
United Kingdom
Antony is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Rheumatology at the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals.
His research interest lies in immune regulation of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). He is currently focusing on high-dimensional single cell multiomic approaches to investigate the immunometabolic reprogramming in preclinical autoimmunity and SLE.
Antony is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Valentina Pucino
Italy,UK
Valentina is Assistant Professor in ImmunoRheumatology at the University of Pisa and honorary Fellow at the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham. After her clinical training in Italy, she obtained her PhD at Queen Mary University London. In 2016 She obtained independent fundings from Arthritis Research UK (Clinical Research Fellowship) to pursue her research in the field of immunometabolism and inflammation at the William Harvey Research Institute (WHRI), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). In 2019, she joined the Department of Rheumatology in Birmingham and in 2022 she moved to the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology (University of Oxford). From 2024 she holds a tenure track position at University of Pisa (Italy). Her research focuses on investigating immunometabolic pathways regulating immune responses in health and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders using bioinformatic tools and organoid cultures alongside clinical activity. She is Associate Editor for Frontiers Immunology and Inflammation (Springer-Nature). She published more than 40 peer review papers in high impact factor journals in the field of immunology, metabolism and rheumatology. Valentina is a member of the Italian and British Society of Immunology, Italian and British Society of Rheumatology, European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), and she is an EMEUNET (Emerging EULAR Rheumatology Network) sub-committee member (currently Visibility & Global Affairs, previously Social Media).
Dr Ana Isabel Rebollo Giménez
Spain
Ana is interested in paediatric rheumatology . She completed her two-year specialist training at a European Centre of Excellence in paediatric rheumatology, the Istituto Giannina Gaslini. She currently works at Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid. She is particularly focused on research in the fields of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis and paediatric musculoskeletal ultrasound. Ana is the coordinator of ERNA-SER (Working Group on Rheumatic Diseases of Children and Adolescents) of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology, an active member of EMERGE and a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Victoria Sadovici-BobeicaMoldova
Victoria is currently a rheumatologist at the Medpark International Hospital and Assistant Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine of the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu”, both in Moldova. She holds a PhD degree in rheumatology, her research topic being cutaneous involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Her research interests are mainly focused on systemic diseases. She has been a member of the Board of the Doctoral School of the Republic of Moldova since 2019 and she is the EMEUNET Country Liaison for the Republic of Moldova.
Victoria is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter Sub-Committee.
Dr Jan Schirmer
Germany
Jan is a rheumatologist and advanced clinician scientist, carrying out his research at the Department of Rheumatology at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
His major interests include large vessel and ANCA-associated vasculitis, as well as hypereosinophilia. He is the lead author of the German national guideline for the management of large vessel vasculitis. Jan co-authored the 2022 update of the EULAR guidelines for ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) as well as the most recent German AAV national guideline.
Jan is a member of the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) and the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM). He is part of EMEUNET’s Peer-Mentoring Sub-Committee.
Dr Rudi Shukla
UK
Rudi is a rheumatology consultant in Manchester, UK. His PhD at the University of Manchester focused on multidimensional analysis of early rheumatoid arthritis phenotypes and cardiovascular disease with a focus on clinical, ultrasound measures and -omics techniques.
His major interests include early and refractory inflammatory arthritis, ultrasound, synovial biopsies and cardiovascular disease across immune-mediated inflammatory conditions. Rudi is also a member of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) and locally has been the joint secretary of the Manchester Rheumatology Afternoon, which is a highly popular monthly educational rheumatology meeting for the North West of England.
He is a member of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
Dr Yvonne Tan
United Kingdom
Yvonne is a Clinical Research Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. She is undertaking her rheumatology and general internal medicine training in the North West Health Education England Deanery. She has a keen interest in MSK ultrasonography and recently completed the EULAR accredited intermediate training course. Her research is focused on predicting treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis using proteomics. She is a member of the British Society for Rheumatology and the associate advisor of the North West region at the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh. Yvonne is a member of the EMEUNET Education sub-committee.
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Farewell to EMEUNET Committee and Sub-Committee members 2025
Links to other EMEUNET Sub-Committee membership posts:
New EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
Continuing EMEUNET Sub-Committee members
FAREWELL TO EMEUNET COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2024- 2025
FAREWELL TO EMEUNET SUB-COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2024- 2025
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Get to know the EMEUNET Chair Diego Benavent
Could you tell us about your professional background?
I trained in rheumatology in Madrid and now work in Barcelona. I split my time between clinics and research as a rheumatologist at Bellvitge University Hospital and as an associate professor at the University of Barcelona. My main interests are axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and digital health, collaborating in projects that aim to bring technology closer to daily practice, from natural language processing of health records to electronic patient-reported outcomes. I have been fortunate to learn from mentors and colleagues across Europe, and those connections continue to shape how I work and how I think about collaboration.
How did you start at EMEUNET?
After becoming a member, I started my active collaboration at EMEUNET in 2017 as Spain’s Country Liaison. I had more enthusiasm than certainty… but soon learned that growth here is collective and supported by peers. From day one, colleagues showed me that motivation counts as much as a CV when contributing to initiatives. Presenting EMEUNET at national meetings brought me closer to the activities and to the people who make them happen. Since then, I have seen late-evening ideas become sessions at the EULAR Congress, casual conversations turn into international collaborations, and bridges built with other committees to organise multidisciplinary meetings. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.
As Committee Chair, what is your vision of EMEUNET?
My vision is for EMEUNET to remain a supportive, inclusive, and effective community; an open door with clear processes where everyone can learn and contribute.
Education should be a pillar, with practical and efficient initiatives, such as targeted webinars, peer-review mentoring, and concise but informative newsletters. We are entering a period of rapid change as artificial intelligence transforms clinics and research. This will also shape EMEUNET’s work, providing the opportunity to lead the transition by combining curiosity and motivation with rigor. Research will be more and more multicentric, so enabling projects across countries is a key point for providing value. EMEUNET can be a platform where ideas become collaborative studies with impact. This will not happen in isolation: we need to work closely with other EULAR Communities and build international partnerships, because the challenges ahead are larger than any single team.
Why should young rheumatologists and researchers join the EMEUNET community?
Progress in our field is built on small, steady steps. Here you meet peers who energise you, find mentors who give practical feedback, and learn skills that turn effort into growth. You also get real chances to contribute and improve, such as writing, teaching, organising, and leading, so that what you learn is immediately put to work.This mindset has a name: kaizen. This is a discipline of constant, incremental improvement; small steps, repeated with intention, guided by feedback. EMEUNET fits this mindset. It is how we try to collaborate in our initiatives: plan, test, learn, adjust. In practice, a plan for Country Liaisons becomes a complete toolkit, a draft evolves into a process-improving manuscript, a five-minute episode expands into a podcast series, and a first collaboration at EULAR becomes RheumaVision; all of these initiatives become projects with real impact in the rheumatology community.
If you are a young rheumatologist or researcher new to EMEUNET, start by joining the mailing list on our website, follow us on all social media platforms to stay up to date with calls and events, and share your ideas. When you are ready, apply to the Subcommittee. You will learn by doing, work with motivated colleagues, and help turn projects into practice. Sometimes one well-timed idea, acted on and refined, is enough to start something meaningful. That is how EMEUNET began 15 years ago.
Diego Benavent, EMEUNET chair
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EMEUNET activities during EULAR 2025
Dear EMEUNET Community,
Here, we present all EMEUNET activities that took place in Barcelona during EULAR 2025. You will read all the highlights and find out how you can apply to those requiring registration. We hope you enjoyed participating in them, and we look forward to seeing you again in London for EULAR 2026. For those of you who are not familiar with EMEUNET, subscribe to EMEUNEWS and follow us on all social media channels to keep up-to-date with all EMEUNET opportunities!
Anastasia, Cristiana, Diego, Krystel, Mert, Pierre Antoine, Sytske Anne, Tania, Tue
On behalf of the EMEUNET committee
- EMEUNET Booth
At least one EMEUNET sub-committee member covers the EMEUNET Booth during every EULAR conference. If you want to learn more about EMEUNET, please join us for a friendly discussion at the EMEUNET Booth.
Cristiana Sieiro Santos, EMEUNET Country Liaisons sub-committee chair, and Krystel Aouad, EMEUNET Visibility and Global Affairs chair, discuss the EMEUNET activities with EULAR 2025 participants and EMEUNET sub-committee members at the EMEUNET Booth in Barcelona.
2. EMEUNET “Do Not Miss” and “Highlights” issues
For every EULAR and ACR conference, the Newsletter sub-committee publishes the “Do Not Miss” issue before the conference with abstracts you do not want to miss. The “Highlights” issue covers the most exciting and impactful posters and presentations that were presented, after the conference. EMEUNET sub-committee, HPR and PARE members are invited to contribute to the issues. Subscribe to EMEUNEWS to receive all the conference-related issues directly to your email inbox!
On the left, the email introducing the EULAR 2025 Do Not Miss issue and on the right, the abstracts about rheumatoid arthritis for the same issue selected by Stephanie Ling, EMEUNET Newsletter sub-committee member.
3. EMEUNET Networking event
The EMEUNET Visibility and Global Affairs sub-committee organises a networking activity for EMEUNET sub-committee members at every EULAR and ACR conference. This event is a great opportunity for all sub-committee members to get to know each other better. If you are not a sub-committee member, this is one more reason to apply in the next round!
EMEUNET sub-committee members enjoying an unforgettable sunset cruise in Barcelona during EULAR 2025.
4. EMEUNET Meets PARE Speed Dating
The value of patient expert involvement early in the research process is increasingly recognised. During the EULAR congress, EMEUNET and PARE members (EULAR’s patient organisation) had the opportunity to brainstorm together on opportunities and challenges on a diversity of topics. Lifestyle, diet, wellness, AI, mental health, patient partners and research, shared decision making and medication adherence were covered this year.
EMEUNET and PARE members during the Speed Dating session at EULAR 2025.
5. EMEUNET presents
During every EULAR conference, there are dedicated EMEUNET sessions which are tailored for early career researchers and young rheumatologists, but are also open to everyone attending the conference. EMEUNET sub-committee members propose the sessions, and if they get accepted, they are asked to chair the session.
On the left, you can find all EMEUNET sessions during EULAR 2025 and on the right, Diego Benavent, EMEUNET chair-elect, is talking about AI in the first EMEUNET session, which is chaired by Claudia Cobilinschi, EMEUNET sub-committee member, and Anastasia Madenidou, EMEUNET Newsletter chair.
6. EULAR-ACR-APLAR exchange programme
The EULAR-ACR-APLAR exchange programme aims to promote the international exchange of clinical and research skills, expertise, and knowledge within rheumatology. At every EULAR conference, the EMEUNET Education sub-committee organises the two-day event in collaboration with the local host. The eligibility criteria and application process are thoroughly advertised through all EMEUNET communication channels.
All participants during the EULAR-ACR-APLAR exchange programme activities in Barcelona.
7. EMEUNET Mentor-Mentee meeting
The EMEUNET Peer Mentoring sub-committee organises, for every EULAR and ACR conference, a Mentor-Mentee meeting. This is a unique opportunity for young rheumatologists and researchers to get inspired and receive advice from eminent rheumatology researchers. You need to register before the conference, and like all our activities, the registration process is advertised through all EMEUNET communication channels.
On the left, you can see the two Mentor-Mentee sessions organised at EULAR 2025 and on the right, the discussions during the second Mentor-Mentee meeting.
8. EMEUNET Research Speed Dating
The EMEUNET Social Media sub-committee organises the EMEUNET Research Speed-Dating event during every EULAR conference. In this structured networking activity, young rheumatologists and researchers participate in a series of brief conversations to explore potential research collaborations. In recent years, the event has resulted in multiple successful collaborations and we can’t wait for the output of this year’s edition!
Discussions among participants during the EMEUNET Research Speed Dating at EULAR 2025.
9. Rheumavision
The RheumaVision, Rheumatology Knowledge Transfer contest, took place for the first time at EULAR 2025, an initiative originally conceived by Tue Kragstrup, EMEUNET Chair. RheumaVision is a great opportunity for young EMEUNET members to showcase their creativity, communication skills, and passion for rheumatology. Six outstanding finalists showed their talent and enthusiasm for rheumatology research in front of a live audience. You can also read more about Rheumavision here and listen to the dedicated EMEUNET podcast. Please stay tuned for the second edition during EULAR 2026!
On the left, you can see the enthusiasm of attendees during the RheumaVision, and on the right, the RheumaVision winners (upper photo) and presenters (lower photo).