Centre for Rheumatology & Bloomsbury Rheumatology Unit

Research Groups

Dr Jo Cambridge

  Her group focuses its interests on B cell depletion (an idea which they introduced (with the now retired Professor Jo Edwards) approximately 10 years ago for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis), exploring more precisely how the technique works and trying to explain the marked variation in response between different patients. She has a strong clinical collaboration with Dr Maria Leandro.

Professor Mike Ehrenstein

  Professor Ehrenstein leads a research group investigating the immunoregulation of autoimmune rheumatic disease and is particularly interested in how novel therapies modulate the autoimmune response in the context of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).  The use of novel biologic therapies represents an important tool to understand the aberrant immune responses found in patients with autoimmunity.  In this context, his research group has been studying the phenotype, functional and molecular characteristics of regulatory T cells in patients with RA and SLE before and after therapy.  He has also been focusing on the pathogenic and regulatory properties of B cells in patients with SLE as well as investigating the tolerogenic nature of secreted IgM.

Professor Rodney Grahame

Hypermobility Professor Grahame is one of the world's leaders in hypermobility syndrome focusing on its range of clinical diversity, aetio pathogenesis and improving the management of the condition.

Professor David Isenberg

Butterfly Professor Isenberg has a long standing interest in the structure, function, origin and pathogenecity of anti-DNA antibodies and antiphospholipid antibodies.  Professor Isenberg has a great interest in the establishment of "tools" used to assess patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Myositis, and Sjogren's Syndrome.  He undertakes long term observational studies of these conditions and has run many trials of biological therapies for patients who have them.  In 2010 he was the first north American to be awarded the Hess Prize for outstanding contribution to the study of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Dr Elizabeth Jury

  Dr Jury's interests focus on abnormalities in signaling within both T and B lymphocytes, in particularly within the area of the cell known as the lipid raft.  She too focuses on abnormalities in the context of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Claudia Mauri

  Professor Claudia Mauri's main interest is the identification, functional analysis and the genetical characterization of regulatory B cells. Her complementary interest includes the understanding of the cause of the loss of regulation of immune responses (regulatory B and T cells), which may be the cause of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). She is the postgraduate tutor for inflammation in the Division of Medicine and the course organiser for Immunology in Health and Disease.  To view video please follow this link

Professor Anisur Rahman / Dr Ian Giles / Dr John Ioannou

APS This group focuses on the structure, function, origin and pathogenic consequences of the antiphospholipid antibodies.  These antibodies are linked to a predisposition to arterial and venous clotting and an increase in the risk of pregnancy losses - the clinical condition known as the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.  Theyare working on understanding at a cellular level how these antibodies cause clinical effects and on the development of a novel therapeutic agent.