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Centre for Rheumatology and Bloomsbury Rheumatology

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Research

The centre undertakes clinical and basic research to increase our understanding of the cause of musculoskeletal diseases and improve their management.

As well as seeing around 3,000 new patients and 15,000 follow ups annually, the centre undertakes an enormous amount of clinical and basic research aimed at increasing our understanding of the cause of musculoskeletal diseases and improving their management.

The research component of the centre is based in laboratories part funded by the Arthritis Research UK (ARUK) in the Rayne Building (University Street). 

Our laboratory based research focuses on the structure, function, origin and pathogenic consequences of autoantibodies; B and T cell regulation, lipid rafts and the molecular effects of statins. 

We hold an Oliver Bird PhD programme grant from the Nuffield Foundation, two program grants from the ARUK, several research fellowships (ARUK and Welcome Trust funded) and many projects grants.   Its success can be judged by our total grant income being in excess of £9,000,000 in the past four years, and outside of its institutes, is the largest single centre beneficiary of ARUK funds in the UK (all achieved through competitive awards).

Prof 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.

Prof 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.

Prof David Isenberg

 

 

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.

APS Group

 

 

Professor Anisur Rahman / Professor Ian Giles 

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. 

They are working on understanding at a cellular level how these antibodies cause clinical effects and on the development of a novel therapeutic agent.