Rheumatology

Rheumatology (Bloomsbury)

We explore diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), antiphospholipid syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. These are characterised by systemic or localised chronic inflammation, potentially leading to irreversible damage. Our work also encompasses the study of pathogenic B cells in juvenile and adolescent rheumatic disease, autoantibodies, and how the role of sex/gender and metabolic / cardiovascular risk impact upon disease severity and progression. We are identified as a Lupus Centre of Excellence by Lupus UK, the main SLE patients' charity, and as a Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology by Versus Arthritis, the largest rheumatology charity in the UK.

Rheumatology (Bloomsbury)

Rheumatology (Royal Free)

We explore diseases such as scleroderma and organ-based manifestations such as blood vessel disease, lung fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. These are characterised by inflammation, tissue damage and remodelling or excessive repair, often leading to destruction and degeneration of the target organ and replacement with scar or fibrotic tissue. We are identified as a national centre of excellence for the study and management of Scleroderma. We link to one of eight National Referral Centres for pulmonary hypertension and have established an international reputation in the subspecialty field of connective tissue disease associated pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Rheumatology (Royal Free)

FLARRE Consortium

The FLARRE Consortium unites basic, biomedical and clinical scientists from across UCL with industrial and international collaborators. Our aim is to highlight research in inflammation, tissue remodelling, scarring and fibrosis, to develop a UCL cluster of expertise and research excellence. Through investigation, invention and collaboration with industry, we aim to increase the understanding of these diseases and translate our findings into patient benefit.

FLARRE Consortium

Key contacts

Recent publications

1. Oppong AE, Coelewij L, Robertson G, Martin-Gutierrez L ... Jury EC (2024). Blood metabolomic and transcriptomic signatures stratify patient subgroups in multiple sclerosis according to disease severity. iScience. 2024 Feb 15;27(3): 109225.
2. Cope A, Jasenecova M, Vasconcelos JC, Filer A ... Ciurtin C, et al (2024). Abatacept in individuals at high risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised, multi-centre, placebo-controlled phase 2B interception trial. The Lancet.
3. Papaioannou I, Dritsoula A, Kang P, Baliga RS, Trinder SL, Cook E, Shiwen X, Hobbs AJ, Denton CP, Abraham DJ, Ponticos M (2024). NKX2-5 regulates vessel remodeling in scleroderma-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. JCI Insight. 2024 Apr 23;9(10): e164191.
4. Abraham D, Lescoat A, Stratton R (2024). Emerging diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis. Mol Aspects Med. 2024 Apr;96: 101252.
5. Taylor PC, Askari A, Choy E, Ehrenstein MR, Else S, Nisar MK. Approaches to optimising access to NICE-approved biologic anti-TNFs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis with moderately active disease (2023). BMC Med. 2023 Feb 14;21(1): 55.
6. Sandhu HK, Booth K ... Rahman A, et al (2023). Reducing Opioid Use for Chronic Pain With a Group-Based Intervention: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 329 (20) 1745-1756.
7. Clark KEN, Xu S, Attah M, Ong VH, Buckley CD, Denton CP (2023). Single-cell analysis reveals key differences between early-stage and late-stage systemic sclerosis skin across autoantibody subgroups. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023 Dec;82(12): 1568-1579.
8. Leask A, Naik A, Stratton RJ (2023). Back to the future: targeting the extracellular matrix to treat systemic sclerosis. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2023 Nov;19(11): 713-723.
9. Chitturi P, Xu S, Ahmed Abdi B, Nguyen J, Carter DE, Sinha S, Arora R, Biernaskie J, Stratton RJ, Leask A (2023). Tripterygium wilfordii derivative celastrol, a YAP inhibitor, has antifibrotic effects in systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023 Sep;82(9): 1191-1204.
10. Shipa M, Santos LR, Nguyen DX ... Isenberg DA, Gordon C, Ehrenstein MR (2022). Identification of biomarkers to stratify response to B-cell-targeted therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus: an exploratory analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Rheumatol. 2022 Nov 28;5(1): e24-e35.