Australia
A. Richard Kitching
Professor
Medicine Monash Health
Centre for Inflammatory Disease
Department of Medicine
Monash University, Australia
Dr. Kitching is a nephrologist physician-scientist who heads a group working on autoimmune vasculitis, with a particular interest on how the immune system injures the kidney. His clinical practice in nephrology and vasculitis helps define important questions in the causes of immune kidney disease and how they can be better treated. His research focuses on autoimmune vasculitis, conditions that often cause rapidly progressive inflammatory kidney disease (rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis). By understanding the involvement of leukocytes (white blood cells) in glomerulonephritis, an important cause of kidney disease, we will be able to develop and use more targeted and effective treatments.
Canada
Dr. Stephanie Garner
Stephanie Garner, MD, MSc, FRCPC, is a physician, vasculitis fellow and assistant professor of rheumatology at McMaster University. She is focused on acquiring an expertise in the diagnosis and management of vasculitis, with a special interest in developing cohorts of vasculitis patients in Canada and creating a collaborative subspecialist clinic as a new model of care for vasculitis patients. As an academic rheumatologist, her objective is to implement better patient care into the curriculum of future rheumatologists. She’s located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
France
Laurent Arnaud, MD, PhD
Professor
Department of Rheumatology
French National Reference Center for Rare Auto-immune Diseases
University Hospitals of Strasbourg, France
Dr. Arnaud’s main research interests focus around the development and systematic evaluation of biological and immunomodulatory treatments for systemic diseases, with particular interest in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome. With this team, he has also contributed to more than 150 research projects in the field of other rare diseases such as giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, relapsing polychondritis, and systemic capillary leak syndrome.
Dr. Divi Cornec
Divi Cornec, MD, PhD, is a physician, researcher and professor of rheumatology at Brest University Hospital. His areas of expertise are Sjögren’s syndrome and ANCA-associated vasculitis, with a special interest in B-cell immunology, the stratification of systemic autoimmune diseases and translational research focused on predicting the effects of immunotherapies. His aim is to help define clinically-relevant endpoints that guide clinical trials. He’s located in Brest, Brittany, France.
Netherlands
Elisabeth Brouwer, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. Brouwer is a rheumatologist and internist with a degree in immunology. Her thesis was on the pathogenic potential of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in AAV. She now focuses on giant cell arteritis/large-vessel vasculitis and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). She initiated a longitudinal cohort study including clinical data collection and biobanking in order to address those issues. Internationally, Dr. Brouwer participates in the Outcome Measure for Large Vessel Vasculitis and PMR Delphi Survey and the OMERACT PMR group.
Peter Heeringa, PhD
Professor
Faculty of Medical Sciences
Department of Pathology and Medical Biology
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. Heeringa is a renal immunologist with extensive expertise in basic vasculitis research. He has considerable expertise in immunology and is internationally known for his work on animal models for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. His current research focuses on the role of aging and immune regulation in the pathogenesis of vasculitis.
Niels van der Geest, MD, PhD
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
Department of Medicine
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. van der Geest’s research involves investigating the impact of aging on the human immune system. His work has focused on T and B cell aging, and its implications for the development of autoimmune diseases in the elderly. Through his research he has identified novel mechanisms by which already existing naïve T cells are maintained on to high age and found evidence that the preservation of these cells might be a risk factor for development of late onset autoimmune diseases. He has also found that regulatory T cells increase during healthy aging, but decrease in older patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Overall, Dr. van der Geest’s has provided novel insights into successful and pathological immune aging in humans.
Bram Rutgers, MD, PhD
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. Rutgers is an internist trained in immunology and is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases. His research interests are focused on anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis in AAV. Better understanding of the development of this autoimmune process and its relapses will aid in the development of better treatment options for patients with AAV. Dr. Rutgers is also involved in national and international efforts to improve the treatment of patients with AAV.
Maria Sandovici, MD, PhD
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. Sandovici is a rheumatologist and researcher whose top areas of expertise are temporal arteritis, giant cell arteritis, vasculitis and juvenile temporal arteritis. Her clinical research consists of authoring 37 peer-reviewed articles in the past 15 years.
Yannick van Sleen, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
University Medical Center Groningen
University of Groningen, Netherlands
Dr. van Sleen’s top areas of expertise are giant cell arteritis, temporal arteritis, rhizomelic pseudopolyarthritis, and polymyalgia rheumatica. His clinical research consists of co-authoring 10 peer- reviewed articles in the past 15 years. Current project: Vaccines and InfecTious diseases in the Ageing population (VITAL).
Sweden
Johanna Dahlqvist, MD, PhD
Department of Genetics and Pathology
Unit of Rheumatology
Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden
As a physician scientist, Dr. Dahlqvist combines patient-centered work with basic and clinical research. The scope of her research comprises investigation of the basic mechanisms behind autoimmunity, with a special focus on the rare disorders anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitides, as well as clinical implications of these diseases in terms of organ damage, comorbidities and diagnostic tools.
United States
Dr. Eric Gapud
Eric Gapud, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist and a medical officer. His area of expertise is rheumatology with a sub-specialty in vasculitis. His special interests include mechanisms and patient outcomes for those with ANCA-associated vasculitis, giant cell arteritis, Behcet’s disease and Takayasu’s arteritis. His research strives to pioneer better treatment practices, patient care and earlier diagnosis. He’s located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Sebastian Sattui
Sebastian Sattui, MD, MS, is a physician, researcher and vasculitis fellow. He is currently developing an expertise in the management of vasculitis and has special interests in the impact of frailty in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis and assessing mitochondrial DNA as an inflammation marker in patients with ANCA vasculitis. His goal is to achieve prompter treatments and better quality of life for vasculitis patients. He’s located in New York City.
