06 December 2023
Heberden Round: Dr Phillip Helliwell
Dr Helliwell is Professor of Clinical Rheumatology at the University of Leeds and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Dr Helliwell qualified in Oxford in 1972 and worked initially in London before returning to work in his native Yorkshire to work at the Leeds General Infirmary. After a period working in Australia and New Zealand, he returned in 1985 to Leeds to re-join Prof Verna Wright and to work on psoriatic arthritis and biomechanics.
He is a member of ASAS (Assessment of Spondyloarthropathy Society) and co-founder and past president of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). Taking the lead in its establishment and direction, the CASPAR study for the classification of psoriatic arthritis was initiated and guided by him, and he has worked with GRAPPA in developing single and composite outcome measures in psoriatic arthritis, completing the first treat-to-target strategy study (TICOPA) in early psoriatic arthritis.
As a co-founder of the Bradford (University) Diploma in Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine, he played a pivotal role in its establishment, and actively contributed as a member of the Bradford and Airedale Musculoskeletal Alliance.
He was also a co-founder of the Leeds foot and ankle studies group, which extensively published research on foot and ankle problems related to inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis. Additionally, he has contributed to several guidelines on the management of foot and ankle problems in the UK and has published over 400 peer-reviewed papers.
Barbara Ansell Address: Dr Madeleine Rooney
Dr Rooney has 34 years of experience as a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatologist. Her research interests include predictors of outcomes in JIA, bone health in JIA, and Methotrexate delivery. However, her passion for the last 20 years has been the use of ultrasound in JIA. Belfast was an early adopter of this modality.
"We have extensive experience using ultrasound on our outpatients; day wards and inpatient facilities. It is of major value in the management of our children and young people and parents find it very elucidating and comforting”.
Droitwich Lecture: Hilary McKee
Hilary McKee is a Consultant Pharmacist at the Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland.
With a long-standing career in rheumatology, she has been instrumental in the development of pharmacist-led review clinics, and currently runs four clinics each week, seeing around 1,200 reviews each year. She also started the first pharmacist-led gout clinic which now has been replicated in several centres.
As a co-founder and Clinical lead of Rheumatology Pharmacists UK, she is also the first pharmacist member of both the BSR Education Committee and Eular HPR committee.
She is involved in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students and has numerous publications.
Heberden Oration: Prof Gary Macfarlane
Gary Macfarlane is the Dean for Interdisciplinary Research and Research Impact. He has also held the Chair in Epidemiology (Clinical) at The University of Aberdeen since 2005 and previously held the same post at The University of Manchester from 1999. He is an Honorary Consultant in the Department of Public Health in NHS Grampian. Professor Macfarlane is Director of the Versus Arthritis/Medical Research Council Centre for Musculoskeletal Health and Work.
He trained in Statistics/ Computing Science and then Medicine at The University of Glasgow before undertaking his PhD at The University of Bristol.
After working at the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, he led a programme on chronic pain research at the Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Manchester.
He leads the Epidemiology group at the University of Aberdeen which focusses its research on Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMD).
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