31 January 2024


Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract to this year’s Annual Conference. We received an impressive total of 486 abstracts this year.

Our Heberden Committee reviewed all the abstracts submitted and we’re pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 abstract awards.


Nurse and Allied Health Professional Award

Sarah Logan, Keele University

'It’s a long time to wait: Exploring the support needs of people with Rheumatoid Arthritis starting Methotrexate'.

Paediatric Award

Dr Charlene Foley, Addenbrooke's Hospital

'Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA): The Great Ormond Street Hospital Experience (2005-2021)'.

Paul Bacon Vasculitis Award

Dr Chetan Mukhtyar, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

'Giant cell arteritis relapses occur in a different arterial territory as compared to diagnosis'.


Student Award

    • Hamzah Amin, Lancaster University
      'Regional variations in adiposity is a strong predictor of fragility fractures in a large cohort: a cross-sectional study'.

    • Mark Hughes, King’s College London
      ‘The use of ACE and sIL2-R in a large tertiary cohort of patients with multi-system sarcoidosis’.

    • Timothy Chong, University of Manchester
      ‘Clinical And Psychological Factors Associated with Adherence Based On A Patient Self-Reported Questionnaire: Results from the Biologics In Rheumatoid Arthritis Genetics and Genomics Study Syndicate (BRAGGS) cohort'.

    • Tara Kelly, The University of Liverpool
      ‘Comprehensive comparison of juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus guidelines for diagnosis and management to those used in adult-onset disease'.


Young Investigator Award

  • Aris Syntakas, University College London
    ‘Unravelling the Role of B Cells and Interferon Dysregulation in Juvenile Dermatomyositis’.

  • Dr Rudresh Shukla, University of Manchester
    ‘Longitudinal high throughput proteomics identifies novel proteins associated with inflammation and future response in new-onset, treatment-naïve rheumatoid arthritis’.

    Congratulations to all of our well-deserving winners. Their work will be showcased at the Annual Conference taking place 24-26 April 2024 in Liverpool.

Book now – Annual Conference 2024