Working on a cure

"If we can predict when a patient presents with rheumatoid (arthritis), the likely severity of the disease, then we can work at preventing it."

- Prof. Gerry Wilson, Arthritis Ireland Chair of Rheumatology, UCD

Research is increasing the knowledge base about arthritis, and that knowledge has the potential to transform the lives of people living with the disease.

Since 2013, Arthritis Ireland has invested €2.5m in the establishments of two centres of research in rheumatology in Ireland, at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

Prof Gerry Wilson

Prof Gerry Wilson Prof Gerry Wilson was appointed Arthritis Ireland/UCD Chair of Rheumatology in 2013, where he leads the UCD Centre for Arthritis Research.

Prof Wilson graduated in medicine from Queen's University Belfast in 1983. He was awarded an ARC Clinical Fellowship for a PhD thesis which he undertook at the University of Sheffield and successfully completed in 1995. He was subsequently awarded an ARC Copeman Fellowship for research at Stanford University. He was appointed Professor in Rheumatology and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist at the University of Sheffield Medical School and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where he was Head of the Sheffield EULAR Centre of Excellence for Rheumatology.

"Working on a Cure" was his inaugural lecture on his plans for life-changing research in rheumatology in Ireland, which you can watch below.

Prof Ursula Fearon

Prof Ursula Fearon Prof Ursula Fearon was appointed Professor of Molecular Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin in 2016. She is an international leader in translational rheumatology with a focus on preclinical development of biotherapeutics for the early treatment of arthritis and systemic rheumatic diseases. In recognition of this, Professor Fearon and colleagues received the award of European Centre of Excellence in rheumatology by the European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) in 2015. The Professor of molecular rheumatology is one of two new protected chairs of rheumatology in Ireland.

Prof Fearon’s research is a bench-beside translational approach, focusing on understanding the underlying mechanisms that drive disease pathogenesis; her team specifically examine components of joint inflammation at a cellular and molecular level to dissect the signalling and gene pathways that are disturbed in patients who have inflammatory arthritis and rheumatic diseases.

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Accessibility
Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a very common type of inflammatory disease. The body’s natural defences (the immune system) attacks certain parts of the body instead of protecting it. This auto-immune reaction occurs mainly in the joints, but can affect vital organs too.
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Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common of all types of arthritis. It usually develops gradually, over several years, and affects a number of different joints. The cause is unknown, but it does appear more in females than males.
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Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a form of arthritis that in most cases affects the skin and the joints. Most people with PsA will develop the condition following the onset of psoriasis, however, not all people with psoriasis develop PsA.