Seventh Annual Conference: Rare Rheumatology, Niche Conditions and Future Directions
Our Seventh Annual Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) Conference Took place on November 6th 2024. This was an entirely online conference with talks delivered in plain English aimed at patients, carers, researchers and medical professionals. This year's conference was on the theme of rare and lesser known rheumatic diseases and featured talks from Dr. Elizabeth Price (Great Western Hospital), Prof. Mark Little (Tallaght and Beaumont Hospitals), Dr. Emma Dorris (PPI Ignite, UCD), Ms. Vicky McGrath (Rare Diseases Ireland), Dr. Eve Smith (University of Liverpool), Prof. Rachel Crowley (St. Vincent’s
University Hospital), Ms. Grainne O’Leary (Arthritis Ireland) and Ms. Julie Power (Vasculitis Ireland). The conference also featured videos from patients living with rare rheumatic diseases and presentation of submitted abstracts. The conference programme and recording are available below.
Sixth Annual Conference: Weight Management and Rheumatic Disease
Our Sixth Annual Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) Conference Took place on November 8th 2023. This was an entirely online conference with talks delivered in plain English aimed at patients, carers, researchers, and medical professionals. This year's conference was on the theme of
Weight Management and Rheumatic Disease
and featured talks from Professor Carel le Roux, Dr. Noel McCaffrey, Dr. Colin Dunlevy and Dr Brendan O’ Shea, as well as information from the Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity (ICPO) and submitted abstracts. The conference programme and recording are available below:
Fifth Annual Conference: Top to Toe: Focus on niche areas within Rheumatic Diseases
- The 2022 conference, themed "Top to Toe: Focus on niche areas within Rheumatic Diseases", took place on Wednesday 23rd November 2022
The Centre for Arthritis Research in UCD is a team of doctors, scientists, health practitioners and researchers who work directly with people living with arthritis to improve the quality of life for those living with the disease. We are leading the way in academic research in that we work in partnership with patients and the public. They help us decide what we research and how we do it. This group of people that guide us are called patient insight partners and part of the patient voice in the Arthritis Research group. In order to showcase the latest advances within the field, we hold a research conference every year. This was our fifth year conducting such a conference, which has seen a steady growth in popularity, attracting over 150+ attendees the past 2 years. The event was held virtually on November 23rd 2022.
Fourth Annual Conference: New Treatments for Rheumatic Diseases
- The 2021 conference, themed "New Treatments for Rheumatic Diseases",took place on Wednesday 17th November 2021
Organising Committee:
Dr Daire O'Leary (chair)
Daire is a Clinical Research Fellow in the UCD Centre for Arthritis Research and a Clinical Tutor in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She previously worked as a Clinical Registrar in Paediatric Rheumatology and is currently conducting a study on whole exome mapping of genetic variants linked with the development of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO).
Dr Kevin Sheridan
Kevin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the UCD Centre for Arthritis Research. He is currently working on a laboratory-based research project funded by the National Children’s Research Centre (NCRC).
John Sherwin
John is a Patient Insight Partner at the UCD Centre for Arthritis Research and the Patient Voice in Arthritis Research.
Stacey Grealis
Stacey is also a UCD CAR Patient Insight Partner and is a member of the Mayo branch of Arthritis Ireland. She is active with several patient engagement groups and has taken part in IPPOSI Patient Education events.
Karmen Kegl
Karmen is an active participant in the UCD CAR Patient Partner pool. Her background is in computer science, working as a computer engineer since 1994, which is ideal for this year's online-only conference.
Past Conferences
The UCD CAR third Annual Conference: A Collaborative Approach to Arthritis & Rheumatic Disease Research, themed ‘Self-Management for You & Your Family’ took place between 1000h and 1400h on Wednesday 18th November 2020. The online conference was kindly sponsored by Pfizer and Biogen. The conference included an Abstract call for the Clarity in Research Medal. A patient-judged competition was held for clarity and use of plain English in research abstracts and posters.
UCD CAR has hosted several major events in addition to our regular monthly seminars.