Completed Bones, Joints & Muscles Pregnancy, Children & Inherited Conditions

Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology Versus Arthritis at University College London (UCL), University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) NHS Trusts

Funder VsArthritis Charity-funded
Recipient organisation University College London
Funding £2.1M
Period Apr 2018 — Jun 2023

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Teenagers with inflammatory arthritis are being treated based on research done on adults and young children—and that mismatch is harming their care. This Centre exists because the biology of the adolescent immune system is distinct from both younger children and adults, yet almost no research has focused specifically on this age group. Inflammatory rheumatological conditions—such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and lupus—behave differently in teenagers, and their treatment responses, disease patterns, and long-term outcomes remain poorly understood. The Centre has already built a national network of researchers and clinicians to address this gap. Over the next five years, the team will investigate four areas: the mechanisms driving arthritis in adolescents; how the teenage immune system influences inflammatory disease; how to improve healthcare delivery and support self-management for young people; and how to sustain a national research network. The work is a mix of fundamental biology and applied clinical research. If successful, it could transform how adolescent rheumatology is practised—moving from extrapolated adult guidelines to age-specific diagnostics, treatments, and care pathways. It will also train the next generation of researchers in this neglected field.

View original technical description
This proposal is to support renewal funding for the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology at UCL, UCLH and GOSH. Adolescents with inflammatory rheumatological conditions have significant, specific unmet needs, related not only to clinical care and transition between paediatric and adult care settings, but also, of central importance for the Centre, due to lack of knowledge and prior research specific to the biology, disease patterns and treatment responses in this distinct age group. Since 2012 we have built a thriving multidisciplinary Centre, and enabled establishment of a National Network, to address these unmet needs. The Centre has leveraged significant new funding, brought in key expertise through collaborations, and developed in-depth patient involvement. Our goals in the next 5 years are to drive forward research in 4 key areas: Mechanisms of adolescent-related arthritis; Biology of the adolescent immune system in relation to inflammatory disease; Improving health care provision and enabling self-management in young people with inflammatory diseases; The Barbara Ansell National Network for Adolescent Rheumatology. In parallel we will secure the next generation of researchers in this growing area, to ensure sustainability of the Centre, while enhancing patient involvement at every level of Centre activity.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

Lucy Wedderburn (EPMC Awardee)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Arthritis Research UK Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology at University College London, University College London Hospital, and Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trusts
Improving delivery of care and self management for young people with arthritis
Versus Arthritis National Experimental Arthritis Treatment Centre for Children
RACE - Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre Versus Arthritis
Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research

Original classification

ZZZ-Centre of Excellence Full

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.