Myositis and Patient Safety

Biography

Having trained at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, I did my clinical training in North London hospitals and my basic research training in laboratories directed by Ivan Roitt (The Middlesex Hospital London) and Robert Schwartz (New England Medical Centre in Boston). I am academic director of Rheumatology at University College London. I have ‘been associated’ with the SLE cohort at University College Hospital, London (650 patients) since 1979; chair the BILAG group (responsible for developing the BILAG index) and am previous chair of SLICC and ex-president of the British Society for Rheumatology (2004-2006). And ex-Chair of the BSR’s Biologics Register Committee (2006-2011). Currently chairing Lupus UK’s Research Committee and a Local Clinical Trials Network Enabling Group in North London. I won the Hess prize (2010) awarded by the Lupus Foundation of America for outstanding contribution to SLE Research – the first non- North American to win it. My alter-ego ‘Lupus Dave’ sings and writes for ‘Lupus Dave and The Davettes’!

Research Interest

Disease Activity and Damage Assessments in the Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases, notably Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren\\\\\\\'s syndrome, myositis, vasculitis and the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. Long-term clinical evaluation of patients with these diseases and undertaking clinical trials, mostly using the new biologic agents.