19 December 2025
Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract to this year’s Annual Conference. We were delighted to receive over 530 submissions, our highest number to date.
All abstracts were carefully reviewed by our Heberden Committee, and we are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Abstract Awards.
These awards are part of a huge programme taking place in at BSR Annual Conference, from 28–30 April 2026 in Glasgow.
Nurse and Allied Health Professional Award
Lara Chapman, University of Leeds
‘Consensus on a core domain set for foot and ankle disorders in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: an international OMERACT Delphi consensus study’
Our international consensus study with patients, health professionals, and researchers identified a set of outcomes that should be measured in all future foot and ankle studies in rheumatology. This will help to improve the quality of evidence for foot and ankle treatments.
Paediatric Award
Flora McErlane, Great North Children’s Hospitals, Newcastle, and Gavin Cleary, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
‘Paediatric rheumatology and the 10-Year Health Plan for England: can the GIRFT and NCEPOD recommendations provide a framework for action?’
The recent publication of two national data-driven paediatric rheumatology reviews, the NCEPOD Joint Care and GIRFT reports, presents paediatric rheumatology with a novel opportunity to improve. This abstract presents a comparative review of the reports and recommendations, advocating for the prioritisation of improvements in time to specialist diagnosis and treatment, timely access to specialist MDT care and innovations to reduce the impact of health inequalities. The between-report commonality is important quality assurance, reflecting a wider consensus across the medical literature that improving outcomes requires innovative and system-wide changes, and we are delighted with the opportunity to present the work at BSR 2026.
Student Award
Margaret Odunlami, University of East Anglia
‘National audit of England shows suboptimal compliance with ophthalmology recommendations for hydroxychloroquine retinopathy screening’
Our audit emphasises the need for improved adherence to hydroxychloroquine screening on a national scale to prevent permanent vision loss and enhance patient care. Completing this project has deepened my appreciation for auditing and quality improvement, and I'm grateful for the chance to contribute to this field.
Asimina Karampela, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
‘The role of the IRX1 gene variant rs12653958 in late-onset Raynaud’s phenomenon’
This study examined whether the IRX1 rs12653958 variant is associated with the age of onset in Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP). The results showed that the homozygous GG genotype of IRX1 rs12653958 was more frequent among patients with late-onset RP (≥40 years) compared to early-onset cases, suggesting that late-onset Raynaud’s may represent a distinct, genetically influenced subtype.
Yi-Qian Lim, King’s College London
‘Emerging trends in fragility fractures and prescribing of osteoporosis treatments in England: a population-level study’
We evaluated changing trends in osteoporosis treatments and fragility fracture rates across England, highlighting a major shift towards parenteral therapies coinciding with updates to national guidelines.
Daksh Mehta, King's College London
‘The impact of physically demanding occupations on employment loss in early inflammatory arthritis: analysis from the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit’
Physically demanding work was associated with an 82% higher risk of employment loss among people with early inflammatory arthritis, largely driven by work-related factors independent of disease severity. This highlights a burden that cannot be addressed by medical management alone and underscores the need for early, integrated vocational support alongside clinical care.
Young Investigators Award
Mark Russell, King’s College Hospital
‘The impact of achieving early remission for individuals with severe rheumatoid arthritis: a population-level cohort study in NEIAA’
We used data from the National Early Inflammatory Autoimmune Diseases Audit to highlight the importance of achieving early remission on mental health outcomes, work disability and healthcare utilisation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have poor prognostic factors at diagnosis.
Our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying patients with poor prognostic factors at diagnosis and ensuring optimal treat-to-target care is provided.
Samir Patel, King’s College Hospital
‘The incidence, mortality and complications of systemic lupus erythematosus: a population-level cohort study from 2012 to 2023’
This work uses national primary care data to provide contemporary, population-level evidence on incidence, mortality and complications in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It highlights clinically important ethnic inequalities in SLE outcomes with direct implications for risk stratification and service planning.
In addition to these winners, Our Michael Mason award winner will be announced soon
Congratulations to all our well-deserving winners. Their work will be showcased at BSR Annual Conference, taking place from 28–30 April 2026 in Glasgow.