Adolescent and Young Adult Rheumatology In Clinical Practice

Coziana Ciurtin is Professor of Rheumatology and Honorary Consultant in Adolescent and Adult Rheumatology at University College London, UK. She completed her medical and specialty training in Bucharest (Romania) and holds a MSc and a PhD degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine, Bucharest, Romania, and a MSc from University of Oxford, UK. Coziana looks after adolescents and young people with rheumatic diseases, being passionate about identifying and tackling early the risk of irreversible complications associated with chronic inflammation (damage and cardiovascular risk). She works with gender and background-diverse young people with rheumatic conditions and charities to identify and address research questions relevant to them.

Coziana currently coordinates the research pillars for both the Lupus Working Party and Childhood Sj?gren Interest Group of the Paediatric Rheumatology European Association (PReS) and acts as EULAR (European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology) Paediatric Committee Adult Rheumatology Representative, being involved in shaping the research strategy in paediatric rheumatology in Europe. She is also faculty member of the PReS Paediatric Rheumatology Training Program, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Clinical Study Advisory Committee (CSAC) Adolescent Health Representative and Paediatric Rheumatology Representative of the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) Guideline Steering Group, being committed to improvement of training and clinical practice standards in AYA rheumatology.

Janine Hackett is a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh and is also a council member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. She completed her occupational therapy training at the University College of Ripon and York St John and later gained her MSc from Coventry University. Janine has a long-standing interest in adolescent health and became a Department of Health National Transition Champion in the mid 2000's. She has considerable clinical experience of working in the field of AYA rheumatology, chiefly from her former role as a Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist at Birmingham Children's Hospital. During this time, she was fortunate to be part of a very progressive multidisciplinary team committed to advancing adolescent healthcare, and was co-lead of the transitional care rheumatology service and part of the development of an MDT rheumatology adolescent clinic which went on to win a prestigious BUPA National Clinical Excellence Award for translating research into clinical practice. Janine has been involved in delivering training and education to a wide variety of professionals and has also authored and coauthored several book chapters and articles. She is passionate about ensuring AYA's realise their potential and are able to participate in the activities that matter most to them. This requires a team effort and is thus a keen advocate for multidisciplinary working.