Invited Speakers

Invited Keynote Speaker

PhD, FRCP, FRSE, FMedSci, CBE

Iain McInnes is Head of College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences, and Vice Principal, University of Glasgow, and serves also as the Muirhead Professor of Medicine and Arthritis UK Professor of Rheumatology in the University. He is past director of the Versus Arthritis Centre of Excellence for Inflammatory Arthritis, lead from the University of Glasgow that includes Universities of Oxford, Newcastle and Birmingham. He is a Trustee on the Board of Arthritis-UK. He is past Chairman of Foreum (Foundation for European Rheumatology Research) Scientific Committee and now sits on Foreum Board as a trustee. He is Past-President of the European Alliance of Rheumatology Associations (EULAR). Under these auspices he led the creation of the first pan-European Rheumatology Research Centre launched in 2021.  His work is mainly focused upon the understanding of the pathogenesis of immune mediated inflammatory diseases and encompasses basic discovery immunology through phase 1 and proof of concept experimental medicine clinical trials to leadership of pivotal phase 3 trials in the area of immune biology. He has served on a number of scientific advisory groups adjacent to the pharmaceutical industry, mainly in the area of development of novel immune modifying agents. He has published >650 peer-reviewed original and review articles with an h-index of >160 equating to >125,000 citations.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Invited Keynote Speaker

Head, Division of Rheumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Lai-Shan Tam, MD, is Division Head and Chair Professor in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Her work centers on immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and psoriatic arthritis. She has authored over 300 articles published in major rheumatology journals and has achieved an H-index of 59. Tam’s research trajectory integrates clinical and immunological perspectives to address the complexity of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The focus includes epidemiology, treatment outcomes, and the metabolic impact of biologic and targeted therapies. She also uses high-resolution ultrasound and CT imaging to study atherosclerosis and bone damage progression, and cardiovascular implications of inflammation control in rheumatologic conditions.

Prof Tam is President-Elect of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) and has been a EULAR honorary member since 2019. She serves as an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases and Arthritis Research & Therapy, and as an international advisory board member of The Lancet Rheumatology. She has co-chaired the Study GrouP for XTrEme-Computed Tomography in Rheumatoid Arthritis (SPECTRA) since 2014 and has been a member of The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) since 2012.

Invited Keynote Speaker

Pamela Weiss, MD MSCE is an academic pediatric rheumatologist from the US with advanced training in clinical epidemiology and a focus on the pharmacoepidemiology and outcomes of children with spondyloarthritis (SpA). She has developed disease response measures and classification criteria for axial disease for youth with SpA. She is also PI for the randomized BACK-OFF JSpA trial to evaluate biologic de-escalation in youth with sustained remission.  She has over 15 years of experience leading clinical research endeavors, including multicenter studies and international collaborations. She has served on Steering Committees, Advisory Boards, and Data Monitoring Committees for pediatric trials.  

Invited Keynote Speaker

Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation
School Research Environment Lead
School Ethics Approval Chair
University of Salford Manchester, UK

Professor Yeliz Prior provides international leadership in clinical rehabilitation and applied health research, shaping policy, practice and research standards through guideline development, implementation science and translational programmes of work.

Her expertise spans complex intervention design, shared decision making, capability building and research capacity development across multidisciplinary health systems. Her work bridges research, NHS implementation and workforce innovation, embedding co-produced health solutions within real-world systems of care.

Yeliz' research explores how evidence can be generated, mobilised and embedded to improve health outcomes and system sustainability. Areas of focus include implementation science, shared decision making, capability building, workforce development and the design and evaluation of complex interventions across integrated health systems.