HIPPOCRATES represented at several conferences and meetings

The HIPPOCRATES consortium was represented at several scientific conferences and collaborative meetings in late 2025, underlining the project’s commitment to advancing research on psoriatic arthritis and integrating patient perspectives into scientific discourse.

EULAR PARE Conference

Brussels, Belgium | 20 - 22 November 2025

A strong delegation from HIPPOCRATES attended the EULAR PARE Annual Conference – a dedicated forum bringing together around 100 - 120 patient representatives from people with arthritis and rheumatism organisations throughout Europe. Patient research partners Maarten de Wit, Souzi Makri, Elsa Mateus, Wendy Wagenaar, Heidi Bertheussen, together with EULAR team member Diana Rodrigues, and Hillary Collins from the University of Glasgow, represented HIPPOCRATES.

Two HIPPOCRATES posters were accepted into the PARE Best Practice Fair:

• “Lessons from the HIPPOCRATES PRP-Researcher Dialogue Meetings: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Patient Involvement Halfway through the HIPPOCRATES Consortium”, authored by Wendy Wagenaar.
• “Using Focus Groups to Better Understand Perceptions of Patient Research Partner Involvement in the HIPPOCRATES Consortium”, authored by Hillary Collins.

In addition, HIPPOCRATES was highlighted as a case study by Hillary Collins during a workshop on “Development of a Strategy for Monitoring and Evaluating PRP Involvement in RMD Research” – emphasising the project’s work in meaningful patient engagement.

The EULAR PARE Conference serves as a platform for networking, learning, and sharing best practices amongst the patient community and allied stakeholders.

Spondyloarthritis Golden Anniversary Meeting

Leeds, United Kingdom | 27 - 28 November 2025

At the Spondyloarthritis Golden Anniversary Meeting in Leeds, HIPPOCRATES was featured in sessions discussing research frontiers in spondyloarthritis and related conditions. The meeting celebrated 50 years of collaboration and progress in the field, with expert speakers from across the UK and Europe.

One of our project coordinators, Professor Oliver FitzGerald provided attendees with an update on HIPPOCRATES’ progress, placing it in context with complementary work from the ELLIPSS consortium in the USA. HIPPOCRATES and ELLIPSS are complementary in their approach to addressing unmet needs in Psoriatic Disease. Whereas HIPPOCRATES is focused on identifying multi-omic and molecular signatures in peripheral blood samples, ELLIPSS emphasises detailed tissue-level analyses, particularly in skin and synovium. Both consortia are making significant strides in acquiring and analysing clinical and molecular data, with candidate markers emerging from signal-finding studies now progressing toward validation in larger datasets.

i~HD Annual Conference

Ghent, Belgium | 3–4 December 2025

Finally, HIPPOCRATES was also represented at the i~HD 10th Anniversary Annual Conference in Ghent, organised by the European Institute for Innovation through Health Data (i~HD), one of the HIPPOCRATES’ consortium members. Under the theme “A Decade of Joining the Dots — Towards Bridging Data Spaces” this event convened policymakers, researchers, industry partners and data experts to explore developments in health data interoperability, privacy, data quality and the future of the European Health Data Space.

HIPPOCRATES was represented with a poster, illustrating the goals and progress, as well as an update on the HPOS study – continuing the project’s engagement with data-centric initiatives that intersect with health research and patient outcomes.

HIPPOCRATES PRPs Maarten de Wit, Heidi Bertheussen, Souzi Makri & Wendy Wagenaar – together with Diana Rodrigues and Hillary Collins

Hillary Collins presenting HIPPOCRATES as a case study

Speakers at the Spondyloarthritis Golden Anniversary Meeting. HIPPOCRATES speakers included Iain McInnes, Philip Helliwell, Laura Coates, Stefan Siebert Catherine Smith, Dirk Elewaut and Oliver FitzGerald.