Prior to diagnosis in 2005 with a rare disease called Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Vasculitis, Julie worked for 17 years as an Occupational Therapist, specialising in Neurology and Palliative care. Following diagnosis, her life and that of her family’s was totally changed. The uncertainty and isolation Julie experienced on her patient journey has fuelled her interest in raising awareness, improving care and research. Julie believes knowledge is power and that patient involvement throughout the entire treatment and research process is mutually beneficial to the Researchers, Clinicians, Service Providers and Patients.

In 2010, she founded Vasculitis Ireland Awareness, an All Ireland support group for anyone affected by Vasculitis in Ireland, liaising closely with Vasculitis UK and the Vasculitis Foundation. Julie is a patient representative in the Irish Rare Kidney Disease Registry and Bio bank Steering Committee, the recently formed Vasculitis Ireland Network (VINE) and in planning for a pilot NI Vasculitis service. She graduated as a EUPATI (European Patient Academy in Therapeutic Intervention) fellow in 2016 after completing the 14month intensive research and development course. Julie has been a member of the Northern Ireland Rare Disease Partnership(NIRDP) board of directors since 2015, and the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations Science and Industry (IPPOSI) board of directors in 2017. She is actively involved in improving care for those affected by rare disease both in NI and ROI.

Dr. Conlon is a graduate of Queen’s University of Belfast and has a background in pharmacology. He has a PhD in Immunology from Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. He is Head of the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology at St. James’s Hospital. Clinical interests include Primary Immune Deficiency, Complex Allergic disorders and Chronic Urticaria, Small Vessel Vasculitis and Diagnostic Immunology.

Dr. Michelle O’Shaughnessy (MB BCh BAO, MRCPI, MS, FASN) has recently returned home to Ireland from a faculty position at Stanford University, California, to take up a position as Consultant Nephrologist at Cork University Hospital. Her research focuses on glomerular disease epidemiology and clinical outcomes, including non-renal events, medication toxicity, and pregnancy outcomes. She has a Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology and Clinical Research from Stanford University, over 30 peer-reviewed publications, and is an active investigator with numerous North American glomerular disease research consortia, including the NIH-funded Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE) and CureGlomerulonephropathy (CureGN) research networks. She looks forward to establishing a world class Glomerular Disease Centre at CUH and to extending her collaborative research network to include investigators within Ireland and across Europe

Eamonn Molloy is a medical graduate of University College Dublin, Ireland (1997) and completed rheumatology and internal medicine training in Ireland. He obtained an MD by thesis at Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (2006), which focused on calcium crystal induced inflammation. In 2005 he commenced subspecialty fellowship training in vasculitis at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA. In 2008, he completed an MS (Clinical Research) at Case Western Reserve University and joined the consultant staff at the Vasculitis Center and RJ Fasenmeyer Center for Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic. In 2010, he was appointed as a Consultant Rheumatologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin and is a Clinical Professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine. He is the author of over 50 publications largely pertaining to vasculitis, crystal induced arthritis and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in the setting of rheumatic diseases. He has established a tertiary referral centre for vasculitis at St Vincent’s University Hospital. He has been involved in a number of clinical trials, mainly in the setting of vasculitis, as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator. His primary translational research focus currently relates to mechanisms of vascular inflammation in Giant Cell Arteritis

Dr. Moran is a 2007 first class honours graduate of University College Cork School of Medicine. She received the Intern of the Year award at Cork University Hospital in 2008. She undertook basic and higher specialist training in Nephrology and Internal Medicine with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. As part of her training she was awarded a prestigious placement on the Health Research Board of Ireland National Specialist Registrar Academic Fellowship Programme in 2014 to combine her clinical and PhD training. She then completed sub speciality fellowships in Glomerulonephritis and Obstetric Nephrology at the University of Toronto with the support of the Louise A. Fast Foundation scholarship. Her PhD focused on the role of usCD163 in ANCA-associated vasculitis. This was consolidated with further research training at the University of Toronto with support from the Ainsworth Scholarship and Postgraduate Travelling Scholarship in Medicine from Trinity College, Dublin. She was appointed as a Clinician Scientist and Assistant Professor of Nephrology at Queen’s University, ON, Canada in 2019. She returned to Ireland in January 2022 as a Consultant Nephrologist at Cork University Hospital with an interest in vasculitis, glomerular diseases and obstetric nephrology.

Dr Allyson Egan is a Consultant in Nephrology and Medicine at Trinity Health Kidney Centre, Tallaght University Hospital Dublin. Her specialist interest is in Vasculitis and Lupus. She is Chair of the Scientific Organising Committee for the 20th International Vasculitis & ANCA Workshop.

Allyson graduated in Medicine from University of London – St George’s Hospital Medical School, after completing a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Chemistry degree, at University College Dublin. Her SHO training at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital London, was followed by a Wellcome Fellowship at Imperial College London. Her research focused upon the role of the AIM2 inflammasome in Lupus. She completed her training at the Hammersmith Hospital, accrediting in Nephrology and Medicine, followed by a post-CCT Fellowship focusing upon Glomerulonephritis, Vasculitis, and Lupus. Concurrently, she was a post-graduate Medical Education Fellow, winning ‘Rising Educator of the Year’ at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Her expertise in Autoimmunity was furthered by Consultancy in Nephrology specialising in Vasculitis at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

As an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Consultant in Renal Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Allyson was an undergraduate examiner for the Clinical School of Medicine and published in peer-reviewed journals. She was sub-PI on several clinical trials and is conducting a longitudinal study investigating the role of anti-IL5 therapies in EGPA. In the Vasculitis and Lupus Unit she was a member of the specialist Consultant Vasculitis on-call Service. She was Lead for Clinical Governance and Management in the Renal Department at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. She has a long-standing interest in the role of service infrastructure and has presented internationally on the importance of integrated models of care. She is Chair of Care Pathways in UKIVAS and the ERN-RITA lead for vasculitis guidelines. She is currently conducting vasculitis health care service research across the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the VOICES Study.

As an educationalist, Allyson is a Council member and Past-President of the Royal Society of Medicine Nephrology Section, where she co-founded the President’s Prize Day for trainees, and has organised several educational meetings and webinars on Autoimmunity. She is a member of the European Vasculitis Society (EUVAS) Education Council. As an active member of the UKKRC Glomerulonephritis, lupus nephritis and vasculitis Clinical Study Group, she has led several educational initiatives.

Born in the north of Spain where he continues to live, Francisco studied medicine in Navarra University until 2018.

He will complete his training in Nephrology in Bellvitge University Hospital in Barcelona in May 2022 whereupon he will commence his PhD on Inflammatory Kidney Diseases with the IDIBELL laboratory and University of Barcelona.