Following a great response for our call for new committee members, we will need to hold an election at this year’s AGM at the annual conference.
We have designated spaces on our committee for AHPs and Patient Partners, so our AHP post, having only received one nomination, will stand uncontested.
The other remaining nominees, including those current committee members standing for another term, need to be elected, with vote between six of the seven available posts.
Committee elections results will be announced at the Brit-PACT AGM on 11th October 2024. The meeting can be attended in person or virtually, please click here for more information or email the team info@britpact.org for details.
The AGM agenda and accounts for 2023/24 can be here.
If you cannot attend the annual meeting, please submit your electronic postal vote today:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BritPACTElection2024
if you need any other additional information, please contact info@britpact.org.
Thank you for your vote!
The Brit-PACT Steering Committee
AHP post, having only received one nomination, will stand uncontested
Julie Begum
Lead Nurse Rheumatology, Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust
Julie qualified as a registered nurse in 2002. She worked in a variety of settings within her hospital including in elderly care, acute medicine, emergency care, and as a sister on a general medical ward, before moving into her rheumatology clinical nurse specialist role in 2008, and becoming the lead nurse in 2017. She gained her MSC in advanced clinical practice in 2023 and is a non-medical independent prescriber.
Julie is well known in Rheumatology for her passion for delivering quality education for rheumatology nurses, and in particular, new nurses.
Her clinical interest include psoriatic arthritis and osteoporosis.
She is the past chair of the RCN Rheumatology forum, and was part of the working group that developed the RCN Rheumatology Nurse Competency Framework which was launched in March 2020. She worked with NRAS to develop the medicines modules of the SMILE-RA. Most recently she designed an e- learning resource for nurses new to rheumatology for the British Society or Rheumatology (BSR) using a blended learning approach which included webinars, videos and podcasts.
She is a current BSR MDT council member representing adult nursing in the East of England region. Julie is an expert nurse advisor to National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). She has recently been co-opted on to the Brit- PACT steering group
She regularly teaches on the BSR new and advanced rheumatology course as well as other key rheumatology events nationally and abroad.
Julie has co-authored many publications in the last 5 years.
Julie has also been invited to join numerous steering committees to develop guidance, national rheumatology nursing conferences, and participant in various expert panels to ensure the voice of the rheumatology nurse is always at the table.
The other remaining nominees, including those current committee members standing for another term, need to be elected, with vote between six of the seven available posts.
Dr Ashley Elliot - New Nominee
Consultant Rheumatologist, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and clinical academic at Queen’s University Belfast
I am a Consultant Rheumatologist at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and clinical academic at Queen’s University Belfast. I have always had a strong interest in Psoriatic Disease. Through my work with GRAPPA I have been part of both treatment guideline groups for the management of enthesitis in psoriatic arthritis and also ultrasound study groups trying to come up with better answers for patients living with psoriatic arthritis. As a trainee I helped to establish our tight control PsA clinic in Belfast and then developed a research protocol to assess patients with PsA. This formed the basis of my PhD completed in 2023 that was entitled ‘Evaluating Ultrasound Confirmed enthesitis as a predictive marker of response to biologic therapy in Psoriatic Arthritis’ linking data from clinical, imaging and laboratory analysis at Queen’s University Belfast. The work was supported by grants from the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance, BMA and GRAPPA and I was awarded the young investigator of the year award at the Irish Society for Rheumatology annual meeting in 2022.
I am keen to provide the best care for our patients in Northern Ireland and link our local research infrastructure with international experts centres across the British Isles. I have gained experience sitting on national committees for BSR including being both the NI representative on the trainee committee and on the Clinical Affairs Committee. I am currently a member of the Digital Learning Board committee at BSR. I would like to enhance research links specifically for PsA at a national level and deliver better outcomes for our patients by being a part of the Brit-PACT steering committee and help to shape its future.
Dr Philip Helliwell - Standing for Re-election
Senior Lecturer in Rheumatology at the University of Leeds and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist for the Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust
I am applying for re-election to the Executive Committee of the organisation for one more term. I have been on this committee since its inception and have been Treasurer for the last several years. I have been involved with all of the recent organisational projects and initiated the research grant scheme back in 2022. I wrote the initial draft of the governance rules and was involved in our application for charity status. You can see my commitment to the organisation, but I am now ready to hand over the financial duties: to do this I envisage a slow transition process so it would be helpful if I were re-elected to see the organisation through this period. Thank you.
Dr Muhamad Jasim - New Nominee
Consultant Rheumatologist & Acute Medicine, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
I would like to put myself forward for a BritPact committee member position. I have been a Rheumatology consultant at Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust since 2023 with an interest in Psoriatic Arthritis and musculoskeletal ultrasound. I set up and lead the PsA treat to target clinic within the trust and was previously awarded the BritPact runner up prize in 2021 for the development of the PsA TTT pathway with integration of ultrasound. I have also been awarded runner up prize at BritPact this year for implementation of a one stop shop ?PsA fast track pathway.
I completed my training in the West Midlands and spent my final year honing my craft working under the guidance of Dr Gullick - Britpact chair who has encouraged my application.
I am a hardworking, dynamic and enthusiastic individual keen to help advance the care delivered to patients suffering with Psoriatic Arthritis.
Dr Sandeep Mukherjee - Standing for Re-election
Consultant Rheumatologist, University Hospitals Dorset NHS FT
I work as a consultant rheumatologist at the University Hospitals Dorset NHS FT and I have been a member of the Brit-PACT steering committee since November 2021.
I have a special interest in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and I have set up a weekly PsA clinic at Christchurch Hospital. In addition, with the help of a HEE (Wessex) QI fellowship I had successfully implemented iPad-based assessments in this clinic aiming for MDA and also initiated a quarterly combined clinic with the dermatologists. Furthermore, I have set up the Wessex Psoriatic Disease Network to facilitate collaborative working between the dermatologists and the rheumatologists within our region. I organise and chair the three-monthly meetings of this network where we not only have educational presentations but also discuss interesting and challenging cases.
I have actively participated in various Brit-PACT projects including the JLA Priority Setting Partnership for PsA. I am also a member of GRAPPA and I have contributed to the GRAPPA 2021 Treatment Recommendations Working Group on Nail Disease.
I am keen to continue as a member of the Brit-PACT steering committee for another term because I believe that would give me the opportunity to contribute towards further development of the organisation as well as to work closely with the national experts in this field.
Professor Jon Packham - Standing for Re-election
Consultant Rheumatologist, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Clinical Associate Professor of Rheumatology, University of Nottingham, Honorary Professor of Rheumatology, School of Medicine, Keele University and Honorary Associate Professor of Rheumatology, University of Warwick
I have been a Consultant Rheumatologist in Stoke-on-Trent since 2002, with clinical specialist interests in psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and paediatric rheumatology. I am an associate clinical professor at University of Nottingham and honorary professor at Keele University. My clinical academic rheumatology interests are around developing evidence based clinical pathways and outcome measures for both psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. I was co-applicant on the TUDOR NIHR programme grant evaluating screening of community psoriasis patients for PsA and now lead an NIHR programme grant, improving referral pathways for patients with potential axSpA, from primary care into specialist rheumatology.
I am a Trustee of BRITPACT and I have just finished my first term on the steering committee. I am also on the executive committee of BRITSpA and act as the link person between these two sister organisations. I have advised NICE committees for spondyloarthropathy clinical guidelines/quality standards, the last 5 psoriatic arthritis NICE technology appraisals, 2024 NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary: spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthropathy and the recent James Lind psoriatic arthritis process.
I am applying for a second term on the BRITPACT steering committee because I believe that I can continue to be useful linking BRITPACT to other external organisations such as BRITSpA and the BSR. Having organised and chaired the BRITPACT annual meeting in 2022, I’ve been asked by BRITSpA to lead on their involvement with the planned joint BRITPACT/BRITSpA ‘Spondyloarthritis Golden Anniversary celebration’ in 2025.
Dr Poonam Sharma - New Nominee
Consultant Rheumatologist, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
I am writing to express my interest in becoming a member of the Steering Committee of Brit-PACT. As a Rheumatologist, I have always been interested in spondyloarthropathy (SpA). I have set up a SpA clinic in our trust and we see patients with axial and peripheral disease. I regularly attend BritPACT meetings and have been actively developing my clinical expertise in Psoriatic arthritis. Over the last few years, I have been involved as a PI in number of commercial and non-commercial research trials in psoriatic arthritis.
I am committed to working with colleagues and patients to improve care and outcomes for patients living with Psoriatic arthritis.
My application is supported by Dr Tania Gudu who is a BritPACT member.
Thank you for your consideration.
Dr William Tillett - Past Committee Member
Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist & Lead for Biological Therapies, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath
Dr William Tillett graduated from the University of Bristol with a BSc in Anatomical Science before undertaking his medical degree at the same institution. He undertook his doctoral fellowship in outcome measurement in psoriatic arthritis.
William became a member of BritPACT in 2016 and has been an active member contributing to the organisation of the AGM in 2020 and 2022. William leads the BritPACT SEQUENCE project to evaluate access and response to advanced lines of biologic drugs.
William has published more than 360 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters or conference proceedings on the assessment and treatment of psoriatic arthritis. His research and clinical interests centre on precision medicine through improved assessment of psoriatic arthritis (clinical, radiographic, and patient reported outcomes), early detection of disease, and treatment strategies. He is Chief Investigator for a portfolio of clinical and commercial research trials including the Bath Psoriatic Arthritis Biobank.
William was awarded a European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) Clinical Scientist award in 2015. He co-authored the 2013 British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) psoriatic arthritis Biologics guidelines and co-chaired the 2023 update. William sits on the steering committee for the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) and chairs the peripheral arthritis domain of the 2024 GRAPPA treatment recommendations update group. He is a co-chair of the international psoriatic arthritis Outcome Measurement in Rheumatology (OMERACT) working group. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Rheumatology. William is currently on the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) patient involvement taskforce to improve meaningful patient representation in Psoriatic arthritis research. He is a trustee for the Bath Institute for Rheumatic Diseases (BIRD).
If elected to serve on the BritPACT committee I would look to build on the charity’s successes in its first nine years with a focus on strategies to increase membership and funded flagship research projects.
If you need further information on any of the nominees, please do email info@britpact.org.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BritPACTElection2024
Thank you for your vote!
The Brit-PACT Steering Committee