Brit-PACT Committee Elections 2025
Following the charity rules, we require an election for two current committee members standing for another term, and two new nominees, with voting required for three posts from the four nominees.
Full details on each of the candidates can be found here:
Dr Pauline Ho - Consultant Rheumatologist, Manchester Royal Infirmary (re-election, second term)
I am a Consultant Rheumatologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, working within the Kellgren Centre for Rheumatology, also a Lupus Centre of Excellence. I lead the musculoskeletal ultrasound services for the NW of England and have a specialist interest in spondyloarthropathies with dedicated clinics for patients with ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.
Since 2023, I have held the position of Honorary Professor at the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre. My research involvement includes both basic science and clinical studies in psoriatic arthritis at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. I serve as principal investigator on numerous clinical research projects—academic and commercial, observational and investigational medicines (Phase II and above). My research focuses particularly on ultrasound and ultrasound-guided synovial biopsy studies, conducted at the Kellgren Centre and the Manchester NIHR/Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility.
I have had the privilege of serving as a Trustee Member of Brit-PACT since December 2022. During this time, I have greatly enjoyed working collaboratively with the team to organise and support our annual meeting, as well as contributing to the broader mission and activities of Brit-PACT.
It has been a rewarding experience to be part of a dedicated committee that is committed to advancing patient care and research in psoriatic arthritis. I would be honoured to be re-elected and to continue supporting the important work Brit-PACT is doing.
Thank you for considering my application to serve another term.
Dr Tania Gudu - Consultant Rheumatologist, Ipswich Hospital (re-election, second term)
I work as consultant rheumatologist working at Ipswich Hospital, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), where I lead the Spondyloarthritis Service. I am running weekly SpA/ PsA clinics and multidisciplinary meetings for SpA patients with colleagues from dermatology, ophthalmology, physiotherapy and primary care. I am actively involved in clinical research, as principal investigator on several academic studies on PsA. I am also a Visiting Fellow at University of Essex, as part of EEPRU (Essex ESNEFT Psychological Research Unit for Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing), working on projects related to psychology in inflammatory arthritis, in particular SpA/ PsA.
I have always had a strong interest in PsA, since I was a trainee. I was awarded two bursaries/ fellowships on the topic of PsA, i.e., EULAR Training Bursary (2016) and PARTNER Fellowship (2019), both in Paris, France. I have completed my PhD thesis on the topic of ‘Impact of PsA’ (Romania/ France, 2018). I am also a member of GRAPPA and I have contributed to the GRAPPA 2021 Treatment Recommendations Working Groups on Peripheral Arthritis and Concomitant Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Uveitis in Patients with PsA.
I am very passionate about patient education and patient reported outcomes, as well as multidisciplinary working and imaging in PsA. I am keen to continue as a member of the Brit-PACT steering committee for another term and hope to contribute to shaping its future.
Dr Richard Smith - Clinical Lead for Rheumatology, Salisbury Foundation Trust
I am clinical lead for Rheumatology at Salisbury Foundation Trust and visiting consultant to King Edward memorial hospital in the Falkland Islands. I sit on the British society Rheumatology Heberden’s committee, having previously sat on both the clinical affairs committee and education committee.
I run a weekly dedicated psoriatic arthritis biologics clinic and monthly joint dermatology/ rheumatology psoriatic disease clinic in Salisbury. I am PI for several clinical trials including several in the field of Psoriatic arthritis. I am an active member of GRAPPA and sit on the working group updating guidelines for comorbidities in Psoriatic disease. I sit on the executive committee for the Wessex Psoriatic Disease Network having been a founder member. I am a member of Brit-PACT and have attended virtually the last 3 annual meetings.
I am keen to become a member of the Steering committee of Brit-PACT. I believe I have shown my commitment in current and previous committee roles and would describe myself as a reliable and enthusiastic committee member with a reputation for achievement.
Dr Carmel Stober - Consultant Rheumatologist, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
I am a Consultant Rheumatologist based at Cambridge University Hospital. I have a sub-specialist interest in Psoriatic Arthritis, where I co-established (with Dr Deepak Jadon) and now lead the Psoriatic arthritis service. We work collaboratively with Dermatology (monthly MDT) and Gastroenterology (bi-monthly MDT), to optimise patient outcomes and therapeutic choices according to disease domains and patient preferences.
During my National Institute for Health Research Clinical Lectureship (University of Cambridge), I undertook basic research evaluating Th17 cells, and factors that expand pathogenic subsets in Psoriatic disease. In particular, the association of ‘metabolic stress’ and pathogenic Th17 expansion in Psoriatic arthritis (published July 2025). I have published on precision medicine in, and the aetiopathogenesis of, Psoriatic disease; as well as evaluating factors influencing biologic persistence in Psoriatic arthritis. As a member of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), and trainee representative on the GRAPPA Research Collaboration Network, I co-organised, presented and co-authored meeting proceedings, and contributed to international research initiatives. I have been principal investigator/ co-investigator in several clinical studies. My philosophy is that collaborative working facilitates precision medicine and thus optimises patient outcomes in heterogenous conditions such as Psoriatic Arthritis.
Committee elections results will be announced at the Brit-PACT AGM on 10th October 2025. The meeting can be attended in person or virtually, please email the team info@britpact.org for details.
If you cannot attend the annual meeting, please submit your electronic postal vote today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BritPACTElection2025
if you need any other additional information, please contact info@britpact.org.
Thank you for your vote!
The Brit-PACT Steering Committee