Research Appreciation Day 2026: Celebrating the future of arthritis research

Did you know that the 5th July is Research Appreciation Day, an annual opportunity to celebrate the hard work of medical researchers whose research is changing lives? 

This Research Appreciation Day we wanted to celebrate the next generation of researchers by introducing our newest Career Development Fellows.  

What is a Career Development Fellowship?

Our Career Development Fellowships support the next generation of talented research scientists, medics, vets, nurses and allied health professionals dedicated to research into arthritis and related musculoskeletal conditions. These awards invest in excellent researchers to help them develop an independent research career. 

The Career Development Fellowship scheme is an important part of our Research Strategy (2022-2028). Where Arthritis UK is committed to strengthening the future of arthritis research by supporting research careers and building skills within the UK arthritis research community. 

Meet our 2026 fellows

We’re delighted to introduce our 2026 Career Development Fellows and their research projects: 

Dr Verena Hinze at the University of Oxford 

Studying the connection between long-term pain and self-harm in young people to better identify those at risk and improve outcomes.

Dr Madelon de Jong at the University of Oxford 

Investigating if bone marrow plays a role in driving rheumatoid arthritis. 

Dr Cecilia Ansalone at the University of Glasgow

Aiming to understand how immune cells known as B cells and macrophages sustain chronic inflammation to identify safer and more effective therapies for giant cell arteritis. 

Understanding self-harm risk in young people with long-term pain

Dr Verena Hinze is a researcher and psychologist at the University of Oxford aiming to explore why some young people with chronic pain experience self-harm thoughts or behaviours while others do not. 

Her research aims to help pain services better identify those at risk and provide more timely and effective support. 

Chronic pain 

In the UK, nearly 3 million young people live with chronic pain, including musculoskeletal conditions like back pain or arthritis. 

While some young people cope well despite experiencing pain, others may experience severe distress. For some, this distress may include self-harm thoughts and behaviours.

My research has shown that nearly 1 in 10 teenagers with chronic pain report self-harm thoughts or behaviours and this is even more common in young people who attend specialist pain services

Dr Verena Hinze, University of Oxford

What will Dr Hinze do?

Dr Hinze will identify key psychological and social factors that may increase risk over time, evaluate current pain services to show whether current care is meeting young people’s needs and work with young people and clinicians to co-design a new intervention to help pain services respond to self-harm risk. 

These insights will help pain clinicians recognise and respond to mental health difficulties earlier within routine care.

This project will support the development of practical, evidence-based support strategies that can be delivered within existing pain services, helping to improve integrated care, reduce distress, and ensure that no young person has to suffer alone

Dr Verena Hinze, University of Oxford

This project is directly relevant to young people living with arthritis and other chronic pain conditions, who experience severe distress and may not currently receive the support they need. The research will help identify which young people are most at risk, when risk increases, and why some continue to struggle even after pain treatment. 

The Arthritis UK Career Development Fellowship provides the time, resources, and mentorship I need to lead this important work at the intersection of paediatric chronic pain and adolescent mental health

Dr Verena Hinze, University of Oxford

It’s important to remember that there’s never just one reason a young person may experience distressing thoughts. It’s deeply personal and there are often complex factors at play.  

If you or someone you know is struggling, remember you don’t have to face your problems alone. If you need support, you can:  

Call Samaritans for free 24/7 on 116 123.   

Call Papyrus on 0300 102 2470.  

Call Childline on 0800 1111 or use chat to one of their counsellors online.  

Chat to The Mix Counselling Service online.  

Text 'Shout' to 85258 for free to receive confidential, anonymous support 24/7.  

We also have a Young People and Families Service that supports young people and their families with one-to-one support, events and resources across the UK. 

The role of bone marrow in rheumatoid arthritis

Dr Madelon de Jong is an immunologist and medical doctor at the University of Oxford investigating whether the bone marrow plays an important role in driving rheumatoid arthritis. 

Understanding rheumatoid arthritis 

Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune condition where the immune system, which is the body’s natural self-defence system, gets confused and starts to attack healthy tissues in the body. This can cause pain, swelling and stiffness in your joints. 

Although rheumatoid arthritis is usually thought of as a disease of the joints, the immune cells causing this inflammation are produced in the bone marrow, a soft and spongy tissue inside our bones. 

What will Dr de Jong do? 

Dr de Jong’s research aims to understand whether joint inflammation changes the way bone marrow produces immune cells, particularly ones likely to drive future flares. 

Although treatments for rheumatoid arthritis have improved enormously, many people still experience repeated flares and progressive joint damage over time. 

 

My research investigates whether inflammation leaves behind longer-lasting changes in the immune system that make future flares more likely. If we can better understand these changes, we may eventually be able to prevent flares before they happen, rather than only reacting once symptoms appear

Dr Madelon de Jong, University of Oxford

In the long term, this research will help us better understand the root causes of chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, rather than only treating its symptoms once they appear. 

By targeting the systems that drive disease at its source, we may eventually be able to improve long-term disease control, reduce flare frequency, and ultimately improve quality of life for people living with arthritis

Dr Madelon de Jong, University of Oxford

Understanding the control of inflammation in giant cell arteritis

Dr Cecilia Ansalone is an immunologist at the University of Glasgow focused on understanding how immune cells co-ordinate their activity in the body during chronic inflammation and tissue damage. 

What is giant cell arteritis?

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a medical condition that can cause pain and swelling in blood vessels. If left untreated, it can be a severe inflammatory disease that can lead to blindness, stroke, and long-term disability. Many patients also experience profound musculoskeletal inflammation, including symptoms overlapping with polymyalgia rheumatica and inflammatory arthritis. 

What will Dr Ansalone do? 

Dr Ansalone’s fellowship aims to understand how immune cells known as B cells and macrophages accumulate and interact within the wall of inflamed blood vessels to cause chronic inflammation, tissue damage, and disease relapse. 

Despite the severity of GCA, we still understand surprisingly little about the mechanisms driving persistent inflammation and relapse. Understanding how chronic and treatment-resistant inflammation persists within tissues remains one of the major unanswered questions across immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

Dr Cecilia Ansalone, University of Glasgow

Treatment options for GCA remain extremely limited. Most patients are still treated with long-term steroids, which can cause major side effects, particularly in older people affected by the disease. 

Through her fellowship, Dr Ansalone hopes to identify new disease pathways and immune signatures that could help stratify patients and support the development of safer and more effective therapies.

 

By characterising the mechanisms sustaining chronic and treatment-resistant inflammation in GCA, this work may also provide insights relevant to other inflammatory and musculoskeletal diseases where persistent tissue inflammation drives long-term damage and treatment failure

Dr Cecilia Ansalone, University of Glasgow

This fellowship will allow me to expand patient-centred research in GCA and continue bridging mechanistic human tissue biology with therapeutic discovery

Dr Cecilia Ansalone, University of Glasgow

Want to know more about how we’re supporting the next generation of research?

Now that you've met our 2026 Career Development Fellows, why not find out more about last year's fellows and their research into understanding pain in arthritis, targeted treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and improving care for people with axial spondyloarthritis. 

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