Professor Adam Croft appointed as Versus Arthritis Chair of Rheumatology

Professor Adam Croft from our NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Inflammatory Arthritis theme has been announced as the new Versus Arthritis Chair of Rheumatology and Head of the Rheumatology Research group at the University of Birmingham.

Adam has been a Professor of Translational Rheumatology at the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist at Universities Hospital Birmingham (UHB) since 2020. Professor Croft has a wealth of experience in discovery and translational rheumatology research and is a world leading expert in synovial tissue pathology in inflammatory arthritis.

He first worked under the mentorship of Professor Chris Buckley in the Rheumatology Research Group (RRG) in Birmingham and was appointed to the NIHR integrated academic clinical training pathway. In 2014 he secured a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship to establish his own research team focused on the question ‘why does inflammation persist in chronic immune mediated inflammatory diseases?’ His seminal work on synovial tissue fibroblasts established the existence of pathogenic effector fibroblast subsets in inflammatory arthritis. He currently holds a Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research Senior Research Fellowship.

His role within our BRC is also highly relevant, as Birmingham brings together academics and clinicians to translate scientific discoveries into potential new treatments, diagnostics and technologies, leading the way in inflammatory research. Professor Croft leads the UK Tissue Research in Childhood Arthritis Consortium funded by UKRI and within this research infrastructure he is performing the first ever synovial tissue biopsy study in children and young people with arthritis.

I’m honoured to have been appointed to the Versus Arthritis Chair of Rheumatology at the University, an organisation that has supported my research and that I have long had a relationship with. I look forward to working with researchers in the RRG to shape our research strategy and vision for the next decade, embedding patient views at the heart of our research questions and ensuring Birmingham continues to deliver cutting edge research that improves the lives and health of people with rheumatic diseases.

– Professor Adam Croft, Versus Arthritis Chair of Rheumatology, University of Birmingham.

Clinically, he is an expert in the management of treatment resistant rheumatoid arthritis and works with young adults with childhood-onset inflammatory arthritis.

His research interests include understanding the role of tissue fibroblasts in chronic inflammation and developing strategies to target these in immune mediated inflammatory diseases. His research is supported by the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research, Versus Arthritis, Wellcome, Medical Research Council and The Lorna & Yuti Chernajovsky Biomedical Research Foundation.

Versus Arthritis provides support and services for people with arthritis across the UK, funds world-class research to develop breakthrough treatments, and campaigns for arthritis to be seen as a priority, towards a future free from arthritis.

Arthritis affects over 10 million people in the UK. Pain experienced can affect an individual’s abilities to work, care for family and in some instances to live independently.

Professor Croft will give his inaugural lecture on Wednesday 6^th March 2024. Sign up to watch online.