Sandra Robinson
Senior Nurse Researcher 

Assist RA chair, Sandra, is passionate about the programme because it provides nurses with the opportunity to come together, share learnings and best practice and acquire the necessary skills and confidence to support gold-standard management of rheumatology patients

Katy Pieris 
Affiliate patient 

Katy is an RA patient and affiliate member of our ASSIST RA steering committee. She volunteers for NRAS and has had an active role in supporting fellow patients during the pandemic. Listen to her story in our first ‘Joint discussions in RA’ podcast: Discussions with a patient

Barbara Douglas     
Clinical Nurse Manager    

With more than 27 years rheumatology experience, Barbara's role as a Clinical Nurse Manager and Advanced Nurse practitioner allows her to support strategic planning of rheumatology from a nursing perspective to equip nurses with the necessary skills and confidence to work with the MDT to ensure that patients are always at the heart of the decision-making process.     

Alison Kent
Rheumatology Specialist Nurse 

Both an experienced nurse and patient, Alison in passionate about the use of communication, health coaching, shared decision-making and goal setting - all of which are core components of the Assist RA programme.     

Deborah Bond
Rheumatology Nurse Manager

Debbie Bond is a Rheumatology Nurse Manager and Biologics Lead at the Royal United Hospitals Bath with experience and publications in the treatment and management of patients with Rheumatology 

Dr. Stuart Kyle
Consultant Rheumatologist 

Interests include all areas of Rheumatology including inflammatory arthritis (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spondyloarthropathies, Crystal arthropathies), non-inflammatory arthritis (Osteoarthritis), connective tissue diseases (Systemic Lupus, Sjogren’s, Scleroderma, Dermatomyositis) vasculitis and soft tissue rheumatism. He has been associate medical director for 3 years, which includes the role of appraisal lead for the Trust. During this time, Stuart has become increasingly interested in the provision of clinical performance and outcome evidence. In 2020 he won a BSR 2020 Best Practise award for his virtual clinics and integration with patient portal outcomes initiative.

Prof Peter Taylor
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Peter Taylor is the Head of Clinical Sciences at the Botnar Research Centre where he directs the Biomedical Research Unit Inflammation theme and leads the rheumatology clinical trials group and related translational research programme at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology within the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences. Professor Taylor has specialist clinical interests in rheumatoid arthritis and early inflammatory arthritis. Professor Taylor has over 20 years' experience in clinical trial design and international leadership in studies of biologic and small molecular therapies in RA and AS.

Sandra Robinson
Senior Nurse Researcher 

Assist RA chair, Sandra, is passionate about the programme because it provides nurses with the opportunity to come together, share learnings and best practice and acquire the necessary skills and confidence to support gold-standard management of rheumatology patients

David Walker
Consultant Rheumatologist

David, an affiliate member of our ASSIST RA steering committtee, believes we need to optimise communication with our parents. His research interest lie in outcomes and education and has presented abstracts at the annual BSR meeting since 1983

Alison Kent
Rheumatology Specialist Nurse 

Both an experienced nurse and patient, Alison is passionate about the use of communication, health coaching, shared decision-making and goal setting - all of which are core components of the Assist RA programme.     

Dr Neil Stanley 
Independent sleep expert 

Dr Neil Stanley is an independent sleep expert and Director of Sleep Science at Sleepstation.org.uk. He has been involved in sleep research for 39 years, starting his career at the Neurosciences Division of the R.A.F. Institute of Aviation Medicine. In the early 1990s, he moved to the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit, part of the University of Surrey, as Director of Sleep Research. He is past Chairman of the British Sleep Society (2000-2004) and a member of the European Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep.

Barbara Douglas     
Clinical Nurse Manager    

With more than 27 years rheumatology experience, Barbara's role as a Clinical Nurse Manager and Advanced Nurse practitioner allows her to support strategic planning of rheumatology from a nursing perspective to equip nurses with the necessary skills and confidence to work with the MDT to ensure that patients are always at the heart of the decision-making process.     

Peter Boyd
EULAR PARE community

Peter Boyd was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2011 and began volunteering almost immediately across all Arthritis Ireland services, including as a trustee from 2013 to 2019. Peter was also a trustee of EULAR (European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology) Young Patients from 2016-2020 and is very active within the EULAR PARE community.

In September 2019, Peter began working with Arthritis Ireland managing the national helpline and frontline services. This has been particularly important throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to be a challenge, but one Peter relishes as he is now working to support people in living better lives with arthritis, not merely existing as he was in 2011.