Lupus

2022 Emerging Leaders Prize - Highly commended, £20,000: Dr Thomas McDonnell, Medical Research Foundation Fellow, University College London.

Dr Thomas McDonnell’s research focuses on the antiphospholipid syndrome; a condition which overlaps significantly with lupus, both in patients and underlying mechanisms.

His work has ranged from developing a potential new treatment, to studying Beta-2-Glycoprotein I (B2GPI), which represents the main autoantigen in antiphospholipid syndrome. To do this, Dr McDonnell has focused on developing a unique, multidisciplinary approach to translational research, incorporating techniques from multiple fields and bringing them to bear for the benefit of patients.

This funding will allow Dr McDonnell to attend a leadership course and train other scientists working on lupus and associated conditions, helping to support the longer-term impact of his research. The funding will also be spent on introducing automation into Dr McDonnell’s lab, which will significantly extend the scope of his research.