EATC4Children

Spotlight for October - Bone Health -

Spotlight for October - Bone Health Professor Christian Hedrich is Professor of Child Health and Paediatric Rheumatology at the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.

We have manage to raise a whopping £213 in aid of Lupus UK. Thank you to everyone who donated!

Tomorrow, 22nd October marks our annual Spooky Bake Sale, in aid of LUPUS UK! You can donate to the cause here:

https://lupusuk.org.uk/make-a-donation/

Tomorrow, 22nd October marks our annual Spooky Bake Sale, in aid of LUPUS UK! You can donate to the cause here:

https://lupusuk.org.uk/make-a-donation/

More exciting news from PReS 2025 in Helsinki! 🇫🇮

Our Postdoc Francesca Sposito presented our team's research on juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE).

Her poster, entitled "Common Toll-Like Receptor 7 variants define disease risk and phenotypes in juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus", reveals that specific TLR7 gene variants may influence jSLE risk and disease patterns. The study found these genetic links can be ancestry-specific, meaning a variant that increases risk in one population might protect another.

This research highlights the potential for genetic risk stratification, which could help us identify patients at risk and personalize treatment. It also provides a strong rationale for exploring TLR7-targeted treatments in the future.

A huge congratulations to Francesca and the entire team for advancing our understanding of this complex disease! 👏

📢 PReS 2025 Conference Highlights

Two weeks ago, at Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS) Congress in Helsinki, our colleague Amandine Charras presented exciting new findings on chronic non-bacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), a rare but painful inflammatory bone disease affecting children and young people.

In collaboration with US and German teams, her research identified changes in the P2X7 protein—crucial for regulating inflammation—in up to 40% of patients. These changes may keep the immune system in a constant state of activation, contributing to ongoing bone inflammation (study link).

Her latest work focuses on understanding these mechanisms further and identifying new therapeutic targets. Promising steps toward better treatments for CNO! Congratulations on this hard and collaborative work.

Spotlight for September - Lupus - *https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?e=__test_email__&u=d154a970aa58233467d1d91e2&id=3e26de20cf*

Just over 2 weeks ago the EATC4Children hosted the UK JSLE Study Group Meeting with LUPUS UK in attendance (our partners on the UK JSLE Cohort Study and Repository).

The UK JSLE Study Group is a multi-disciplinary group of paediatric rheumatologists, nephrologists and dermatologists, adult rheumatologists, nurse specialists, lay representatives and basic scientists from all over the UK. It's members represent almost all of the major paediatric centres in the UK.

Based in Liverpool at the University and Alder Hey, the Study recruits from over 20 sites across the UK. The UK JSLE Cohort Study and Repository collects detailed real world clinical phenotypic data to identify characteristics of the disease in childhood over time and drivers of disease progression. It also collects important associated bio samples to support a large programme of translational laboratory research seeking to understand what causes lupus and how best to treat it. Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust was the first LUPUS UK Centre of Excellence for Children and Young People. It provides the highest level of specialist care to children and adolescents across the region.

have kindly agreed to provide financial support for a period of 2 years to support our Lupus workstream and specifically the UK JSLE Cohort Study and Repository. This is fantastic news for our team and we wanted to thank them for their ongoing support and future collaboration and partnership on this programme.



Alder Hey, University of Liverpool

To start off the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS) Congress Young Investigators Meeting, day one sees one of our colleagues, Flavia, presenting her work!

Congratulations, Flavia and wishing all of our other colleagues lots of luck over the next two days.

University of Liverpool
Alder Hey

At EATC4Children we celebrate the advances the University of Liverpool makes for people.

This garden is a wonderful addition to the campus.

Liverpool university ADHD garden is 'pocket of peace' A garden designed to "support and celebrate neurodiversity" opens at the University of Liverpool.

A reminder of the University of Liverpool's involvement in the , which takes place in Liverpool from Wednesday 10 to Sunday, 14 September. Find out about our University led sessions: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/07/31/british-science-festival-some-university-highlights/

We’re proud to be part of the British Science Festival as it returns to Liverpool from 10–14 September, bringing five days of inspiring talks, interactive installations, and hands-on experiences to the city. 🙌🧪

Here are just a few must-see events from the University of Liverpool programme:

🎙️Universal Secrets: Unpacking Particle Physics – a panel with UoL physicists, CERN experts, and real particle detectors you can explore up close.
🎮 Game On, Snack More: How junk food advertising targets young gamers
👩‍🔬 Science’s Invisible Women: Uncover overlooked stories in science history
🚆 Intercity Innovation: Reflecting on 200 years of the Liverpool–Manchester rail
🧠 Wired Differently: Step inside the neurodivergent brain through interactive activities
💡 In Conversation with Robin Saxby: A tech visionary on the future of semiconductors

👉 All events are FREE – find out more: https://brnw.ch/21wUB6O

British Science Festival |

Congratulations 🎊