Dr. Makinde, whose research focuses on scleroderma, said, “It was great to see such a significant amount of work utilizing transcriptomics and proteomics to dissect disease mechanisms.”
Although Dr. Makinde is not currently engaged in work on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, the session on this topic by Manel Juan Otero, MD, PhD, head of the immunotherapy platform, Clinical Immunology Unit at SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital and Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, stuck with her. This lecture was “a great reminder of how much crosstalk there can be between different fields,” she said.
The Sagrada Família, officially the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí.
An International Experience
Like ACR Convergence, the EULAR annual conference is a huge, complex event. Dr. Anwardeen—who had not attended a EULAR conference before—was surprised by the size of the venue and number of attendees.
“It can feel overwhelming and intimidating at first,” he said, “but my new friends and colleagues from the Exchange Program made sure I felt welcome and settled in.”
Dr. Anwardeen was specifically impressed by the leadership of EMEUNET, a Europe-wide network of young rheumatologists who have joined together with the goal of contributing to high profile EULAR activities. As part of the exchange program, they provided a small group session on the evolving role of artificial intelligence in rheumatology.
The location of Barcelona and the atmosphere for the conference were also memorable for the exchange program participants. “I was surprised by the culture, both in and outside the conference, and the big party at the end was wild in a good way,” Dr. Makinde said.
She was also impressed by how structured and well-organized the conference sessions were and how advanced many European groups are at integrating multi-omics into clinical research. “It definitely pushed me to think more creatively about how to bring those approaches into our work—even when resources are tight,” Dr. Makinde said.
Different Perspectives
Comparing and contrasting rheumatology practice in different countries also provided a rich source of insights.
Church of Sant Agustí (Iglesia de San Agustín)
“Rheumatology practice in Malaysia is often shaped by a rich blend of cultural beliefs, multilingual patient communication and variable access to specialty care,” Dr. Anwardeen said. “Conducting research, patient education and clinical consults will always need to consider these differences and pose an interesting challenge to clinicians and researchers.”
