Dr Eve Smith stood on the stage at the EULAR Conference holding a certificate of her award, with those presenting the award stood on either side

The School of Infection & Immunity's Dr Eve Smith recently received the prestigious EULAR Abstract Award – FOREUM: Clinical Science at this year’s EULAR 2025 Congress.

The world’s largest rheumatology conference, over 13,000 delegates from more than 125 countries attended the event in Barcelona from Wednesday, 11 to Saturday, 14 June 2025.

Clinical Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Rheumatology Dr Smith was recognised by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology for her outstanding work leading the cSLE Treat-to-Target (T2T) Global Study.

This major international collaboration focused on improving outcomes for children and young people with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE).

Jointly funded by FOREUM and the Rheumatology Research Foundation, the study brings together data from three major registries: the UK JSLE Cohort Study, the US-based CARRA Registry, and the JIR Cohort from continental Europe. 

With data from approximately 2,000 patients across 10 countries, the study forms the largest international cSLE cohort to date.

The project aims to evaluate the feasibility of achieving ‘Treat-to-Target’ goals in cSLE and apply machine learning to develop personalised predictions of disease trajectory and target attainment. 

This could transform how young patients are monitored and treated, offering more proactive and personalised care to reduce long-term damage.

Dr Smith said: “We are deeply honoured to receive the FOREUM–EULAR Clinical Research Award for the cSLE Treat-to-Target (T2T) Global Study. 

"This collaborative project, uniting data from thousands of children and young people with cSLE worldwide, represents a major step forward in paediatric lupus research.

"By working together across borders, we’ve been able to generate insights far beyond what any single centre could achieve alone—a true testament to the power of global collaboration.”

Given the increased severity of cSLE compared to adult-onset SLE - characterised by higher disease activity, a greater steroid burden, and an elevated risk of long-term damage - the study seeks to shape more effective treatment approaches for this rare but serious autoimmune disease.

Work is ongoing, including data-driven sensitivity analyses and machine learning–based prediction modelling, with plans to integrate these insights into innovative tools for real-time patient monitoring.

cSLE T2T Global Team

  • University of Liverpool: Professor Michael Beresford, Professor Andrea Jorgensen, Dr Flavia Alves, Chandni Sarker
  • Duke University, USA: Assistant Professor Rebecca Sadun, Professor Matthew Englehard, Yuqi Li
  • University of Colorado, USA: Assistant Professor Jennifer Cooper
  • University of Alabama, USA: Assistant Professor Emily Smitherman
  • University of Lyon, France: Professor Alexandre Belot
  • National Institutes of Health, USA: Assistant Professor Laura Lewandowski

First published: 29 July 2025

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