The research focus is diagnosis, prognosis, and tailored treatment strategies in pediatric rheumatic diseases.
The work is aiming at optimized diagnosis, prediction models and targeted treatment strategies based on the patients’ clinical, personal, genetic and/or molecular profile.
Furthermore, we will describe the burden of the disease for the patients, their families and the society. This is achieved through ongoing and planned clinical trials, observational studies and translational biomedical research.

Long term goal
The group's long-term goal is optimized and personalized treatment of childhood rheumatological disease with the correct use of resource-intensive strategies, goal-directed treatment and early identification of individuals with different risks. This will help to avoid under- or over-treatment and improve the long-term outcome of the disease.

Research project overview:

Clinical research

• Optimized treatment of children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
• Physical function, patient reported disease impact and quality of life, and health economy burden in JIA patients
• Prediction models of therapeutic response in JIA patients based on clinical disease characteristics, biochemical, molecular and radiological measures of inflammation.
• Long-term development of rheumatic diseases of childhood and adolescence with focus on JIA and juvenile mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD).

 Translational, multidisciplinary research (molecular biology, drug monitoring and imaging)

• Molecular signatures on a cellular level in JIA.
  An assessment of how genetic expressions in leucocytes can differentiate between JIA sub-groups and work as measures of disease activity and treatment response (collaboration with M Mesel Isom and B Lie)
• Therapeutic drug monitoring.
  Assessment of TNFi treatment levels and development of anti-drug antibodies and their association with treatment effect, adverse events and flares (collaboration with J Gehin and N Bolstad)
• Ultrasound assessment of arthritis in JIA.
  Validation and implementation of ultrasound as a standardized assessment of arthritis in JIA
• Whole-body MRI assessment of arthritis in JIA.
  Assessment of whole-body MRI as a measure of disease activity in JIA (collaboration with E Kirkhus)
• Whole-body MRI assessment of osteitis in CNO.
  Assessment of whole-body MRI as a measure of disease activity in CNO (collaboration with L-S. Ording Muller)