Top Researchers
Top Medicine Researchers at University of Leeds for 2026
Research at the University of Leeds continues to show broad strength across Medicine, with recent work spanning inflammatory disease, cardiovascular imaging, gastroenterology, and clinical consensus building. The sample below highlights how that activity is distributed across closely connected specialties.
Across the last year, the featured researchers have contributed to studies that move between patient care, diagnostics, and treatment strategy. Together, their work offers a useful snapshot of the questions Leeds clinicians and scientists are actively addressing right now.
Featured Researchers
Philip G. Conaghan
Philip G. Conaghan’s recent Leeds work centers on rheumatology, surgery, and orthopedics and sports medicine, with papers on osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and osteoarthritic knee treatment.
Activity over the last year: 31 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Treatment of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis in the Oldest Old (Feb 2025)
- A phase 1 clinical trial shows safe, sustained, AAV-mediated expression of IL-1Ra in the human osteoarthritic knee joint (Jun 2025)
- Osteoarthritis after major combat trauma: the Armed Services Trauma Rehabilitation Outcome Study (Jan 2025)
Sven Plein
Sven Plein’s publications at the University of Leeds focus on radiology, nuclear medicine and imaging, and cardiology, including consensus statements and studies of ventricular arrhythmia, cardiac fibrosis, and myocardial perfusion.
Activity over the last year: 38 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- The role of multi-modality imaging in multiple valvular heart diseases: a clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging of the European Society of Cardiology (Jan 2025)
- Ventricular Arrhythmia and Cardiac Fibrosis in Endurance Experienced Athletes (VENTOUX) (Jul 2025)
- Society for cardiovascular magnetic resonance expert consensus statement on quantitative myocardial perfusion cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (Jan 2025)
Edward M Vital
Edward M Vital’s recent research links rheumatology with imaging and pathology, particularly around B cell depletion, B-cell targeted therapies, and expert consensus on rare systemic lupus erythematosus manifestations.
Activity over the last year: 27 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
Dennis McGonagle
Dennis McGonagle’s Leeds output is concentrated in rheumatology and immunology, with work on psoriatic arthritis, Takayasu arteritis, and consensus definitions for treatment-refractory disease.
Activity over the last year: 28 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Delineating inflammatory from non-inflammatory mechanisms for therapy optimization in psoriatic arthritis (Mar 2025)
- Takayasu arteritis: a geographically distant but immunologically proximal MHC-I-opathy (Jan 2025)
- Consensus definitions of complex-to-manage and treatment-refractory psoriatic arthritis: a GRAPPA initiative (Nov 2025)
Helena Marzo‐Ortega
Helena Marzo-Ortega’s recent publications emphasize rheumatology and immunology, especially consensus definitions and guidance for difficult-to-manage axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
Activity over the last year: 25 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- The Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) Consensus-Based Expert Definition of Difficult-to-Manage, including Treatment-Refractory, Axial Spondyloarthritis (Feb 2025)
- POS1269 EULAR POINTS TO CONSIDER FOR THE DEFINITIONS OF DIFFICULT-TO-MANAGE AND TREATMENT-REFRACTORY PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS (Jun 2025)
- EULAR points to consider and consensus definitions for difficult-to-manage and treatment-refractory psoriatic arthritis (Oct 2025)
Peter Swoboda
Peter Swoboda’s recent work spans radiology and cardiology, including ventricular arrhythmia in endurance athletes, dilated cardiomyopathy genetics, and cardiac magnetic resonance flow analysis after infarction.
Activity over the last year: 23 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Ventricular Arrhythmia and Cardiac Fibrosis in Endurance Experienced Athletes (VENTOUX) (Jul 2025)
- Sex Differences in the Genetic Causes of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (Jul 2025)
- Left ventricular flow kinetics and myocardial deformation following acute infarction: Additional predictive value of cardiac magnetic resonance four-dimensional flow for left ventricular remodeling post-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (Jan 2025)
Francesco Del Galdo
Francesco Del Galdo’s Leeds research brings together pathology, epidemiology, and respiratory medicine, with studies on interferon scores, systemic sclerosis progression, and interstitial lung disease severity.
Activity over the last year: 22 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Serum Type I Interferon Score for Prediction of Clinically Meaningful Disease Progression in Limited Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis (Jan 2025)
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with a more severe interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis in the EUSTAR cohort (Jan 2025)
- Serum type I interferon score as a disease activity biomarker in patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: a retrospective cohort study (Apr 2025)
Alexander C. Ford
Alexander C. Ford’s recent Leeds publications focus on gastroenterology, genetics, and epidemiology, covering Helicobacter pylori eradication, irritable bowel syndrome, and evidence-based management.
Activity over the last year: 17 indexed journal articles.
Top publications:
- Eradication Therapy to Prevent Gastric Cancer in Helicobacter pylori–Positive Individuals: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies (Jan 2025)
- Efficacy of dietary interventions in irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and network meta-analysis (Apr 2025)
- An evidence-based update on the diagnosis and management of irritable bowel syndrome (Jan 2025)
What University of Leeds's Medicine Community Is Working On
The strongest pattern across the featured work is rheumatology, which appears throughout studies of inflammatory arthritis, systemic sclerosis, lupus, and spondyloarthritis. Radiology, nuclear medicine and imaging also stands out, especially where cardiac and musculoskeletal questions depend on advanced diagnostic methods. Together with cardiology, pathology, surgery, and related specialties, these subfields suggest an active Leeds community focused on understanding disease mechanisms, refining classification, and translating evidence into more precise care.- Rheumatology - seen across 4 of the featured researchers
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging - seen across 3 of the featured researchers
- Surgery - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine - seen across 2 of the featured researchers
From rheumatology and imaging to cardiology, pathology, and gastroenterology, these recent publications show a research community working across both disease mechanisms and practical care. Explore the profiles below to see how those threads connect, and use Resub to help streamline your own citation discovery, formatting, and submission workflow.
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