Connect Immune Research partnership

Autoimmune conditions occur when the body’s immune system begins attacking its own cells. Thyroid disease is one of the many autoimmune conditions which jointly affect up to four million people in the UK. Often, people have more than one autoimmune condition, fueling the idea that there are common underlying biological mechanisms across different autoimmune conditions.

The BTF is part of a group of organisations called Connect Immune Research (CIR) collaborating on research into the causes of autoimmune conditions. This is a partnership that seeks to address the challenge of collaboration across disease-specific research silos. We want the scientific community to work together across autoimmune specialisms, to identify the common threads in their work and tackle multiple conditions at once. Understanding the similarities between different autoimmune conditions could help to transform lives, and may lead to new treatments faster.

This collaboration of scientists and expertise is designed to broaden the scope of research, leading to faster and more innovative outcomes in finding the root causes of autoimmunity and developing treatments for people living with autoimmune conditions.

Julia Priestley, CEO (Development) of the BTF, said:

'We are delighted to be part of Connect Immune Research, which is such an important network of organisations with common interests. We look forward to working together and sharing resources to encourage much-needed research in this area.'

BTF trustee, Professor Marian Ludgate from the Thyroid Research Group at Cardiff University School of Medicine said:

'Autoimmune thyroid diseases, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Graves’ disease, are the most commonly occurring autoimmune diseases. They affect millions of people of all ages in the UK. Unfortunately, even though the prevalence of thyroid autoimmunity is increasing, treatments for most patients haven’t changed in decades.'

Connect Immune Research is currently made up of the following organisations:

• Alopecia UK
• Arthritis UK
• Bowel Research UK
• Breakthrough T1D
• British Society for Immunology
• Coeliac UK
• Crohn's & Colitis UK
• Inflammatory Neuropathies UK
• Juvenile Arthritis Research
• myaware
• National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS)
• Royal Free Charity
• The MS Society
• The Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance (PAPAA)
• The Wren Project

To help inform potential partners, we have developed the CIR charter which explains our vision, strategy and principles. If you would like more information on the CIR partnership please contact [email protected].

About Connect Immune Research