Professor of Investigative Rheumatology
Leeds Institute of Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Medicine
University of Leeds
Dennis McGonagle graduated from UCD in 1990 with a first class honour in Medicine, winning the O’Donovan Gold Medal and two other Medals in Medicine. He went into Rheumatology in 1994 and moved to the University of Leeds in 2006. He undertook his PhD into the cellular and micro-anatomical basis for inflammatory arthritis disease localisation to the joints. In clinical research, he has used microanatomy and imaging to elucidate the pathogenesis of the seronegative inflammatory diseases and has defined the central role of the enthesis in joint pathology in several key publications including the cytokine mediated enthesitis theory of synovitis in the seronegative spondyloarthopathies (diseases that include Ankylosing Spondylitis and Psoriatic Arthritis) (Lancet 1998). He runs clinics into immune mediated diseases and a joint autoinflammaotory network and he has developed the modern immunological Disease Continuum classification of inflammation against self (PLoS Med 2006). His group have shown how COVID-19 immunopathology is a distinct pulmonary pathology that differs from classic MAS and DIC (Autoimm Rev 2020 & Lancet Rheum 2020).
His group have defined normal human enthesis innate and adaptive immunity including gamma delta T-cells and conventional T-cells in the human enthesis (Cuthbert R et al ARD 2019) and (Bridgewood C et al ARD 2019 & Watad et al ARD 2020). His other interest is the use of native joint resident mesenchymal stem cells for OA therapy (Nat Rev Rheum 2017).
Dennis is Professor of Investigate Rheumatology and Section Head of Experimental Rheumatology at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine. He has served on the Editorial Boards of Arthritis & Rheumatism and Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, and has served as a member of the Scientific Committee of The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). He is a member of the UK MRC PSMB Board. He has also won international prizes for his work including the Verna Wright Lecture in 2018 and the Philadelphia Rheumatism Pemberton Prize in 2018 and the Royal Academy of Medicine (Bioengineering) Medal in 2019.
Read my profile on the University of Leeds website for more information