Laura Coates

Expert bio

Laura Coates, MBChB, MRCP, PhD
Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Laura Coates is an Associate Professor in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) at the University of Oxford in Oxford, UK. Her main task is to research optimal therapeutic strategies for patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and develop a more practical version of a “treat-to-target” approach to be used in a routine NHS clinic. Dr Coates completed her rheumatology training and earned her PhD degree at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, in Leeds, UK. Her PhD research concentrated on the development and validation of the minimal disease activity (MDA) criteria for PsA and the establishment of the Tight Control of Psoriatic Arthritis (TICOPA) study, the first study to address treating to target in PsA.

Dr Coates’ research focuses on PsA and the spondyloarthritides, including early diagnosis of PsA, development of PsA-specific and PsA-validated outcome measures, optimal treatment pathways, and strategies in PsA. She has experience in outcome measures development, has been involved in the development and validation of novel clinical and imaging outcome measures, and has developed and validated screening questionnaires to identify PsA. Dr Coates is also testing different treatment options to personalize care to the individual patient – will patients with a severe form of PsA do better if they are started directly on strong arthritis drugs; can patients with mild PsA be treated successfully with less powerful arthritis drugs and thus avoid side effects?

Based on her publications and their impact, Dr Coates was awarded one of eight UK Scopus Young Investigator Awards in 2011 and a University of Leeds Women of Achievement Award in 2012. She is Chair of the British Psoriatic Arthritis ConsorTium (Brit-PACT). Dr Coates is also the first-named author on the 2021 Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) treatment recommendations for psoriasis and PsA and is also involved in the GRAPPA/OMERACT (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology) initiative to refine the core set of outcome measures for PsA.

CP-297181 - Date of preparation: February 2021

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