Professor Maya H Buch

Profile

Professor Maya H Buch PhD FRCP is Visiting Professor of Rheumatology (with primary appointment at the University of Manchester as Professor of Rheumatology, Director of Experimental Medicine) and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist.

Background

- Medical qualification from the University of Birmingham, UK, followed by internal medicine training, also in Birmingham; Specialist rheumatology training Leeds.

- PhD, NIHR Clinical Lecturer and NIHR Clinician Scientist, Leeds

- Fellowship, University of Michigan Hospitals Scleroderma Program, Ann Arbor, USA 

- Associate Professor 2009; promoted to Professor in 2015.

National roles:

- NIHR Joint & Inflammatory Translational Research Collaboration (TRC) steering committee, Deputy Chair

- NIHR-BHF cardiovascular collaboration steering committee (as the only rheumatologist); worlstream lead ‘Inflammation-IMID and CVD.

- National lead for Systemic Sclerosis (SSc), NIHR Bioresource

- UK SSc group: lead, cardiac disease

- 'Versus Arthritis' grant committees - Chairs the foundation fellowship; recently taken on Chair of Senior Research Fellowship; sits on career development committee,  Treatment subcommittee and the Fellowship expert panel.

International roles

- Chair of the Scientific Organising Committee for European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Congress 2015 and Abstract Chair for EULAR Congress 2014

- Co-founded EMEUNET, a young rheumatologist’s EULAR initiative and was its Chair; aimed at promoting education, collaboration and excellence in research by emerging rheumatologists in Europe.

Guidelines

- EULAR task forces in the development of recommendations in the management of rheumatoid arthritis 2010 and 2013

- Lead on the EULAR reporting of trial extension studies and the rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis consensus update.

- Co-author the British Society of Rheumatology SSc guidelines

- Lead on the consensus pathway in the management of cardiac disease in SSc.

Section Editor, Arthritis Research & Therapy; Editorial boards of several rheumatology journals

Research interests

Research field

- Clinical and experimental medicine research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA): Stratification of targeted therapies; Refractory RA

- Cardiovascular (CV) pathology in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases 

- Systemic sclerosis

A wide-ranging research portfolio; comprising clinical trials, high resolution clinical investigation and experimental evaluation to deeply phenotype disease, identify prognostic and drug response predictive biomarkers; as well as mechanistic evaluations of therapies to advance management of RA. Active research programme in refractory RA. Clinical and research interest in the rare disease, systemic sclerosis (SSc), focusing on investigation of primary myocardial involvement and the evaluation of novel therapies. Lead a programme on cardiovascular pathology in IMID ('CARDIO-AID').

Current main research activities include: clinical and imaging phenotyping, and blood and synovial tissue omics analyses in early RA trial (‘VEDERA’) and observational cohorts to identify patient and disease subgroups, predictors of drug response, and understand mechanisms of drug effect. 

Recently completed studies in cardiovascular pathology in IMID include the 'CADERA' study (Coronary artery disease evaluation in rheumatoid arthritis, using cardiac MRI; in collaboration with Prof S. Plein, Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular And Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds), the 'ELCASA' (ELectrophysiology and CArdiac imaging in SclerodermA) study, a novel pilot study of an implantable loop recorder with cardiac MRI (CMR) that revealed incidental significant arrhythmia in Scleroderma and association with CMR measure of fibrosis and serum cardiac biomarkers. 

Qualifications

• MBChB 1995 (University of Birmingham, UK)
• MRCP (London) 1998
• United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE) 2005
• PhD (University of Leeds, UK) 2007
• FRCP 2013

Professional memberships

• General Medical Council
• Royal College of Physicians
• British Society of Rheumatology
• American College of Rheumatology
• British Medical Association
• Medical Protection Society

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine
• Inflammatory Musculoskeletal
• Immunity and inflammation
• Musculoskeletal disease
• Targets and therapies
• Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases