Dr Md Yuzaiful Md Yusof

Profile

I am a Senior Research Fellow within the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine and a Locum Consultant Rheumatologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. I graduated from Manchester Medical School, the University of Manchester in July 2008. Having completed my Foundation and Core Medical Training in the North West region in August 2012, I relocated to Leeds to pursue a career in academic medicine. I was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow post in Rheumatology and subsequently was successful in securing an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (£0.5m) to undertake a PhD. In December 2018, I was awarded a PhD from the University of Leeds. My post-doctoral research experience include an NIHR Clinical Lecturership (Dec 2018-Feb 2020) and a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF) Fellowship (Aug 2020-Nov 2021). I received my Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Rheumatology in Aug 2019. 

Prizes and Awards

2021 Best Abstract Award in Clinical Science (out of 500 entries) – Lupus and CORA E-Congress

2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013 Travel Bursary Award EULAR Congress

2019 Best Abstract Award in Clinical Science (out of 5000 entries) – European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Congress, Madrid

2019 Best Junior Doctor Involvement in Research and Innovation Award - Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

2019 Poster Prize (Winner) Eric Bywaters Award – Royal Society of Medicine, London

2017 Post-Graduate Researcher of the Year (Runner-up) - University of Leeds

2014 Poster Prize (3^rd place) - Academy of Medical Sciences and University of Leeds

2014 Poster Prize Academic Presentation Day (3^rd place) - Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery

2003 5-year Undergraduates scholarship - MARA Malaysia Government

Google Scholar H-Index: 15

Outside LIRMM, I am appointed to the the Emerging European Rheumatologist Network (EMEUNET) Working Group Member, British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) Renal Sub-Committee, UK Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome Study Steering Committee, Clinical Endpoint Committee for phase III trials of voclosporin in lupus nephritis and dapirolizumab in SLE, RheumNow Faculty to provide coverage during the European and American Rheumatology Conferences, a Guest Associate Editor for Frontiers in Medicine and an Editorial Member for Rheumatology Advances in Practice and Frontiers in Immunology. 

Research interests

I am a translational researcher and the theme of my research is personalised therapy. My research is focused around two disorders that share common immunopathogenesis; systemic lupus erythematosus and primary Sjogren's syndrome. Since both diseases are heterogenous in terms of clinical presentation and response to therapy, there are no one-size-fits-all therapies for these disorders. Thus, I am interested in dissecting mechanism of resistance to therapy, phenotyping patients who will respond best, and translating novel agents from bench to bedside by running a clinical trial. My current research also aims to establish an efficient diagnostic pathway for people with antinuclear antibody positive (ANA) who are referred to secondary care through development and validation of clinical and novel biomarkers as diagnostics for autoimmune connective tissue disease, as well as a cost-effective risk prediction model for prognosis of ANA-positive individuals for use in clinical practice/trial. 

Grants received:

1. Lupus UK Grant (Lead applicant) - £25 000  (Jan 2022-Present). “Investigating the role of the skin in the earliest initiation of systemic lupus erythematosus.”
2. Wellcome Trust ISSF Fellowship (Lead Applicant) – £60,000 (Aug 2020-Nov 2021). “Improving Assessment of Musculoskeletal Pain in Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome: generating pilot data for a multicentre study.”
3. Lupus UK Grant (Lead applicant) - £25 000  (Dec 2019-May 2021). “Plucked hair follicles as a diagnostic tool in SLE alopecia.”
4. Lupus UK Grant (Co-applicant) - £25 000  (Nov 2017-Nov 2018). "Dissecting the role of interferons in the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus.”
5. NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (Lead Applicant) – £511,468 (Dec 2014-Dec 2017). “Selecting the Right Biologic for the Right Patient in SLE: Personalised Therapy based on Immunopathogenesis.”
6. Pfizer Inflammation Investigator Initiated Research (IIR) (Co-Applicant) – £15,000 (Dec 2014-Dec 2017). “Targeted therapy using intradermal injection of Etanercept for remission induction in Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (TARGET-DLE).”

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Leeds
• MRCP (UK), Royal College of Physicians
• MBChB, University of Manchester
• Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Research, University of Leeds
• Post-Graduate Certificate in Health Research, University of Leeds

Professional memberships

• General Medical Council
• Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh
• Medical Defence Union

Student education

I am actively involved in the undergraduate teaching by delivering a lecture once a month on "Connective Tissue Disease" and organise Hands Examination session (2-monthly). I am also one of the Final Year OSCE examiners at the University of Leeds. I have supervised three undergraduate students as a part of the LEADERS Summer School Projects; all were successful in delivering poster presentations at national rheumatology conferences and publication in a 3-star journals. I also deliver lectures to the post-graduate Core Medical Trainee annually. 

Research groups and institutes

• Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine