Dr Ferguson earned her medical degree in 1990 from the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. Her post-graduate training at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, included a pediatric internship from 1990–’91, a pediatric residency during the next two years, a pediatric immunology and rheumatology fellowship from 1993–’97 and a postdoctoral research fellowship from 1997–’99. Then she served as a research associate and pediatric fellow at the school from 1999–2000.
Keynote & Invited Speakers
Read about our Keynote & Invited Speakers below:
Professor Peter A. Merkel
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, USA
Dr. Peter Merkel is Chief of Rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania and is an internationally recognized research and clinical expert in vasculitis and scleroderma, diseases he has studied for more than 20 years. He completed his residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Merkel’s research focuses on clinical trial design and conduct, outcome-measure development, clinical epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and biomarker discovery. He is the principal investigator of the NIH-sponsored Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium (VCRC), the leading research infrastructure for vasculitis clinical investigation in North America, with additional projects worldwide. He is also a founding member of the NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN). He is the Chair of the OMERACT Vasculitis Working Group. Dr. Merkel has also conducted substantial research in scleroderma, with a focus on outcome measures and clinical-trial design. He receives the majority of his research support from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and receives additional funding from industry sources and private foundations. He has been an author on over 350 scientific publications..
Dr Claire Owen
Rheumatologist
MBBS (Hons), PhD, FRACP, CCPU
Deputy Director of Rheumatology
Austin Health, Australia
Dr Claire Owen is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne.
Her predominant area of research concerns polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and its intersection with the related condition, giant cell arteritis (GCA). Since commencing her PhD studies in 2014, Claire has developed internationally-recognised expertise in the use of imaging modalities including ultrasound, MRI and whole-body PET/CT for both PMR and GCA.
Currently, Claire leads the dedicated PMR/GCA Clinic at Austin Health, which offers an evidence-based, protocolised model of care, delivered alongside a research program focusing on advancing the diagnosis and management of these rheumatic diseases.
Since 2017, Claire has also been an active contributor to the PMR Working Group of OMERACT, an international collaboration of clinicians, researchers and patient partners committed to improving outcome measures in rheumatology, and presently serves as the Group’s Co-Chair.
Professor Polly J. Ferguson
Virtual Presentations
Professor of Pediatrics-Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Marjorie K. Lamb Professor of Pediatrics - Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Division Director, Pediatric Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology
Executive Vice Chair, Stead Family Department of Pediatrics
Zechariah Reuelu
Arthritis NZ
Zechariah Reuelu is the Community Development – Pacific Lead at Arthritis New Zealand and has more than 15 years’ experience leading culturally responsive initiatives to improve musculoskeletal health outcomes for Pacific and Māori communities.
Drawing on both lived experience and professional practice, Zechariah is recognised for translating complex clinical concepts into practical, community-centred education that empowers people and whānau to better understand and manage gout and arthritis. His work has helped strengthen partnerships between communities, primary care, pharmacy, iwi and Pacific organisations, contributing to innovative models that improve health literacy, workforce capability and equitable access to care.
Zechariah has served on the Health Quality & Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora Consumer Network since 2022, where he contributes a Pacific consumer perspective to national quality improvement initiatives. He is passionate about ensuring consumer voices, cultural knowledge and lived experience are embedded in the design and delivery of health services.
Outside his national role, Zechariah is Project Lead for the Atafu Tokelau Community Group, supporting initiatives that strengthen the wellbeing, resilience and aspirations of Tokelau families across Aotearoa.
Dr Anthea Anantharajah
Clinical Immunologist & Immunopathologist
Clinical Leader, Department of Immunology
Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley DHB
TOPIC: An update on IgG4-RD (emphasis on diagnosis and management)
Dr Anthea Anantharajah is a Clinical Immunologist and Immunopathologist based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Her clinical practice spans systemic inflammatory disease, immune dysregulation, inborn errors of immunity and complex multisystem disorders. Anthea has a particular interest in conditions that sit at the interface of rheumatology, immunology and diagnostic immunopathology, including sarcoidosis, IgG4-related disease and inflammatory eye disease.
Her research interests focus on translational immunology and the application of immunobiology to disease classification, diagnosis and treatment. Her work explores how immune phenotyping, biomarkers and clinicopathological correlations can be used to better define disease subsets and inform precision approaches to patient care.
Dr Katherine (Kate) Neas
National Clinical Director
Genetic Health Service NZ
TOPIC: TBA
Kate Neas is a clinical geneticist and National Clinical Director of Genetic Health Service NZ. She trained in medicine at Otago University, and completed her post graduate training in Paediatrics in Wellington and London and Clinical Genetics in Sydney. Kate is lucky to work with an expert team of geneticists and genetic counsellors across NZ, and to have a broad range of clinical interests.
Dr Rebecca Garland
ENT Surgeon
ENT (Ear Nose &Throat) Service
Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley DHB
TOPIC: TBA
Rebecca has been a consultant ORL since 2007 when she completed her NZ based training and then a fellowship in otology and neuro-otology in Perth Western Australia. She has worked in the wider Wellington region (Wellington, Hutt and Wairarapa DHB’s) since 2008 in the public hospital system, where she still holds a position.