Congratulations to Abul Hasnat on receiving the Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Travel Award

Congratulations to Abul Hasnat on receiving the Arthritis National Research Foundation (ANRF) Travel Award for his work entitled “Role of myeloid cell autophagy in a mouse model of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)”.  This prestigious award is sponsored by the ANRF to advance research in the areas of arthritis, lupus, and general autoimmunity.


ANRF is a US based organisation dedicated to supporting early-stage, cutting-edge arthritis research.

Currently, Abul Hasnat is undertaking his PhD under the supervision of Dr James Harris.  Abul's PhD project focuses on investigating the relationship between myeloid cell autophagy and the development of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) using a mouse model of lupus with myeloid cell specific autophagy deficiency. Speaking of his PhD project, Abul said, "Many studies on SLE pathogenesis focus on defects of B and T cell-dependent tolerance as an underlying cause of this disease. However, the importance of autophagy of myeloid cells in the regulation of SLE has not been clearly elucidated yet. The findings of the study may reveal a new biological aspect of myeloid cell autophagy in SLE pathogenesis, giving us a better understanding of how we might target this process to treat SLE".