The awards spotlight advances in rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Sjögren’s disease, and patient care, and recognise stalwarts of the specialty. See who won.
Long-serving rheumatology leaders Dr David Champion AM, Ian Portek and Janet Millner have been recognised by the Australian Rheumatology Association (ARA) at its 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting, leading a broad awards program celebrating excellence in research, clinical care and professional service.
Dr Champion and Dr Portek received the 2026 ARA Distinguished Service Medal, while Tasmanian physiotherapist Janet Millner was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for Rheumatology Health Professionals in recognition of her contribution to the profession.
The association also honoured emerging and established researchers across a range of disciplines. The 2026 ARA Early Career Excellence Research Awards were presented to Kathryn Connelly and Dr Adrian Lee.
Dr Yi Tian Ting received the award for Best Basic Science Free Paper Presentation, for research identifying a shared citrullinated antigen target for translational TCR-Treg therapy in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr Angus Wilkinson won Best New Investigator Free Paper, for work examining Australian practice patterns in hydroxychloroquine-associated retinopathy screening.
Professor Johannes Nossent was awarded Best Clinical Free Paper Presentation, for research investigating the effect of therapeutic venesection on musculoskeletal manifestations in hereditary haemochromatosis.
The Emma Pettet Prize for Best Oral Rheumatology Health Professionals Special Interest Group presentation went to Dr Wardah Malick, whose research linked chronic plantar heel pain severity with metabolic biomarkers.
The Margaret Lewington Prize was shared by Dr Emma Wu, for a project aimed at improving vaccination rates in rheumatology patients, and Errol Lim, for developing a low-cost support model to provide timely support for patients between clinic visits.
In the poster categories, Dr Adrian Lee and colleagues won Best Basic Science Poster, for work using high-resolution B-cell sequencing and monitoring in Sjögren’s disease.
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The Best Clinical Poster award went to Dr Lucinda Roper and collaborators, for a population-based study examining the prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus in Australia from 2010 to 2022 using linked national administrative health data.
The Christina Boros Paediatric Research Award was presented to Dr Diana Bond for the National Audit of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, while Dr Mogeshni Govender received the Best Grand Round award.
The APLAR Debashish Danda Scholarships were awarded to Dr Aashish Agrawal, for research showing serial CA 15-3 and KL-6 levels correlate with pulmonary function, quantitative HRCT severity, and disease activity in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease; and to Dr Hsiang-Yen Le for a nationwide Taiwanese cohort study investigating the association between angiotensin receptor blocker exposure and incident dementia in autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
The awards reflected the breadth of contemporary rheumatology research and practice, spanning basic science, epidemiology, paediatric disease, patient support initiatives, and emerging therapeutic approaches.
The ARA 2026 ASM was held on the Gold Coast from 16-19 May.
