The REMEDY Seminar 2025 brought together researchers, healthcare professionals and partners from various disciplines for two days of insightful lectures, engaging discussions and strategic collaborations. With 130 participants at the Sanner Hotel, the fourth REMEDY Seminar became an important meeting place to advance research on rheumatic diseases.
Main themes and academic highlights
The seminar was opened by Deputy Director of REMEDY, Ida K. Bos-Haugen. She had led the work to develop the comprehensive program. She extended a big thank you to the members of the program committee. “Your work has been invaluable in shaping the seminar, and we are proud to be able to present this solid program to REMEDY members,” said Bos-Haugen.
Professor Espen A. Haavardsholm, Director of REMEDY, presented the status of the center. He was visibly proud of everything the center’s staff has achieved last year, when he presented the comprehensive annual report for 2024.
Managing Director of Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Kari-Jussie Lønning, highlighted REMEDY’s importance to the hospital and how the research center is a key player in rheumatology. She opened by emphasizing that REMEDY means a lot to the hospital.
International experts contributed insights from their own research fields
- Emma Dures (UWE Bristol, UK) highlighted how qualitative and mixed methods designs provide insight into patient experiences and treatment effects.
- Camilla Svensson (Karolinska Institutet, Sweden) challenged our understanding of chronic pain and the role of the immune system.
- Désirée van der Heijde (Leiden University, Netherlands) provided an overview of developments in axial spondyloarthritis, from classification criteria to clinical guidelines.
- Christina Bergmann (University of Erlangen, Germany) presented the potential of CAR-T therapy for patients with rheumatic diseases, a treatment that can provide lasting remission in autoimmune diseases.
- Ian Wallace (University of New Mexico, USA) explained how osteoarthritis can be understood as a mismatch disease, influenced by modern lifestyles, physical inactivity and dietary changes.
Research dissemination
Language and communication also received attention through an engaging lecture by Helene Uri : "Help, I need to communicate! How to make complicated topics understandable?" She shared concrete advice on how researchers can write clearly and engagingly for a wider audience.
She emphasized that good communication is never banal – it is rather about meeting the reader where they are. Researchers must be aware that different target groups have limited prior knowledge of a field, and adapt their communication accordingly.
Uri also pointed out that popular science communication should be structured the opposite of scientific publications: Start with the conclusion. She also advised researchers to limit descriptions of methods when addressing a broad audience.
Workshops with professional discussions
- Masterclass with Emma Dures: Participants received feedback on their qualitative studies.
- Challenging our view on chronic pain: Discussions about how autoantibodies affect pain.
- The promise of CAR-T for patients with rheumatic diseases: How Norway can establish a CAR T-cell factory for rheumatological patients.
Posters were also set up for all the work packages, where the leaders of these willingly presented and discussed the content and significance of the field.
In addition, many of the REMEDY researchers presented their own projects to an audience willing to discuss in small groups. The researchers took home good input to further improve their projects.
Young Researcher Program
Researchers who are early in their research careers have an arena through this program. Last year's grant recipients gave presentations about their research:
Lena Bugge Nordberg presented her work on climate footprinting in clinical trials, while Abel Tesfaye and Øyvind Bakke presented new approaches to immunophenotyping and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Lively debate
The seminar ended with a lively debate between postdoctoral fellow Eirik Ikdahl , who himself is constantly in a "state of runners high," and Ole Petter Hjelle , known as the "Training Doctor," himself very often in training clothes.
The topic was "Treatment of comorbidity in rheumatic disease – medications or lifestyle interventions?"
Hjelle highlighted exercise as the best and most cost-effective medicine, while Ikdahl referred to a number of RCTs, where drugs had better or just as good an effect as exercise and were no more expensive than the wear and tear on sneakers. After this friendly, but rather competitive debate, both concluded by positioning themselves like Winnie the Pooh: Yes, thank you, both.
Seminar summary
Participants highlighted the value of the interactive sessions and the opportunities for collaboration across disciplines.
“With enhanced knowledge exchange and new research ideas, REMEDY looks forward to driving forward-looking research,” said REMEDY leader, Espen A. Haavardsholm, at the end of the day, as he again thanked all participants and those who had made a special effort to organize the event.
Many of us who were there are already looking forward to next year's seminar!
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