Paul Bowness

Professor Bowness obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Cambridge in 1986, and held junior doctor posts in London, including at the Hammersmith Hospital/Royal Postgraduate Medical School, until 1990.

In 1993 he received a DPhil (PhD) in Immunology from Oxford University in 1993 and currently holds the title of University Reader in Immunology and in 2011 was awarded the title of Professor of Experimental Rheumatology by the University of Oxford.

Professor Bowness has published over 110 peer-reviewed articles in major scientific journals and has written many reviews and chapters in textbooks including the Oxford Textbook of Medicine. He was awarded the British Society of Rheumatology Michael Mason Prize in 2000.

Current Research Projects

Professor Bowness leads a group investigating the Immunology of Ankylosing Spondylitis and he also has active research interests in the immunology of inflammatory arthritis including:

• The natural role of HLA-B27 in the immune system
• The role of HLA-B27 homodimers in disease pathogenesis

A short video explaining his work on Ankylosing Spondylitis can be found on the website for the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM), with whom Professor Bowness and his group have strong collaborative links.

Clinical Research Project

Immune function in Inflammatory Arthritis
COREC06/Q1606/139

It is thought that abnormalities of the immune system and interactions with gut bacteria are partly responsible for causing some forms of arthritis, which include Rheumatoid Arthritis, reactive arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

We are studying small samples of patient blood joint fluid (and sometimes stools), to see if there are any unusual features of the immune proteins, white blood cells or gut bacteria that might trigger disease or cause it to flare. We propose to study a further 200 people over the next 3 years. We also wish to compare samples in the same patient before and after treatment.