Guiding GRAPPA Forward: GRAPPA’s Co-Presidents in Conversation

Guiding GRAPPA Forward: GRAPPA’s Co-Presidents in Conversation

From Inside GRAPPA by GRAPPA Network

December 29, 2025 · 15 min · Episode 22

About this episode

In this episode, GRAPPA Co-Presidents reflect on the organization's evolution and future in psoriatic disease research.

In this special awards-edition episode of Inside GRAPPA , host Fabian Proft sits down with GRAPPA Co-Presidents Professor Joseph F. Merola and Professor Arthur Kavanaugh. Together they reflect on their first encounters with the organization, the origins and evolution of GRAPPA, and the collaborative culture that continues to shape psoriatic disease research worldwide. Joe and Artie share candid stories from the early days of TNF inhibitor trials, discuss the growing impact of Young GRAPPA, highlight the essential role of patient partners, and look ahead to the next five years of scientific and clinical progress in psoriatic disease. Highlights Joe and Artie share how they first became involved with GRAPPA and what drew them into psoriatic disease research.   Artie reflects on GRAPPA’s early origins, shaped by global collaboration around the first TNF inhibitor studies.   GRAPPA’s culture remains defined by openness, interdisciplinary exchange, and highly approachable leadership.   Key unmet needs persist, including challenges in under-served psoriasis phenotypes and skin-to-joint progression.   Personalized medicine in PsA is still an unmet…

People in this episode

Host: Fabian Proft

Guests: Professor Joseph F. Merola, Professor Arthur Kavanaugh

Topics covered

  • psoriatic disease research
  • GRAPPA origins
  • collaborative culture
  • patient partners
  • future of psoriatic disease

Keywords

  • GRAPPA
  • psoriatic disease
  • TNF inhibitors
  • Young GRAPPA
  • patient partners
  • personalized medicine
  • comorbidities

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: GRAPPA, Young GRAPPA

Books & works: psoriatic disease

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