
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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- Patient Research Partners: Elevating Research Through Patient Perspectives · June 12, 2025 · 13 min
- Defining Difficult-to-Treat and Complex-to-Manage Psoriatic Arthritis · May 16, 2025 · 15 min
- Exploring Sex Differences in Psoriatic Arthritis: Biomarkers and Beyond · May 1, 2025 · 22 min
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