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Young Investigators​ Group (YIG)

The EUSTAR Young Investigators Group is a subgroup of EUSTAR, first founded in 2007 and lead by young emerging experts in the field of Scleroderma.

This group has so far enrolled new members (all under forty) from EUSTAR centres and different subgroups were created in order to cover all spectrums of interest in the scleroderma field. First of all, education will be a strategic focus point for this group, aiming at identifying outstanding clinical, epidemiological and basic science news in the field of scleroderma during international congresses and disseminating to the whole scleroderma community, through the use of the Internet and social media.

Another important objective of this group will be to increase the visibility of EUSTAR and help gather more people devoted to scleroderma patients. Moreover, the Young Investigators Group will also have members focussing on previously unexplored areas to create possible future research projects in both basic, transitional and clinical science, and is dedicated to promoting young emerging researchers’ ideas.

The EUSTAR Young Investigators Group is welcoming new members continuously! Feel free to contact Dr Maria-Grazia Lazzaroni (counsellors@eustar.org) for further info.

Current Chair (2022-2025):

Maria Grazia Lazzaroni (Brescia, Italy)

Current Group Coordinators (2022-2025):
  • Clinical Science: Alain Lescoat (France) and Shiri Keret (Israel)
  • Basic Science: Muriel Elhai (Switzerland)
  • Education and Congresses: Stefano Di Donato (UK)
  • Social Media: Jelena Colic (Serbia)
Current YIG Members (2022-2025):
  • Abdulla Watad​ (Israel)
  • Alain Lescoat (France)
  • Alessandro Giollo (Italy)
  • Alexandra Burlui (Romania)
  • Alfredo Guillen del Castillo (Spain)
  • Ana Maria Gheorghiu (​Romania)
  • Audrey Benyamine (France)
  • Aurèlian Chepy (France)
  • Ayse Kocak Sezgin (Turkey)
  • Barbara Russo (Switzerland)
  • Benjamin Chaigne (France)
  • Blaz Burja (Slovenia)
  • Catarina Duarte (Portugal)
  • Catarina Tenazinha (Portugal)
  • Claudia Cobilinski (Romania)
  • Claudio Di Vico (Italy)
  • Corrado Campochiaro (Italy)
  • Cosimo Bruni (Italy)
  • Devis Benfaremo (Italy)
  • Elhai Muriel (Switzerland)
  • Elisabetta Zanatta (Italy)
  • Emanuela Praino (Italy)
  • Emmanuel Ledoult (France)
  • Enrico De Lorenzis (Italy)
  • Eugenia Bertoldo (Italy)
  • Florentina Negoi (Romania)
  • Giacomo de Luca (Italy)
  • Greta Pellegrino (Italy)
  • Håvard Fretheim (Norway)
  • Hilde Jenssen Bjorkekjaer (Norway)
  • Imon Barua (Norway)
  • Ion-Alexandru Garaiman (Switzerland)
  • Iulia Szabo (Romania)
  • Jakob Höppner (Germany)
  • Jelena Colic (Serbia)
  • Jennifer Ben Shimol (Israel)
  • Jens Vikse (Norway)
  • Joana Caetano (Portugal)
  • Julia Spierings (Netherlands)
  • Kristina Clark (UK)
  • Maithri Prasad Aspari (Denmark)
  • Marco Di Battista (Italy)
  • Maria Grazia Lazzaroni (Italy)
  • Maria Martin Lopez (Spain)
  • Marin Petric (Croatia)
  • Michael Hughes (UK)
  • Michele Iudici (Switzerland)
  • Mickael Essouma (Cameroun)
  • Mihnea Casian (Romania)
  • Patricia Martins (Portugal)
  • Philipp Klemm (Germany)
  • Rucsandra Dobrota (Switzerland)
  • Russka Shumnalieva (Bulgaria)
  • Tania Louza Santiago (Portugal)
  • Vasco Romão (Portugal)
  • Yossra Atef Suliman (Egypt)
  • Zuzanna Gogulska (Poland)
Past Group Coordinators:

2019-2022:

  • Jeska de Vries-Bouwstra (Leiden-Nijmegen, Netherlands)
  • John Pauling (Bath, UK)
  • Marie-Elise Truchetet (Bordeaux, France)
  • Cosimo Bruni (Florence, Italy)
Past YIG Members:

2019-2022:

  • Abdulla Watad (Ramat Gan, Israel)
  • Alain Lescoat (Rennes, France)
  • Alberto Floris (Cagliari, Italy)
  • Alessandro Giollo (Verona, Italy)
  • Alexandra Burlui (Iasi, Romania)
  • Alfredo Guillen del Castillo (Barcelona, Spain)
  • Alina Soare (Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany)
  • Ana Maria Gheorghiu (Bucharest, Romania)
  • Anna-Maria Hoffmann-Vold (Oslo, Norway)
  • Audrey Benyamine (Marseille, France)
  • Aurèlian Chepy (Lille, France)
  • Barbara Russo (Geneva, Switzerland)
  • Benjamin Chaigne (Paris, France)
  • Blaz Burja (Lublijana/Zurich, Slovenia/Switzerland)
  • Carina Mihai (Bucharest, Romania)
  • Catarina Duarte (Almeda, Portugal)
  • Catarina Tenazinha (Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Corrado Campochiaro (Milan, Italy)
  • Cosimo Bruni (Firenze, Italy)
  • Cristian Caimmi (Verona, Italy)
  • Cristina Ponte (Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Devis Benfaremo (Ancona, Italy)
  • Doreen Belz (Köln, Germany)
  • Edoardo Rosato (Roma, Italy)
  • Elhai Muriel (Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Elisa Visali (Catania, Italy)
  • Elisabetta Zanatta (Padova, Italy)
  • Elise Siegert (Berlin, Germany)
  • Emanuela Praino (Bari, Italy)
  • Emmanuel Ledoult (Lille, France)
  • Eugenia Bertoldo (Verona, Italy)
  • Gemma Lepri (Firenze, Italy)
  • Giacomo de Luca (Milan, Italy)
  • Giovanna Cuomo (Naples, Italy)
  • Håvard Fretheim (Oslo, Norway)
  • Imon Barua (Oslo, Norway)
  • Inês Cordeiro (Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Jelena Colic (Belgrade, Serbia)
  • Jennifer Ben Shimol (Tel Aviv, Israel)
  • Jeska de Vries-Bouwstra (Leiden-Nijmegen, Netherlands)
  • Joana Caetano (Almada, Portugal)
  • John Pauling (Bath, UK)
  • Jorge Juan Gonzalez Martin (Madrid, Spain)
  • Julia Spierings (Utrecht, Netherlands)
  • Kristina Clark (London, UK)
  • Maithri Prasad Aspari (Aarhus, Denmark)
  • Maria Grazia Lazzaroni (Brescia, Italy)
  • Marie-Elise Truchetet (Bordeaux, France)
  • Marin Petric (Split, Croatia)
  • Matteo Piga (Cagliari, Italy)
  • Mattia Congia (Cagliari, Italy)
  • Michael Hughes (Manchester, UK)
  • Michele Iudici (Geneva, Switzerland)
  • Patricia Martins (Lisbon, Portugal)
  • Pia Moinzadeh (Köln, Germany)
  • Rucsandra Dobrota (Zurich, Switzerland)
  • Sergi Heredia Martin (Madrid, Spain)
  • Tânia Santiago (Coimbra, Portugal)
  • Tunde Minier (Pecs, Hungary)
  • Veronika Jaeger (Basel, Switzerland)
  • Vincent Sobanski (Lille, France)
  • Walter Alberto Sifuentes Giraldo (Madrid, Spain)
  • Yossra Atef Suliman (Assiut, Egypt)