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Ian Young is a certified Essential Somatics Movement Coach and Teacher who specializes in helping people, especially those living with Ankylosing Spondylitis (Axial Spa or AS), regain mobility, reduce pain, and reconnect with their bodies. After living with AS since childhood and using a walking stick for 20 years, Ian transformed his mobility through Pilates and Somatics. He now offers classes and one-on-one coaching to support others facing similar movement challenges, as well as conditions like sciatica, SI joint pain, Parkinson’s, and chronic pain.

Dr Raj Sengupta is a Consultant Rheumatologist and Lead for Rheumatology and Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) at The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Bath (RNRHD).  He is a member of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) axSpA Biologics Guidelines Committee and a member of Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS). He has represented the BSR at the NICE TA383 appraisal for antiTNF in axSpA. Dr Sengupta is a medical advisor for the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS) and is one of the founder members of the British Society for SpondyloArthritis (BRITSpA). Dr Sengupta was the recipient of the 2016 NASS Patients Choice award for the Best Care provided by a Rheumatologist.  Dr Sengupta is the principal investigator in several national and international clinical trials in axSpA. He has a number of peer reviewed publications on axSpA. Dr Sengupta has been an invited speaker on axSpA at several national and international meetings. 

Dr. Lianne Gensler is a rheumatologist and serves as director of the UCSF Ankylosing Spondylitis Clinic, which is dedicated to care for this inflammatory disease.

Gensler's primary research interest is the disease progression of axial spondyloarthritis (a category that includes ankylosing spondylitis). Her research also seeks to identify predictors of osteoporosis development in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Gensler earned her medical degree at the University of California, Irvine. She completed an internal medicine residency, chief residency and rheumatology fellowship at UCSF, and subsequently joined the medical staff in the rheumatology program.

Nadia Malliou is a psychologist based in Thessaloniki, Greece, specializing in supporting patients with chronic diseases and chronic pain through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mobile health (mHealth), and other patient-centered interventions. She holds a Master of Science in Cognitive Experimental Psychology and is currently pursuing a PhD in the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Department at the Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), focusing on non-pharmacological interventions for chronic postsurgical pain. 

In her clinical role, Malliou has been an Academic Associate at the Pain Unit of AUTH's General Hospital AHEPA, where she provides psychological support to patients experiencing chronic pain. Her research interests include developing mHealth applications and interventions for chronic pain management. 

Alexis Ogdie, MD, MSCE is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, and has served as the founding Director of the Penn Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Spondyloarthritis (SpA) program since 2011, as well as the Director of the Penn Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Her vision is for individuals living with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. The mission of her research program is to improve outcomes in PsA by accelerating diagnosis and developing and advancing methods for personalized medicine using a patient-centered approach. Her clinical practice and research mission are closely aligned and inspired by her Georgetown Medicine education rooted in cura personalis, (i.e., ‘treating the whole patient’). She received her MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Vivian Shi, MD is a Professor in the UW Department of Dermatology and a board-certified dermatologist at the UW Medical Center–Roosevelt Dermatology Center. She leads clinical research in the department as the Clinical Trials Unit Director, and is the founder and director of the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinic.

Dr. Shi specializes in treating inflammatory skin conditions, including hidradenitis suppurativa and atopic dermatitis. She is also an accomplished clinician-scholar with over 200 published manuscripts.

Yoga for AS is an online platform founded by certified yoga instructors Jamie Boder and Geoff Lindsay, both of whom live with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Leveraging their personal experiences and professional expertise, they offer live classes, video tutorials, and one-on-one coaching specifically tailored for individuals with AS. Their approach focuses on safe, adaptable yoga practices designed to alleviate pain, improve mobility, and enhance overall well-being for those managing AS. 

Yoga for AS is an online platform founded by certified yoga instructors Jamie Boder and Geoff Lindsay, both of whom live with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). Leveraging their personal experiences and professional expertise, they offer live classes, video tutorials, and one-on-one coaching specifically tailored for individuals with AS. Their approach focuses on safe, adaptable yoga practices designed to alleviate pain, improve mobility, and enhance overall well-being for those managing AS. 

Dr. Mohamad Bittar, M.D., M.S., is a rheumatologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), specializing in the spondyloarthritis family of conditions—including ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease-related arthritis, and uveitis. He is board-certified in both internal medicine and rheumatology, and his clinical work is centered in OHSU’s Axial Spondyloarthritis Clinic, where he provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care. 

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Bittar is deeply involved in research and medical education, with numerous publications on diagnostic and treatment strategies for spondyloarthritis. He is an active member of key professional societies including SPARTAN, GRAPPA, and ASAS. 

Dr. Gillian Fitzgerald, MB BCh BAO PhD MRCPI, is a Consultant Rheumatologist and General Physician at Galway University Hospitals in Ireland. She earned her medical degree from University College Cork and completed her PhD at Trinity College Dublin, focusing on osteoporosis in axial spondyloarthritis. Dr. Fitzgerald furthered her expertise with a fellowship in the Department of Rheumatology at Toronto Western Hospital in Canada. 

An active researcher, Dr. Fitzgerald has authored numerous publications on topics such as osteoporosis, axial spondyloarthritis, and multimorbidity in rheumatic diseases. In 2018, she received the William Stokes Award for her research demonstrating that lateral DXA scans are more effective than conventional methods in detecting osteoporosis in axial spondyloarthropathy

Dr. Simon J. Hong, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health's Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center. He specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and microscopic colitis. 

Dr. Hong earned his medical degree from the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Weill Cornell Medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at Montefiore Medical Center. 

At NYU Langone's IBD Center, Dr. Hong collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive care for patients with complex gastrointestinal conditions. His clinical interests include extraintestinal manifestations of IBD, spondyloarthritis, and the use of intestinal ultrasound in disease assessment. 

Philip J. Mease is Director of Rheumatology Research at the Swedish Medical Center/Providence St. Joseph Health and Clinical Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, WA, USA. His clinical practice is based at Seattle Rheumatology Associates. Dr Mease earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at Stanford University (Stanford, CA, USA). He then completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr Mease’s research interests include psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), fibromyalgia (FM), and osteoporosis. His research focuses on disease state, outcome measure development, and determining the efficacy and safety of emerging therapies for these conditions. 

James Rosenbaum is chair of the SAA medical and scientific advisory board. He served as chair of rheumatology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland for 20 years and concomitantly chaired the Legacy Devers Eye Institute also in Portland. According to Wikipedia, he is the only practicing rheumatologist in the world to have headed a department of ophthalmology. And according to a service called ExpertScape, he is the most cited scientist in the world on the topic of uveitis, a medical term for inflammation in the eye. He now practices medicine just one-half day per week by seeing patients with ocular inflammation at Legacy Health in Portland. In addition to his nearly 700 scientific publications, he is the author of an illustrated children’s book, Eleanor and Geraldine, available through Amazon.