Our Research Projects

During her PhD (2014-2018), Merry tested if B cells (a group of white blood cells) cause inflammation in JDM, and has published a paper in Frontiers in Immunology, Piper and Wilkinson et al, 2018.

Merry held two early career research fellowship funded by CureJM and the NIHR GOSH BRC (2019-2022). She worked with Prof Lucy Wedderburn investigating mitochondrial (the ‘powerhouse’ energy producers of the cell) problems and how they might cause inflammation in JDM. This research combined investigating the immune system and the biochemistry of the cells to explore new targeted treatments that could lead to the use of fewer steroids, reduced drug side effects, and earlier time to the disappearance of disease signs and symptoms. This work was published in Annals of the Rhematic Diseases, Wilkinson et al. 2023.

In 2022, Merry was awarded a prestigious research project grant from Connect Immune Research funded by the Chernajovsky Foundation in partnership with Arthritis UK. She discovered that genes that code for mitochondria (the ‘powerhouse’ energy producers of the cell) are less active in JDM patients, even those already on strong treatment, compared with healthy children of the same age. The project has examined this finding in more detail and is progressing this discovery to look for new and very specific drugs to improve the treatment of JDM and other autoimmune conditions such as juvenile systemic lupus erythematous and adult dermatomyositis. If successful, these findings could be rapidly translated to clinical trials since some of the drugs under investigation are already licenced.

In 2024, Dr Wilkinson was awarded a 5 year Career Development Fellowship funded by Arthritis UK. She now has her own group. The group aims to look at how our mitochondria, the energy producers for our cells, are changed in the muscle cells of people with JDM. This will also help us understand whether these changes to our mitochondria are linked to inflammation. As part of her project, Dr Wilkinson will also create muscle-on-a-chip models of JDM. These will be 3D structures that represent mini-muscles grown from just a few cells. These mini-muscles will provide a platform to test novel therapeutics and medications for JDM.

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