Professor Graham Hughes is often referred to as “the father of lupus” in the UK. Trained at the London Hospital, he went on to spend two years in New York under the leadership of Dr Charles Christian, where he worked on the introduction of the DNA-binding test. In 1971, he opened the lupus clinic at Hammersmith Hospital before moving to St Thomas’ Hospital where he set up the Louise Coote Lupus Unit, a specialist unit dealing uniquely with lupus and related diseases. In 1983, he described the antiphospholipid syndrome, now known as Hughes Syndrome, and in 1991 was awarded the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) prize for this work. He also instituted an annual postgraduate meeting “Ten Topics in Rheumatology”, now in its 25th year, with satellite “Ten Topics” meetings in six countries. Professor Hughes is founder and editor of the international journal LUPUS. Other honors include Master of the American College of Rheumatology and doctor honoris causa degrees from the University of Marseille and University of Barcelona. Professor Hughes is best known for his work with patients and is Life President of the patients’ charity Lupus UK. Shirish Sangle is an associate consultant at the Louise Coote Lupus Unit, St Thomas’ Hospital, London. He has been working with Professor Hughes since 2000. His main fields of research include livedo reticularis, non-traumatic bone fractures, and arterial stenosis in Hughes syndrome.
