Date: Wednesday 18 November 2026
Venue: Edgbaston Park Hotel, Birmingham
About the event
The first day of the ARCADIA meeting brings together patient partners, researchers and collaborators involved in the consortium.
Programme
| Time | Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 12pm to 12:45pm | Arrival and lunch | |
| 12:45pm to 1pm | Welcome and overview of the ARCADIA consortium | Prof Adam Croft (Birmingham) |
| WORK STREAM PRESENTATIONS | ||
| 1pm to 1:10pm | Work stream 1: Collaborating with a broad range of patients to understand their perceptions and priorities Work stream 2: Exploring treatment goals throughout the life course of inflammation |
Dr Gwenda Simons (Birmingham), Dr Hannah Peckham (UCL) Dr Marie Falahee (Birmingham), Dr Polly Livermore (UCL) |
| 1:10pm to 1:20pm | Work stream 3: Analysing tissue and blood samples from people with and without disease | Prof Stefano Alivernini (Rome) |
| 1:20pm to 1:30pm | Work stream 4: Identifying reliable predictors of biological remission | Dr Ken Baker (Newcastle) |
| 1:30pm to 1:40pm | Work stream 5: Investigating the biological pathways that promote freedom from disease | Prof Mariola Kurowska-Stolarska (Glasgow), Prof Christian Hedrich (Liverpool) |
| 1:40pm to 2pm | Panel discussion: Patient and public involvement across the five work streams | Work stream presenters |
| 2pm to 2:15pm | Refreshment break | |
| BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS: IMPROVING COMMUNICATION WITH PATIENTS AND THE WIDER PUBLIC 2:15pm to 3pm |
||
| Group 1 | Developing the ARCADIA website, social media and videos | Dr Hannah Peckham (UCL) |
| Group 2 | Improving newsletters and communications with patient and public contributors | Dr Gwenda Simons (Birmingham) |
| Group 3 | Planning future webinars: What topics and speakers would be most useful? | Dr Ken Baker (Newcastle) |
| Group 4 | Shaping the 2027 ARCADIA annual meeting | Prof Lucy Wedderburn (UCL) |
| Group 5 | Online discussion covering all four topics | Dr Marie Falahee (Birmingham) |
| 2:45pm to 3pm | Feedback from breakout groups | All participants |
| 3pm to 3:15pm | Refreshment break | |
| 3:15pm to 4pm | Meet the researcher: An opportunity to meet and talk with early career rheumatology researchers | Dr Beth Clay (Birmingham), Dr Carl Coyle (King’s College London), Dr Luke Jones (Birmingham), Jasmine Leslie (Birmingham), Dr Ilfita Sahbudin (Birmingham) |
| 4pm to 4:30pm | Questions and closing discussion | Dr Marie Falahee (Birmingham), Prof Adam Croft (Birmingham) |
| 4:30pm | Close of ARCADIA PPI Meeting | |
| 7:30pm | ARCADIA PPI dinner | PPI panellists and invited guests only |
Programme subject to change.
Information for delegates
We look forward to welcoming you to the ARCADIA PPI meeting on Wednesday 18 November 2026.
The information below will help you plan your visit.
Venue and location
Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre
53 Edgbaston Park Road
Birmingham
B15 2RS
The hotel is located on the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus.
Travelling by train
From Birmingham New Street
Take a train from Birmingham New Street to University station. Trains towards Redditch, Bromsgrove or Longbridge serve University station.
The train journey takes approximately 7 to 10 minutes. Allow around 30 minutes to reach the hotel from Birmingham New Street, including the connection and walk.
Walking from University station
The hotel is approximately a 10 to 15-minute walk from University station.
- Leave University station towards the University of Birmingham campus.
- Follow the path towards the Main Library and Teaching and Learning Building.
- Continue uphill towards North Gate on Pritchatts Road.
- Turn right onto Pritchatts Road and cross at the pedestrian crossing, with the University’s clock tower behind you.
- Continue along Pritchatts Road until you reach the North East Car Park.
- Turn left and walk past the Centre for Human Brain Health. The hotel will be on your left.
Using Google Maps? Search for Edgbaston Park Hotel, 53 Edgbaston Park Road, B15 2RS and select walking directions from University station.
Travelling by car and parking
For Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre, delegates should enter B15 2RS into their sat nav.
Address: 53 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2RS.
Complimentary parking is available at the hotel, subject to availability.
Additional parking is available on the ground floor of the University’s North East Car Park (B15 2SA).
Please register your vehicle at hotel reception on arrival to avoid parking charges.
If no parking is available outside the hotel or on the ground floor of the North East Car Park, you can park on the upper floors but must pay for parking (up to a maximum cost of £10 per day). Payment can be made with coins or via the RingGo app. Please note that the North East Car Park does not have a lift.
Birmingham Clean Air Zone: If your journey takes you through Birmingham city centre, please be aware that a daily charge may apply to vehicles that do not meet the emissions standards. You can check your vehicle and found out more
Travelling by bus
You can catch the following bus routes (towards Bromsgrove and Bartley Green) from Birmingham New Street station to Edgbaston Park Hotel (Westmere):
X20, X21, X22
Leave Birmingham New Street at the exit nearest to the Bullring. Cross at the crossing opposite the Bullring on St Martins Queensway and turn left for bus stop NS3
You can also travel from University Station to Edgbaston Park Hotel on these services (towards Birmingham).
Using the crossing on Vincent Drive, cross the road and the bus stop is on the left, near to the Medical School.
Arrival and registration
Registration opens at 12 noon
Please make your way to the Lloyd Suite on arrival. The Lloyd Suite is on the ground floor of Hornton Grange – the detached red brick building opposite the main entrance to the hotel.
Lunch will be available during registration.
Catering and accommodation
Catering
Refreshments and lunch will be provided during the meeting.
If you provided dietary requirements when registering, these will be shared with the venue.
Accommodation
If you have booked accommodation, you will either be staying in Edgbaston Park Hotel, Peter Scott House (opposite the hotel) or in a city centre hotel.
You will receive an email to confirm your hotel location.
If you are staying at Edgbaston Park Hotel or Peter Scott House, staff will be available in the Lloyd Suite at the end of the PPI meeting to check you in.
Joining online
We will email joining instructions to registered online participants before the event.
Meeting materials and sustainability
Meeting Materials and Sustainability
To reduce paper use and waste, we won’t be providing printed programmes or meeting booklets. The latest programme and delegate information will be available on this page throughout the event.
If you need materials in an alternative format, please contact [email protected].
Accessibility and contact
We will inform the venue of any accessibility adjustments or dietary requirements you provided when registering. If your requirements have changed or you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Need to change or cancel your booking?
If you can no longer attend or need to make changes to your registration, including accommodation or meal bookings, please let us know as soon as possible by emailing [email protected].
