Latika Gupta

Latika Gupta

Dr, MD, MRCP, DM

Accepting PhD Students

Personal profile

Overview

Dr. Gupta is a Consultant Rheumatologist at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust (RWT), where she leads the myositis service and digital health pathways at New Cross and Cannock Chase Hospitals. Alongside her clinical role, she serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester (UoM).

With training in both clinical and translational sciences, Dr. Gupta brings extensive experience in managing complex connective tissue diseases in adults and children; honed during her previous position as Assistant Professor at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow, India.

Dr Gupta’s profile was published in the Lancet Rheumatology as an early career researcher to inspire young rheumatologists:  Latika Gupta: a thinker and a doer for myositis research.

 

 

Qualifications

  • Undergraduate medical training: Manipal University (2003-08, graduated top of the class)
  • Postgraduate training: MD (General Medicine, 2010-13), Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi University
  • Specialty training in rheumatology, DM (Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, 2013-17), Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow.
  • MRCP (SCE Rheumatology), 2018
  • MRCP UK, 2022

 

Biography

Dr. Gupta is trained in clinical and translational sciences, including cohort building, autoantibodies and biomarker research with a special interest in connective tissue diseases. She has described unique myositis antibody profiles and phenotypes in the Indian demographic. Dr. Gupta received a prestigious EMBO fellowship to train in immunoprecipitation techniques at the University of Bath in the UK and generated grants locally and internationally to investigate antibody reporting. Her work on inflammatory myopathies focused on building a biorepository of over 300 adult and juvenile myositis patients with follow-up visits, core set assessments, autoantibody profiling, and studies on biomarkers of muscle strength and accelerated senescence.

Drawing from her diverse experiences in various countries, Dr. Gupta is particularly interested in exploring ethnic differences in outcomes research, such as bone health, reproductive care and infections in rheumatic conditions among others.

She has published extensively on social media,  hoping to leverage digital tools to enable collaborative research and foster patient empowerment with self-management approaches to improve care. Dr Gupta closely works with patient research partners to channelize patient voice and PROs into meaningful research.

Dr Gupta's current roles and academic profile are summarised below: 

  • Service lead for myositis and muscle biopsy pathway at New Cross and Cannock Chase Hospitals.
  • Digital Rheumatology lead for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
  • Co-Chair of EMEUNET social media
  • APLAR young rheumatology board member
  • Mentorship lead for IMACS (International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group) and career enhancement co-lead MIHRA (Myositis International Health & Research Collaborative Alliance)
  • As of October 2024, authored 267 peer-reviewed articles with 3668 citations, and an H and I index of 29 and 95 respectively. 
  • Involved in curriculum development, training workshops, and teaching programs. Mentored over 40 young rheumatology fellows and international medical graduates resulting in many publications. Completed CPDs for ES supervisor training and management within the NHS. 
  • Chaired sessions at international conferences, invited speaker at over 60 events globally
  • Sits on the editorial board of various journals including RAP and IJRD, served as reviewer for various journals, social media team lead for journal of clinical rheumatology
  • Versus Arthritis College of Experts -  Panel Member 

Clinical Observerships and Research Fellowships:

  • 2017 University of Oxford, UK
  • 2017 University of Pennsylvania, USA
  • 2018 Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia 
  • 2019 Laboratory fellowship, University of Bath, UK
  • 2024 EULAR fellowship, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden 
  • 2025 APLAR CoE Exchange fellowship- Singapore General Hospital, Singapore

 

Research interests

Dr Gupta has a dedicated interest in myositis, equity, and digital health. She is  a clinician scientist with background of laboratory and trasnslational research, cohort building, and big datasets, and is currently undertaking training to be a EULAR methodologist. 

Methodological knowledge

Imaging skills:

Musculoskeletal USG (Intermediate level proficiency)

Laboratory skills:

  • ELISA, Immunoblots
  • ANA, ANCA and tissue IFA reporting
  • Nephelometry
  • Flow cytometry
  • PCR
  • Western blots

Other skills:

Research ethics, academic publishing, survey design and reporting, social media, LLMs

My collaborations

 

  • Study Lead for COVAD study involving over 100 collaborators wolrdwide: Collating the voice of patients with autoimmune diseases. Advocates patient voices in rheumatology care and research. Thirty publications from two phases, third phase of the COVAD studies is ongoing. 
  • Lead for EULAR study group on social media in rheumatology (SoMeR). Developing pathways for meaningful social media engagement between patients, physicians, and organizations.
  • Chair of IMACS Telemedicine Special Interest Group. Guiding best practices in virtual care and telehealth for myositis patients.
  • Member- EULAR Pediatric committee, working with pediatricians to advocate for transition care
  • Member- PreS JDM working group.
  • Co-Lead of CHANGE group- Coalitation of Health and Gender Equity to explore the state of gender equity in global rheumatology. 
  • Co-Lead for MIHRA biospecimen protocol group- working to harmonise inter-disciplinary laboratory research in msucle diseases. 

 

Memberships of committees and professional bodies

  • British Society for Rheumatology
  • British Medical Association
  • General Medical Council
  • Medical Protection Society
  • Royal College of Physicians (London)
  • EMEUNET
  • APLAR Young Rheumatology
  • IRA (Indian Rheumatology Association)
  • Association of Physicians of India
  • International Myositis Society
  • Association of Women in Rheumatology
  • GRAPPA (Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis)
  • PRINTO (The Paediatric Rheumatology INternational Trials Organisation)
  • Pediatric rheumatology society of India
  • Young GRAPPA

Impact

Service development 

  • Introduced a muscle biopsy pathway using sutureless techniques to improve diagnosis and research (2018, India, and later 2023, UK) .
  • Initiated expanded immunoblot testing for myositis-specific autoantibodies (2019-21, India), improving disease management by diagnosing anti-MDA5 associated rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease and associated antibodies like anti-TIF1γ with cancer.
  • Established a clinic for various rare and miscelleneous rheumatic diseases (including adult onset autoinflammatory syndromes, AOSD, sarcoidosis, among others), enhancing follow-up care.
  • Developed an inflammatory myositis cohort (inclusive of myopathic syndromes from non IIM CTDs such as SSc, UCTD, MCTD and SLE) with comprehensive documentation of outcomes, contributing to research and better understanding morbidity trends.
  • Set up a telemedicine cohort for remote monitoring of patients with timed assessments during COVID, ensuring continuity of care.
  • Supported ongoing outpatient service for CTDs (lupus, UCTD, SSc) and juvenile rheumatic conditions (JIA, JDM, juvenile lupus, primary immunodeficiencies)
  • Supported ward cover for inpatients with complex CTDs and other rheumatic illnesses with systemic complications (2013-24, India and UK)
  • Established myositis service with multi-centre audit network for improving care of patients in the UK and overseas (2022-24)
  • PIFU and digital pathways for optimising wait times in the NHS  (2023, UK)

Teaching

Rheumatology teaching

  • Trust grade teaching
    • Educational Supervisor for junior clinical fellow (NHS, 2021-2023) and Clinical Supervisor for senior clinical fellows in rheumatology (2022-2024)
    • Medical students teaching,  grand rounds (2021-24)
    • Procedural training -supervising joint injections and muscle biopsies (2021-24)
  • Regional teaching - Rheumatology spR days  (2022-24)
  • Participation in ST4 interviews for Health Education England  (2023)
  • Mentoring rheumatology academic trainees (2018-2021, India), including daily academic sessions, exam conducting, and course contribution.
  • Laboratory teaching (including autoantibody workshops) for rheumatology specialty trainees (2018-21, India)

Research mentorship

  • Co-supervisor for MSc student, University of Manchester (2023-24)
  • Mentoring rheumatology academic trainees (2018-2021, India)- thesis supervision 
  • Co-Supervisor for Immunology phD student (2020-24, India)
  • External research teaching:
    • Undergraduate medical students under the Indian Association of Geriatrics initiative (2020)
    • Connecting researchers mentorship program (2020-22)
    • Research methodology webinars for academic fellows at Lviv University, Kiev, Ukraine (2019-2023)
    • Workshop on research methodology (2020, virtual)

Course on social media in medicine (virtual, India with overseas participants, 2021)

External career and general mentorship

  • IMACS mentorship lead (2023-24)- virtual and face to face meetings group and one-to one mentorship for career in muscle diseases
  • MIHRA mentorship lead (2024)- Supporting webinars and bursaries for inter-disciplinary mentorship of specialists interested in msucle diseases

Other research

Contributions to Science

Dr. Gupta has made significant advancements in the understanding and management of myositis, a rare and complex group of diseases. Her research has focused on several key areas:

  • Characterization of Myositis in Indian Populations Dr. Gupta led comprehensive studies on a large Indian cohort, revealing distinct autoantibody profiles and clinical associations. Her research identified a high prevalence (50%) of anti-MDA5 antibodies in adult patients of Indian lineage, associated with unique clinical manifestations. She documented higher rates of early mortality from infections and increased spontaneous miscarriage rates compared to Western populations. Dr. Gupta's work has contributed to a more nuanced understanding of myositis presentation across diverse populations, improving patient care globally.

  • COVID-19 and Myositis During the pandemic, Dr. Gupta rapidly shifted her focus to study COVID-19's impact on myositis patients. She developed and validated novel telemedicine approaches, including remote timed assessments for distinguishing active and inactive myositis. Leading the international COVAD study, she analyzed COVID-19's impact on 1,500 myositis patients within a larger cohort of 20,000 individuals with rheumatic diseases. Her findings on adverse outcome predictors, vaccine safety and efficacy, and post-infectious autoimmunity have significantly informed clinical guidelines and public health strategies including her particpation in the EULAR guidelines on vaccination in rheumatic conditions. 
  • Advancing Digital Health in Rheumatology Dr Gupta's team's recent work focuses on optimizing Large Language Models (LLMs) for rheumatological applications. Her group described the use of Claude-2 to automate the scoring of complex disease activity measures in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, demonstrating comparable performance between AI-driven and human evaluator assessments. This research suggests potential applications in clinical trial recruitment and decision support, potentially transforming clinical practice and trial methodologies in rheumatology.
  • Education and Mentorship In rheumatology education, Dr. Gupta has documented and analyzed education models in India, developed innovative virtual training programs, and advanced soft skills training for Asia-Pacific rheumatologists. Her publications on gender equity in rheumatology have promoted awareness and systemic change. Dr. Gupta's work in education and mentorship has fostered a sustainable future for interdisciplinary myositis specialists.

 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4 - Quality Education
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Medicine, Vertebral fractures in inflammatory myopathies, Serum MRP8/14- a biomarker for spondyloarthritis , Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences

Award Date: 30 Jun 2017

Doctor of Medicine, Pneumonia prediction module , Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi University

Award Date: 3 May 2013

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal

Award Date: 8 Mar 2009

External positions

Consultant Rheumatologist, The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust

1 Nov 2022 → …

Areas of expertise

  • R Medicine (General)
  • Myositis
  • Equity
  • Digital Health
  • Social Media
  • Rheumatology
  • Immunology
  • Autoantibodies
  • Infection in rheumatic diseases
  • Reproductive biology
  • Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy
  • Interstitial Lung Disease
  • Research Ethics
  • connective tissue
  • ILD
  • pediatric rheumatology
  • immunodeficiency
  • PROs
  • Education
  • Surveys
  • AI

My gallery

 2023

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