Kate Smith is a Musculoskeletal and Research Sonographer working at the Leeds Biomedical Research Centre at Chapel Allerton Hospital Leeds. Kate had just been awarded an HEE/NIHR ICA Pre-doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship (PCAF) which will commence in November 2021.
The prestigious award provides non-medics with funding to complete a PhD application whilst continuing their clinical career. Kate’s area of interest is Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA). GCA is a rare form of vasculitis (inflammation of the vessels) affecting adults over the age of 50 years of age. It affects the medium and large vessels and is most evident in the temporal and axillary arteries. If left untreated GCA can cause permanent sight loss.
Kate will collaborate with clinical partners in Leeds Teaching Hospitals, NIHR Leeds In-Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Leeds Unit for Complex Interventions, and Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Oxford to develop a PhD proposal in Ultrasound and Giant Cell Arteritis with a focus on early diagnosis.
