Professor Farida Fortune, BDS, MBBS, MRCP, FRCP, FRCS, FDS RCSeng, FGDP, FRSA,FHEA, PhD, Dip Ed. teachers Med&Dent

Profile

Professor Fortune is Professor of Medicine in relation to Oral Health.

Director of Centre for Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine

Director of London Behçet's Centre of Excellence

Senior Fellow Queen Mary Policy Institute.

Graduated in both Dentistry and Medicine from University College, University of London., and obtained PhD at UMDS (United Medical Schools of Guys and St Thomas) University of London.

Specialist registers:  Oral Medicine in Dentistry (GDC), Immunology in Medicine (GMC).

2002 recruited to the position of Professor of Medicine in Relation to Oral Health at Queen Mary University of London

Honours, awards, and positions held:

CBE for services to Dentistry.

Prestigious Colyer Gold Medal for significant contribution to the profession through research, teaching and clinical work

Honorary FRCS - “highest honour the College can award”

Slack Medal- particularly outstanding contribution to the College and its successors.

Professor of Oral Medicine - Leeds University, Honorary Consultant                                                 

Senior Lecturer in Immunology and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine - UMDS.

Dean and Director of the Institute Director of Dentistry QMUL

Clinical Director for Dentistry, Head and Neck including Maxillofacial surgery and ENT.

Oral Medicine-President and Council member-British Society of Oral Medicine. Recognised expertise in Oral Medicine, Clinical Immunology, Oral manifestations of Systemic Disease and Rare diseases

President of Odontology section of Royal Society of Medicine

FRCP Royal College of Physicians

FRCS Royal College of Surgeons

BD Centres UK- membership of the European Reference Network RITA (ERN).

Background:

Social Mentoring-works extensively with local communities and mentors’ doctors, dentists and scientists trying to navigate the complex environments of the HEIs and NHS. Provides 1:1 support for staff, and nationally for women and excluded groups.

Covid- participation in 3 invited national and international Webinars’ initially addressing increased deaths in excluded communities and health workers; community health mistrust through lived experience; and vaccine uptake through localism. Localism project with targeted posters translated into 19 languages. Using community advocates these had national and international reach. Showcased on BBC news broadcaster ’localism works’.

Education and Health Extensive experience in teaching within both the undergraduate and postgraduate sector in UK and internationally. Expertise is in curriculum development, assessment methodology and quality assurance.

Chaired Royal College of Surgeons examination committee. Seminal in the reintroduction of the LDS RCSeng., the first licensed examination in Dentistry.

Founding member of Inter-professional Education Network of Royal Society of Medicine member of (UKHEAC) UK Healthcare Education Advisory Committee.

Strategic focus  

National-Widening access and increasing uptake into higher education. Works with schools to develop aspiration in schoolchildren from the earliest years. Chaired London Healthcare Education Widening Access Committee. High quality teaching and training implemented using community and community outreach programs for teaching and training.

Global- Committed to global collaboration to enhance health and education. Focus abroad to build capacity and increase uptake using non-traditional models of education and clinical training.

Embed health and education within the contextual focus of national and societal cultures, and economics. Ongoing programs in Africa are with Global Knowledge Education Network (GKEN) an African diaspora group of academics and like-minded persons, with universities in several countries to deliver and exploit technology for affordable access to health and education, through UN Sustainable Goals (WASD).

Effect of Climate change on non-visible societies

https://mobile.twitter.com/qmgpi/status/1459169835145908228

Stakeholder interest group-Health and Education-EU Parliament.

Co-chaired New York -UN sustainable Goals-focussing on countries in Africa, South America, and Asia.

Co-convened WASD conference -Making Universities work for the UN sustainable development goals.

Research- Main research focus is epithelial biology, including mucosal disease and oral cancer. Interest and expertise in Behçet's disease and member of the medical advisory panel to the Behçet's Syndrome Society. Together with Behçet's Society secured funding to set up three dedicated Centres in England for the management of this condition.

Recent Large grants

Behçet's Centre of Excellence £10m over 5years.

Clinical trials Behçet's Centres-£1.2m

Global health NIHR co-applicant, Jonathan Grigg PI -6 African countries-2.5m 

Centre: Centre for Oral Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine(COIRM)

Research

Research Interests:

Research Interests:

Centre Director

Research programmes within COIRM covering wide range of applied clinical research and basic science. The includes several research groups includes Oral Biology, Oral Microbiology, Oral Pathology, Oral Medicine, Oral Surgery and Oral Maxillofacial Radiology,Centre for Oral Clinical Research and Behçet's within Clinical and diagnostic Oral Sciences.  The COIRM also provides teaching support for all the above specialties in the undergraduate Dental curriculum and participates in BSc course. COIRM also runs postgraduate courses in master’s in clinical dental science, Masters in Experimental Oral Sciences as well as a full programme of PhD students and DClinDent.

Centre has a very strong research focus. Developed our research portfolio to encompass a basic and translational focus, which fits the wider research strategy of the Institute of Dentistry and QMUL. The Centre has invested in establishing a major research group in Oral Cancer within the Institute of Dentistry. We have built strong links with the local community, as well as international collaborators in countries where oral cancer has a major impact of health services. Oral cancer and immunity and infection research will form a major focus for us in the next 10 years.

The Oral Oncology research crosses several areas within the Institute of Dentistry and the Institutes of Cell and Molecular Biology, Cancer, as well as Engineering and Material Science at QMUL. Links within the Institute of Dentistry are robust particularly with the Public Health A research driven clinical multidisciplinary clinic for the follow up of precancerous oral lesions will be embedded in the BLT academic units.

Major focus on infection/inflammation and wound healing. This research will be supported by the Clinical specialties within COIRM

Primary interests of own research-focus on the role of inflammation and immune related mucosal diseases. Special interested in the influence of the genetic profile on inflammatory mucosal disease; the microenvironment changes and the genetic basis of oro-facial systemic diseases; the influence of inflammatory status on wound healing and the prognosis and the regulation of healing in normal, fibrotic, and ulcerative lesions affecting the oral mucosa.

Facial biometrics started in 1996 at UMDS. At QMUL The facial measurements for dysmorphology with Drs. LiFong Zu along with added functionality to measure inflammation indicated by increased blood flow. This was followed by adding an infra-red laser.  Drs. LiFong Zu and Adegun have made a unique contribution to biometrics. This has now been used for accurate analysis for facial dysmorphology to assist clinical treatment. Developed working alongside Professor Dan Bader, Adegun, develop a technique called Scattering Attenuation Microscopy (SAM) to be used for the early detection of oral cancer as well as other mucosal lesions.

Effect of oral disease on outcomes general health the immunology and outcomes of mucosal diseases and systemic disease presenting in the Oral tissues, e.g., renal diseases post renal transplant, inflammatory bowel disease Haemato-oncology after bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy-Graft Versus Host disease.

Systemic manifestations of oral disease. Some of these are: specific mucosal immune mediated diseases and the effect on mucosal tissue by manipulating the oral microbiome.

Developed a low-cost medication to effectively treat and manage ulcerative lesions, mucositis post stem cell transplant, GVHD, immune and inflammatory mucosal and bowel disease

Director of the London Centre of Excellence for Behçet's disease. She is leads the largest of the 3 national commissioned Centres in the UK. Operated with a multidisciplinary clinical team. The clinic is protocol lead with outcomes feeding into the laboratory and clinical research. Impact of Behçet's Centres- decrease in time to diagnosis, decrease visual loss. Introduction low-cost medication saving £18k per patient per year to London centre. Management of patient well- being and treatment during COVID, results less COVID in Behçet's than normal population and less ITU admissions.

Centre conducts clinical trials as part of the UK Behçet’s Network. We work closely with the International Behçet’s Society, our European network of clinicians and research and both our national and international patients’ organisation.
Research interests are the immunology and outcomes of other mucosal diseases and systemic disease presenting in the Oral tissues, e.g., renal diseases post renal transplant Haemato-oncology after bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy-Graft Versus Host disease.

The mouth is an important site to assist in the diagnosis and monitor disease activity e.g., graft versus host disease, mucosal effects of changes in the oral microflora, or the direct effects of complicated medication regimes on the mucosa.

Gastroenterology (inflammatory bowel diseases) - has special expertise with patients with Orofacial granulomatous and Oral Crohn's disease. The work in this area is part of the Biometrics program (Dr LiFong Zu). Along with the clinical team provided input to several Paediatric Centres across the UK. Together with a major children's charity (CICRA) which funds their research, the team has prepared information leaflets for children and parents with this problem.

Immunology/auto inflammatory conditions - clinical research regarding the diagnosis of immune and inflammatory conditions. It is not uncommon to make the diagnosis of systemic disease in oral medicine clinics, with patients sent from the primary care sector.

Publications

Articles: 146

Books: 3 books &3 book chapters

Peer reviewed articles: last 5 years:

1: Novak T, Hamedi M, Bergmeier LA, Fortune F, Hagi-Pavli E. Saliva and Serum Cytokine Profiles During Oral Ulceration in Behçet's Disease. Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 22; 12:724900. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.724900. PMID: 35003055; PMCID: PMC8727526.

2: Karacayli U, Adesanya A, Aksoy A, Belem JMFM, Cardin NB, Sarı FB, Beyhan TE, Çelik Z, Karacayli C, Alibaz-Öner F, Inanç N, Ergun T, Yay M, Madanat W, Silvade Souza AW, Fortune F, Direskeneli H, Mumcu G. The Assessment of Presenteeism and Activity Impairment in Behcet's Syndrome and Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis: A multicentre Study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Jul 21:keab581. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab581. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34289015.

3: Mumcu G, Fortune F. Oral Health and Its Aetiological Role in Behçet's Disease. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 May 20;8:613419. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.613419. PMID: 34095159; PMCID: PMC8172597.

4: Huang Y, Jedličková H, Cai Y, Rehman A, Gammon L, Ahmad US, Uttagomol J, Parkinson EK, Fortune F, Wan H. Oxidative Stress-Mediated YAP Dysregulation Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Pemphigus Vulgaris. Front Immunol. 2021 Apr 19;12:649502. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.649502. PMID: 33968042; PMCID: PMC8098436.

5: Zouboulis CC, van Laar JAM, Schirmer M, Emmi G, Fortune F, Gül A, Kirino Y, Lee ES, Sfikakis PP, Shahram F, Wallace GR. Adamantiades-Behçet's disease (Behçet's disease) and COVID-19. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2021 Sep;35(9):e541-e543. doi: 10.1111/jdv.17325. Epub 2021 May 13. PMID: 33914986; PMCID: PMC8242698.

6: Macken JH, Fortune F, Buchanan JAG. Remote telephone clinics in oral medicine: reflections on the place of virtual clinics in a specialty that relies so heavily on visual assessment. A note of caution. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2021 Jun;59(5):605-608. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.11.010. Epub 2020 Nov 26. PMID: 33863593.

7: Pain CE, Beresford MW, Fortune F, Lai ETC, Murphy R, Taylor-Robinson D, Brogan PA, Moots RJ. Behçet's syndrome in children and young people in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland: a prospective epidemiological study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Oct 2;60(10):4728-4736. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab084. PMID: 33527995.

8: Lalli A, Aldehlawi H, Buchanan JAG, Seoudi N, Fortune F, Waseem A. Screening for oral cancer utilising risk-factor analysis is ineffective in high-risk populations. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2021 Jan;59(1):e17-e22. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.08.094. Epub 2020 Aug 23. PMID: 33248802

9: Hatemi G, Meara A, Ozguler Y, Direskeneli H, Mahr A, Shea B, Cam E, Gul A, Yazici Y, Tugwell P, Yazici H, Merkel PA; OMERACT Behçet Syndrome Working Group. The OMERACT Core Set of Domains for Outcome Measures in Behçet Syndrome. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020 Nov 17. doi: 10.1002/acr.24511. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33202101.

10: Senusi A, Kang A, Buchanan JAG, Adesanya A, Aloraini G, Stanford M, Fortune F. New mouthwash: an efficacious intervention for oral ulceration associated with Behçet's disease. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2020 Oct;58(8):1034-1039. doi: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2020.07.027. Epub 2020 Jul 25. PMID: 32819746.

11: Sacoor S, Chana S, Fortune F. The dental team as part of the medical workforce during national and global crises. Br Dent J. 2020 Jul;229(2):89-92. doi: 10.1038/s41415-020-1854-6. PMID: 32710053; PMCID: PMC7380139.

12: Novak T, Fortune F, Bergmeier L, Khan I, Hagi-Pavli E. Neutrophil elastase and endogenous inhibitors in Behçet's disease saliva. Clin Exp Immunol. 2020  Oct;202(1):93-105. doi: 10.1111/cei.13483. Epub 2020 Jul 29. PMID: 32580239; PMCID: PMC7488119.

13: Houacine S, Kang A, Parkinson EK, Wan H, Fortune F. Induction of p53 in keratinocyte cultures treated with Behçet's patient sera. J Oral Pathol Med. 2020 May;49(5):435-442. doi: 10.1111/jop.13005. Epub 2020 Mar 1. PMID: 32060959.

14: Petrushkin H, Norman PJ, Lougee E, Parham P, Wallace GR, Stanford MR, Fortune F. KIR3DL1/S1 Allotypes Contribute Differentially to the Development of Behçet Disease. J Immunol. 2019 Sep 15;203(6):1629-1635. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1801178. Epub 2019 Aug 12. PMID: 31405953; PMCID: PMC6731450.

15: Senusi AA, Liu J, Bevec D, Bergmeier LA, Stanford M, Kidd D, Jawad A, Higgins S, Fortune F. Why are Behçet's disease patients always exhausted? ClinExp Rheumatol. 2018 Nov-Dec;36(6 Suppl 115):53-62. Epub 2018 Oct 5. PMID: 30299243

16: Senusi A, Higgins S, Fortune F. The influence of oral health and psycho-social well-being on clinical outcomes in Behçet's disease. Rheumatol Int. 2018 Oct;38(10):1873-1883. doi: 10.1007/s00296-018-4117-y. Epub 2018 Aug 27. PMID: 30151720; PMCID: PMC6132727.

17: Ozguler Y, Leccese P, Christensen R, Esatoglu SN, Bang D, Bodaghi B, Çelik AF, Fortune F, Gaudric J, Gul A, Kötter I, Mahr A, Moots RJ, Richter J, Saadoun D, Salvarani C, Scuderi F, Sfikakis PP, Siva A, Stanford M, Tugal-Tutkun I, West R, Yurdakul S, Olivieri I, Yazici H, Hatemi G. Management of major organ involvement of Behçet's syndrome: a systematic review for update of the EULAR recommendations. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2018 Dec 1;57(12):2200-2212. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/key242. PMID: 30107448.

18: Leccese P, Ozguler Y, Christensen R, Esatoglu SN, Bang D, Bodaghi B, Celik AF, Fortune F, Gaudric J, Gül A, Kötter I, Mahr A, Moots RJ, Richter J, Saadoun D, Salvarani C, Scuderi F, Sfikakis PP, Siva A, Stanford M, Tugal-Tutkun I, West R, Yurdakul S, Olivieri I, Yazici H, Hatemi G. Management of skin, mucosa and joint involvement of Behçet's syndrome: A systematic review for update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of Behçet's syndrome. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2019 Feb;48(4):752-762. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2018.05.008. Epub 2018 May 19. PMID: 29954598.

19: Hatemi G, Christensen R, Bang D, Bodaghi B, Celik AF, Fortune F, Gaudric J,Gul A, Kötter I, Leccese P, Mahr A, Moots R, Ozguler Y, Richter J, Saadoun D, Salvarani C, Scuderi F, Sfikakis PP, Siva A, Stanford M, Tugal-Tutkun I, West R, Yurdakul S, Olivieri I, Yazici H. 2018 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of Behçet's syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 Jun;77(6):808-818. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-213225. Epub 2018 Apr 6. PMID: 29625968.

20: Senusi AA, Ola D, Mather J, Mather J, Fortune F. Behçet's syndrome and health-related quality of life: influence of symptoms, lifestyle and employment status. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2017 Nov-Dec;35 Suppl 108(6):43-50. Epub 2017 Jun 8. PMID: 28598773.

21: Moots RJ, Fortune F, Situnayake D. The Behçet's centres of excellence. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2018 Apr 1;57(4):594-595. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kex037. PMID: 28340170.

22: Hasan MS, Ryan PL, Bergmeier LA, Fortune F. Circulating NK cells and their subsets in Behçet's disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 2017 May;188(2):311-322. doi: 10.1111/cei.12939. Epub 2017 Mar 13. PMID: 28170096; PMCID: PMC5383445.

23: Liu J, Rawlinson SCF, Hill RG, Fortune F. Fluoride incorporation in high phosphate containing bioactive glasses and in vitro osteogenic, angiogenic and antibacterial effects. Dent Mater. 2016 Oct;32(10):e221-e237. doi: 10.1016/j.dental.2016.07.003. Epub 2016 Jul 25. PMID: 27461261.

24: Zumla A, Rao M, Wallis RS, Kaufmann SH, Rustomjee R, Mwaba P, Vilaplana C, Yeboah-Manu D, Chakaya J, Ippolito G, Azhar E, Hoelscher M, Maeurer M; Host-Directed Therapies Network consortium. Host-directed therapies for infectious diseases: current status, recent progress, and future prospects. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016 Apr;16(4):e47-63. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)00078-5. PMID: 27036359; PMCID: PMC7164794.

25: Liu J, Rawlinson SC, Hill RG, Fortune F. Strontium-substituted bioactive glasses in vitro osteogenic and antibacterial effects. Dent Mater. 2016 Mar;32(3):412-22. doi: 10.1016/j.dental.2015.12.013. Epub 2016 Jan 8. PMID: 26777094.