Elizabeth Lightstone
Birth nameElizabeth Beatrice Lightstone
Birth date1959 (age 67–68)
WorkplacesHammersmith Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Imperial College London
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
King's College London
University of London
Thesis urlhttps://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.807111
Thesis year1993
FieldsKidney disease
Lupus nephritis
Pregnancy in women with kidney disease
Chronic kidney disease[1]

Elizabeth Beatrice Lightstone (born March 1959) is a British physician and consultant who is a Professor of Nephrology at Imperial College London.[1][2] Her research investigates disease in kidneys such as lupus nephritis, glomerular disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Lightstone has also investigated healthcare inequalities.

Early life and education

Lightstone completed her undergraduate studies in medicine at the University of Cambridge. She moved to King's College London for her clinical studies, and was one of the University of London's top candidates in her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery. Lightstone was a clinical fellow at Guy's Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, where she specialised in renal medicine.[3] At the time, there were no woman consultants of nephrology in England.[3] She joined the University College London Cancer Research Fund, where she researched murine T-cell subsets.[4] After earning her doctorate in 1993, Lightstone moved to the Hammersmith Hospital as a Medical Research Council Clinical Fellow.[5]

Research and career

Lightstone was appointed a Clinical Lecturer in Nephrology in 1995.[6] Her research has considered lupus nephritis and the development of new therapeutics. She served as Chief Investigator on the RITUXILUP trial, which involved a rituximab treatment regimen.[7] The regimen involved sequential intravenous doses of rituximab and methylprednisolone,[8] and was shown to be a safe and efficatious protocol.[7] She has explored other therapeutics, including voclosporin and belimumab.[9] Alongside development new treatment strategies, Lightstone searched for urine biomarkers that could be indicative of the outcome of lupus nephritis.[10] Lighthouse has written the clinical guidelines on the management of lupus nephritis in adults and the management of pregnancy in women with lupus.[11] Alongside rituximab, Lighthouse investigated glomerulonephritis and chronic kidney disease, and how health inequalities are experienced by people of colour.[12][13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lightstone focused on how to treat COVID-19 patients with kidney disease. She was Chair of the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust Treatment and Guideline Group.[14] She explained that patients on dialysis had a very high infection rate, which she attributed to their frequent hospital visits.[14] Her work was recognised with a Queen's Anniversary Prize for COVID-19 Response.[15]

Selected publications

References

  1. ^
  2. ^
  3. ^ "What does it take to work for the NHS?". thejc.com. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  4. ^ Lightstone, Elizabeth Beatrice (1993). "Characterization of the murine T cell subsets defined by CD45RA isoforms" (PhD). ucl.ac.uk. OCLC 940338921
  5. ^ "Professor Liz Lightstone". imperial.nhs.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  6. ^ "Prof Liz Lightstone – 2018 – Jewish medical association". jewishmedicalassociationuk.org. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  7. ^ Killock, David (August 2013). "A rituximab-based regimen might enable oral steroid avoidance in lupus nephritis". Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 9 (8): 443. doi:10.1038/nrrheum.2013.102. ISSN 1759-4804. PMID 23797310. S2CID 13069487
  8. ^ "RITUXILUP, Version 1.1". Health Research Authority. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  9. ^ "Dr Liz Lightstone on Emerging Treatment Options, Unmet Needs in Lupus Nephritis". AJMC. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  10. ^ "Research - Prof Liz Lightstone". imperial.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  11. ^ "Women in Nephrology | About - Liz Lightstone, MBBS (Hons) PhD FRCP". womeninnephrology.org. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  12. ^ "PHIN - Professor Liz Lightstone". phin.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  13. ^ "Dr Liz Lightstone on Race and Sociodemographic Implications in Lupus Nephritis". AJMC. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  14. ^ "COVID and kidney disease: how treatment has adapted". Top Doctors. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  15. ^ "Imperial awarded Queen's Anniversary Prize for COVID-19 response | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 2023-01-19.