We are pleased to announce that Dr. Susa Benseler has been elected as the new Pediatric Rheumatology Stream Lead for ERN RITA, effective immediately. Dr. Benseler succeeds Dr. Carine Wouters, who has made significant contributions to the network and whose leadership has been invaluable to the growth and success of the pediatric rheumatology stream. ERN RITA would like to extend its deepest gratitude to Dr. Wouters for her dedication and hard work over the years.

About Dr. Susa Benseler

Susa Benseler is a pediatrician and pediatric rheumatologist who trained in Germany and Canada. She provided care at the Children’s Hospitals in Freiburg and Bonn, Germany, as well as SickKids Toronto and the Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Canada. She joined Children’s Health Ireland in March 2024 and is serving as the Chief Academic Officer, aiming to integrate care and research for optimal child health outcomes in Ireland and beyond.

Susa is a Clinical Epidemiologist and Professor of Pediatrics. She co-leads the international precision health program for childhood arthritis UCAN, established the first Canadian transdisciplinary Child Health and Wellness Strategy, and the Canadian Child Health Research Initiative, “One Child Every Child”—a partnership of healthcare, universities, and communities aiming to transform outcomes for children and families through research and cross-sectoral partnership.

Interview with Susa Benseler

To introduce Susa Benseler in her new capacity, we spoke with her about her motivations, goals, and vision for the Pediatric Rheumatology Stream and the broader ERN RITA network. In the interview below, she shares her perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead, her plans for fostering collaboration, and how she aims to drive impactful change for children with rheumatic diseases.

Tell us about yourself and what motivated you to apply for the ERN RITA Pediatric Rheumatology Stream Lead position?

I am a pediatric rheumatologist and clinical researcher. All my life, I have worked in diverse, cross-sectoral teams aiming to advance our ability to improve the lives of children living with rheumatic diseases and their families. My research focuses on children with rare, often difficult-to-treat inflammatory conditions. I believe that partnerships are the most effective and inspiring way of working, and ERN RITA is the leading European partnership for rheumatic diseases. I am absolutely thrilled to serve as the Stream Lead, empower the team, and hopefully help advance the outcomes of children across Europe and beyond.

What excites you most about taking on this role within ERN RITA?

Clearly, the partnership and the opportunity for impact. The multinational collaboration of healthcare teams creates a unique opportunity to learn from each other and partner in a meaningful way with our patients, families, and family organizations. The collaboration with the other streams and ERNs is brilliant—the first of its kind. There are also huge opportunities in partnerships with important stakeholder organizations such as PReS, EULAR, and the many national and international organizations closely aligned with our goals.

What do you think are the biggest opportunities for ERN RITA in pediatric rheumatology, and how can they be leveraged?

ERN RITA is a partnership of leading healthcare centres and their teams caring for children with rheumatic diseases. Together with our key partner, the family organizations, we are uniquely positioned to identify and address the many unmet needs of children living with rheumatic diseases. This is enabled within ERN RITA in multiple ways, including focused case conferences/webinars for individual patients, registries capturing care approaches and their impact, and evidence synthesis for rare diseases. All these efforts and the unique partnerships within and across ERNs and our many effective partners create a unique ecosystem for impact.

Can you share a personal experience or achievement in pediatric rheumatology that has shaped your approach to patient care or treatment?

I have been a pediatric rheumatologist for more than two decades. In my early years, our focus was on managing diseases with medications that had significant side effects, such as glucocorticoids, due to a lack of alternatives. The introduction of DMARDs and biologic therapies has dramatically changed our ability to control disease activity. Despite these advancements, we still struggle to tailor treatments for each individual child. Children developing devastating psoriasis, fungal eye infections, or experiencing no benefit from painful daily or weekly injections remind me every day that we must continue learning—determining the best medication for each child, preventing adverse events, and knowing when to stop therapies. Every child and family we serve presents a learning opportunity.

What new ideas or projects are you most excited to bring to ERN RITA?

I am very excited to help the ERN RITA community achieve its ambitious and important goals. My role is to enable passionate and creative teams, foster new partnerships within and across ERNs, serve as a reliable partner with all our stakeholders, and hopefully inspire transformational work for children and families. I am particularly eager to bring case conferences to the forefront, advance evidence synthesis in rare inflammatory diseases that are currently underserved, and support the registry to maximise its potential for impact.

What do you think is the biggest strength of ERN RITA, and how will you contribute to it?

ERN RITA is a partnership of international centres of excellence, each with outstanding healthcare teams and a strong capacity to evaluate care approaches and patient outcomes. While I am passionate about evidence synthesis in guidelines and recommendations, I believe the core strength of ERN RITA lies in its commitment to healthcare excellence. I am excited to help harness this unique opportunity for the benefit of children and families.


We warmly welcome Susa Benseler as the new Stream Lead and look forward to the contributions she will bring to the Pediatric Rheumatology Stream of ERN RITA.