Dr. Ekaterina Sorkina is a Clinical Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases at the Newcastle Upon Tyne Royal Victoria Infirmary. She is a Doctor of Medicine and further obtained her PhD in Endocrinology in 2015 at the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University in Russia. Ekaterina continued her work as a Senior Researcher, consulting Endocrinologist, and Associate Professor in Endocrinology at the National Medical Research Centre of Endocrinology in Moscow before joining the team at Newcastle. In her capacity as research fellow she works in multiple projects involving infectious diseases, including IDEA-FAST.
What is your major focus as a researcher, and why were you drawn to this path?
My previous research was mostly focused on diabetes and genetics in endocrinology, and it was interesting to switch to an observational study in rheumatology. This switch was inspired by my supervisor, Prof. Fai Ng. (IDEA-FAST Coordinator).
What is IDEA-FAST, and why is it important? How can it change the future of chronically ill patients?
IDEA-FAST is a Clinical observational study on the relationship between digital and clinical parameters of fatigue and sleep in neurodegenerative disorders and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. The objectives of the study are to identify and evaluate digital parameters of fatigue and sleep that reflect daily self-reported measures. Hopefully, through knowing the biomarkers of fatigue and sleep issues we can then address them better through targeted therapies and increase the quality of life of our chronically ill patients.
What challenges have you encountered so far within the project? How have you overcome these impediments?
Older participants tend to struggle more with the wearable devices*. We are overcoming this by training the patients and assisting them as much as we can. Surprisingly rheumatoid arthritis cohorts seem less motivated to take part in an observational study compared to Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome (PSS) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) cohorts. We are overcoming this by continuously spreading information about the study among rheumatologists.
What does the future have in store for this project and you as a researcher?
For me as a researcher it was an interesting experience. I would like to study fatigue and sleep problems digitally in endocrine disorders if I get the chance, I think it might be very interesting. As for this project I am sure of its success, I can’t wait to see the results. I think it has already helped developing a useful methodology which can be exported to other fields if needed.
What is your specific role within IDEA-FAST? What do your tasks include?
I am a sub-investigator working in Newcastle with Prof Ng and the team, helping with patient recruitment and performing rheumatology assessments in the study.
* More details on the wearable devices accessible on Deliverable 3.1.
