Heather Lashley, RN, BS, is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. While working as an orthopedic nurse at an inner-city acute care medical center, she learned about managing acute and chronic pain in orthopedic patients and provided orthopedic post-surgical care and education. After receiving a diagnosis of fibromyalgia in 2017, Heather's interests turned to research and education as she investigated the science behind fibromyalgia and resilience. She has recently co-authored a scoping review of literature on resilience and multi-morbidity in older adults, published in the journal Geriatric Nursing. Her dissertation research is focused on investigating several factors impacting both resilience and physical function among adults with fibromyalgia. While the long-term goal of Heather's research is to help develop interventions tailored for adults with fibromyalgia, she is currently working with the Autoimmune Registry to enroll participants with fibromyalgia for her doctoral research.

Maren Kihle Svensen is undertaking a doctorate in counseling psychology in London, UK, at Roehampton University. She always had an interest in mental health and is currently training to become a counseling psychologist. One of her interests within the field lies in the mind-body connection, and she is completing her doctorate research with the title “Exploring the Experience of Mental and Physical Health in Adults with an Autoimmune Disease: A Thematic Analysis”. She seeks to understand how adults with autoimmune diseases experience their mental and physical health and what they find helpful and unhelpful in maintaining their well-being. It is hoped that this research will enable a better understanding of their experiences and contribute to improving the support provided. Maren is currently working with the Autoimmune Registry to assist with participant recruitment for her research, although the registry has no involvement in the research process itself.