Ravinder Maini, combined laboratory-based immunological translational research with clinical practice in rheumatology throughout his career. He was Director/Head of The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, at Imperial College, London, from 1990-2002, and since retirement, is Emeritus Professor at Imperial College, London and a Visiting Professor at Oxford.

Maini’s research contributions in the field of rheumatic diseases have focussed on immunological mechanisms of autoimmunity, cytokines and immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis. For his research contributions, he has been elected a Fellow of Royal Society, London; Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences; and Foreign Associate Member of the USA Academy of Sciences. He has been awarded honorary Doctorates of the Universities of Glasgow and University Rene Descartes, Paris; Distinguished Investigator Award by the American College of Rheumatology; and Honorary Fellowships of Scientific Societies in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. He was honoured by a Knighthood for his contributions to Rheumatology in 2002.

His ‘bench to bedside’ research, in collaboration with Marc Feldmann, which commenced in 1985, resulted in the identification of TNF as a therapeutic target, and development of anti-TNF therapy in the late 1990s. Maini and Feldmann have been jointly awarded international prizes including the Crafoord Prize by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Lasker prize for Clinical Research, and The Canada Gairdner International Award.