The Patients Solution Mixer
Patients at the Center: Reimagining Autoimmune Innovation
On December 21, 2025, the Tel Aviv University Colton Center for Autoimmunity hosted the Autoimmunity Patients Solution Mixer at the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya, Israel, bringing together patients, researchers, clinicians, innovators, and healthcare decision-makers for a day dedicated to discussing needs and technologies to improve autoimmune care.
What set this event apart was not only its multidisciplinary composition, but its core premise: patients were not invited to share their stories on the sidelines- they were positioned as equal partners in defining challenges and shaping solutions. Throughout the day, people living with autoimmune diseases sat at the center of the discussion alongside scientists, physicians, engineers, psychologists, and health system leaders, working together to translate their experience into actionable ideas.
The Mixer was designed as a structured, solution-oriented forum. Following introductory sessions and guided discussions, participants were divided into four interdisciplinary teams, each focused on a central challenge along the autoimmune patient journey. The discussions in the Mixer consistently highlighted gaps that are deeply familiar to patients yet often underestimated within healthcare systems. For many clinicians and researchers in the room, hearing these challenges articulated directly (without filters, presentations, or protocols) prompted moments of reassessment and new perspective.
The Mixer Day was the highlight of a long process, in which many patients submitted dozens of problems for review, from which a select few were distilled and refined. The patients then attended a preliminary meeting, where together we articulated the challenge clearly. The event was facilitated in partnership with Prof. Shay Kivity Head of the rheumatology unit and Uri Goren, Head of Innovation both from Meir Medical Center, Israel, and reflected a shared commitment between the Colton Center and its clinical partners to advance patient-driven innovation. By combining experiential knowledge with clinical expertise and innovation methodology, the Mixer event aimed to accelerate the path from insight to impact.
As a next step, each of the four teams that were created is invited to submit a concrete proposal addressing the challenge they explored. Selected proposals will be eligible to receive up to $25,000 in Colton Center funding, supporting the development and implementation of patient-centered solutions within the Israeli healthcare ecosystem.
The Autoimmunity Patients Solution Mixer represents a growing shift in how innovation in autoimmune disease is approached. We recognize patients not only as beneficiaries of progress but as essential experts, ‘need-knowers’, in shaping it. For the TAU Colton Center, this gathering offered a glimpse of what becomes possible when research, care, and innovation begin by listening to those who live with disease every day.
