AIP Community Q4 Update: Events, Advocacy & Research (Ep 100)

Episode 100: AIP Community Q4 Update — Research, Advocacy & Community

Autoimmune wellness doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s shaped by the research being published, the advocacy happening on behalf of patients, and the communities that help turn information into something meaningful in everyday life.

In this Q4 Community Update—and the 100th episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast—Mickey Trescott catches up on some of the developments happening across the autoimmune landscape, with a focus on research, advocacy, and community.

First, immunologist and AIP Certified Coach Sybil Cooper, PhD, joins Mickey to discuss a newly published qualitative study exploring the experiences of people with rheumatoid arthritis who participated in an AIP intervention. They look beyond symptom outcomes to explore what it was actually like to implement AIP, the challenges participants faced, what kinds of support helped, and what their diets looked like one year later.

Next, Jaime Hartman joins Mickey to recap the Autoimmune Association’s Hope Journey Walk, where Team AIP participated in Washington, DC, Michigan, and virtually around the country. They discuss the importance of showing up as a community, raising awareness, and connecting AIP with the broader autoimmune research and advocacy landscape.

Finally, Jamie-Nicole Martin, founder and CEO of the AIP BIPOC Network, shares updates on the organization’s work supporting people navigating changes to insurance, medication, and food benefits, along with community outreach, an autoimmune and menopause research project, and plans to expand access to resources in the year ahead.

Together, these conversations show how research, advocacy, and community intersect—and why all three matter for people living with autoimmune disease.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What qualitative research can teach us about the real-world experience of following AIP
• What participants in the rheumatoid arthritis AIP study found most challenging
• What happened when researchers followed the RA participants one year later
• How Team AIP participated in the Autoimmune Association’s Hope Journey Walk
• Why connecting the AIP community with broader autoimmune advocacy and research matters
• How the AIP BIPOC Network is helping people navigate changing insurance, pharmacy, and food benefits
• What Jamie-Nicole’s autoimmune and menopause research project is exploring
• Why community resources need to evolve as people move through different stages of life with autoimmune disease

Resources:

• Exploring Participant Experiences With the Autoimmune Protocol Diet in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study
• Autoimmune Association – Hope Journey Walk, research, advocacy, and patient support
• AIP BIPOC Network
• AIP Certified Coach Program & Practitioner Directory

Episode Timeline:

00:00 – Introduction to the Q4 Community Update and Episode 100

01:56 – Research update with Sybil Cooper, PhD

03:00 – Understanding qualitative vs. quantitative research

05:20 – Challenges participants experienced implementing AIP

08:10 – The role of professional, household, and peer support

10:40 – What participants were eating one year later

13:15 – Reintroductions, long-term success, and lessons for the AIP community

15:50 – Jaime Hartman: Hope Journey Walk & Team AIP

17:20 – What the Hope Journey Walk was like

20:00 – Why Team AIP’s presence matters

22:40 – Community connection and the broader autoimmune movement

26:36 – Jamie-Nicole Martin: AIP BIPOC Network update

27:30 – Navigating changes to benefits and healthcare access

29:30 – Autoimmune disease and menopause research

31:00 – Community outreach and the Abilities Expo

33:00 – Connecting people with resources throughout the autoimmune journey

34:45 – What’s next for the AIP BIPOC Network

36:02 – Episode 100 reflections and wrap-up