I trained at St George's Hospital Medical School and completed my Dermatology training in some of the most ethnically and culturally diverse areas of North and East London. I have been an NHS Consultant Dermatologist since 2012 and am based at the Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust in Hackney, East London where I lead a fortnightly specialist hair clinic. My interest in hair disorders started from a chance meeting with Dr Paul Farrant in 2010 on his return from a hair conference in Australia. I subsequently organised my own clinical experience with Drs Paul Farrant and Andrew Messenger to enhance my growing interest in hair disorders. Due to the large West Indian population in East London, my particular interest lies in Afrotextured hair types and conditions unique to this subgroup of patients. I am on the Medical advisory board for the patient support group Cicatricial Alopecia Research Foundation (CARF) and helped to establish the London division of the group in 2013.
Hair and scalp disorders form a small but important subspecialty of Dermatology, encompassing conditions which carry significant psychosocial impact. Thus far, funding for research in this area of Dermatology has been limited.
Through the British Hair and Nail Society (BHNS) and its official affiliation with the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD), we hope to raise public awareness, provide support for patients and drive future research to advance the understanding of and improve treatments for hair disorders.