Patrick H. Dessein MD, FCP(SA), FRCP(UK), PhD

Patrick H. Dessein, MD, FCP(SA), FRCP(UK), Ph.D. is a Physician with a special interest in Rheumatology at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg. Patrick Dessein was Head/Professor of Rheumatology at the University Hospital and Free University in Brussels, Belgium from March 2016 until May 2018. He is an Honorary Research Professor in the Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Genomics Research Unit, School of Physiology, Witwatersrand University. He has 105 PubMed publications with a current H index of 31. He is presently a National Research Foundation B-rated (internationally recognized) Scientist. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Rheumatology and the Journal of Cardiology and Therapy. He is the only member of and contributor to the Transatlantic Risk Calculator for Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (ATACC-RA) on the African continent.

He served on the National Research Foundation Advisory Committee for Funding of rated and unrated researchers in 2013. He has performed research on neuroendocrine deficiencies including autonomic dysfunction in the rheumatic diseases scleroderma, lupus, and fibromyalgia. His main current research interest is in mechanisms involved in enhanced cardiovascular risk and the impact of socioeconomic deprivation and epidemiological transition stage on disease outcomes in patients with rheumatic disorders. He reviews 30 to 40 manuscripts yearly for peer-reviewed journals including several for the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. He was a Guest Editor for a special issue on atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis in Mediators of Inflammation in 2012, and the Lead Guest Editor for a special issue on the elucidation, assessment, and management of enhanced cardiovascular risk in rheumatoid arthritis in Biomed Research International in 2014. He supervises several Ph.D. and Master's Students. He was a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical), at the University of the Witwatersrand, from 2006 until December 2015.