Expecting with Eczema
Understanding your journey with eczema during pregnancy
We’re thrilled to announce the next patient and public webinar, in partnership with St John’s DermAcademy, is dedicated to supporting those managing eczema during pregnancy.
Date: 16 September
Time: 17:30 – 18:30
Register online to secure your place: Register here
Event Itinerary
- 17:30 – 17:35: Welcome and Introduction (Prof Jemima Mellerio)
- 17:35 – 17:50: What to Expect When Expecting (Dr Ruchika Kumari)
- 17:50 – 18:05: What Eczema Treatments Can Be Used in Conception and Pregnancy (Dr Richard Woolf)
- 18:05 – 18:25: Panel Discussion and Q&A (Dr Perdy Kamali and Speakers)
- 18:25 – 18:30: Closing Remarks
Speakers
Dr Ruchika Kumari
Talk: What to Expect When Expecting
Dr Ruchika Kumari has joined Prof Flohr’s team as a Clinical Research Fellow during her final year of Specialty Training at St John’s Institute of Dermatology. She completed her undergraduate training at UCL Medical School and holds a BSc in Medical Sciences with International Health, studying Maternal & Child Health as a special interest. She is actively involved in medical education and was elected as the British Association of Dermatologists’ National Trainee Representative 2019–2021. Dr Kumari’s clinical interests are in adult and paediatric medical dermatology, particularly atopic dermatitis and obstetric dermatology. Her research seeks to explore the lived experience of patients with atopic dermatitis during pregnancy.
Dr Richard Woolf
Talk: What Eczema Treatments Can Be Used in Conception and Pregnancy
Dr Richard Woolf is a Consultant Dermatologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. He qualified from Bristol University and completed integrated academic training (NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship and NIHR Clinical Lectureship) in dermatology at the St John’s Institute and an MRC-funded PhD in skin immunobiology at King’s College London (2015). His key clinical interest is in medical dermatology, working across the large specialist eczema and psoriasis services. He is an investigator on multiple clinical trials in these and related conditions.
Panellist
Dr Perdy Kamali
Dr Perdy Kamali is an accredited GP with an Extended Role in Dermatology and Skin Lesion Management, with particular interests in dermoscopy, skin cancer, and atopic eczema. She achieved distinction in the Postgraduate Diploma in Practical Dermatology from Cardiff University and holds a Professional Diploma of Dermoscopy. A GP since 2016, Perdy now works part-time as a salaried GP and serves as Clinical Lead in a community dermatology service, including teledermoscopy provision. She also delivers regular “see and treat” two-week-wait skin cancer clinics in secondary care. Her passion for education is reflected in her experience as a former tutor for the Cardiff Dermatology Diploma, and she continues to deliver dermatology teaching for GPs, trainees, and nurses in primary care. Perdy is an Executive Committee member of the Primary Care Dermatology Society and Editor of the PCDS Bulletin. She is deeply committed to improving the management of skin conditions in primary care, recognising their significant prevalence—accounting for up to 30% of GP consultations—and the profound impact they have on patients’ quality of life.
Chair
Professor Jemima Mellerio BSc MD FRCP
Consultant Dermatologist & Honorary Professor of Paediatric Dermatology
Lead, Adult Epidermolysis Bullosa Team
Professor Mellerio trained in dermatology in South London at St John’s Institute of Dermatology and King’s College Hospital. Undertaking her MD at St John’s Institute on Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) sparked an interest in genetic skin fragility disorders that has endured. She has been a consultant dermatologist since 2003 and is based at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London where she leads the Adult Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) Service which provides clinical care for around 500 individuals with EB. She also worked as the dermatologist to the Paediatric EB Service at Great Ormond Street Hospital for almost 15 years until recently.
Professor Mellerio’s clinical interests are EB, Mendelian genodermatoses, and general paediatric dermatology. She has active clinical and laboratory research interests in many different aspects of genetic skin disease including gene discovery and phenotyping, a longitudinal prospective study in recessive dystrophic EB, and translational research of new therapies for genodermatoses including cell and gene therapy. She has published widely and lectured nationally and internationally on these areas.