John Hamburger qualified in Dentistry from the University of Birmingham in 1976 and then went on to undertake an MSc in Immunology in 1977 under Professor Philip Gell. He then joined the department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine at the University of Birmingham School of Dentistry, with a remit of developing the specialty of Oral Medicine. The specialty developed markedly and was subsequently split off as a separate unit in view of its activity. John finished his accreditation in London [Eastman Dental Institute and the Royal London] and was appointed to a Senior Lectureship and Honorary Consultant in 1995.
John was appointed to the Presidency of the British Society for Oral Medicine 2001-2002 and is currently a Council Member of that Society.
He has developed good collaborative links with both colleagues within his own specialty as well as in a variety of other specialties, facilitating clinical research. John is an enthusiastic lecturer and is much in demand for delivering postgraduate lectures and courses.
His main research focus is that of Sjogren’s Syndrome. John has had a long collaborative link with the departments of Rheumatology and Ophthalmology and a multidisciplinary clinic serves as a platform for research into this condition, both basic and clinical. A major multicentre trial is soon to commence assessing the role of anti-B cell therapy in the management of primary Sjogren’s syndrome and he will be assessing the impact this therapy has on the salivary component of the syndrome. Recent work on Sjogren’s has included the development of clinical activity and damage indices in Sjogren’s, tools which can assist in measuring response to therapy.
A multidisciplinary Behcet’s disease clinic also acts as a platform for research, led by the department of ophthalmology.
Future collaborative research projects include assessment of a novel stimulator of salivary flow and patient reported outcome measures in inflammatory oral mucosal disease.
Sjogren's Systemic Clinical Activity Index (SCAI)--a systemic disease activity measure for use in clinical trials in primary Sjogren's syndrome. Bowman SJ. Sutcliffe N. Isenberg DA. Goldblatt F. Adler M. Price E. Canavan A. Hamburger J. Richards A. Rauz S. Regan M. Gadsby K. Rigby S. Jones A. Mathew R. Mulherin D. Stevenson A. Nightingale P. Rheumatology.2007 Dec 46(12):1845-51.
The Sjogren's Syndrome Damage Index--a damage index for use in clinical trials and observational studies in primary Sjogren's syndrome. Barry RJ., Sutcliffe N., Isenberg DA., Price E. , Goldblatt F., Adler M,. Canavan A., Hamburger J., Richards A., Regan M., Gadsby K., Rigby S., Jones A,. Mathew R,. Mulherin D., Stevenson A., Nightingale P., Rauz S. , Bowman SJ. Rheumatology. 47(8):1193-8, 2008.
Reduction of fatigue in Sjogren syndrome with rituximab: results of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.Dass, S. Bowman, S J. Vital, E M. Ikeda, K. Pease, C T. Hamburger, J. Richards, A. Rauz, S. Emery, P. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 67(11):1541-4, 2008.
Patient reported outcomes in primary Sjogren’s syndrome (PSS): Comparison of the long and short versions of the profile of fatigue and discomfort – sicca symptoms inventory (PROFAD-SSI). Bowman SJ, Hamburger J, Richards A, Barry RJ, Rauz S. Rheumatology 48; 2: 140-143 ISSN: 1462-0324. 2008.
Does the use of photography help to prioritise patients when referring to the oral medicine department?. Aslam, A. Hamburger, J. British Dental Journal. 208(8):E16, 2010.
Estimating indirect costs in primary Sjogren's syndrome. Bowman, Simon J. St Pierre, Yvan. Sutcliffe, Nurhan. Isenberg, David A. Goldblatt, Fiona. Price, Elizabeth. Hamburger, John. Richards, Andrea. Rauz, Saaeha. Regan, Marian. Rigby, Shirley. Jones, Adrian. Mulherin, Diarmuid. Clarke, Ann E. Journal of Rheumatology. 37(5):1010-5, 2010.
TIRAP Ser180Leu polymorphism is associated with Behcet’s disease. Wallace, GR, Durrani O, J Hamburger et al. In Press Annals of the Rheumatic Disease.