Dr Paola de Pablo MD, MPH, PhD

• PhD Medicine, University of Birmingham, UK 2013
• Specialist Certificate in Rheumatology, Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom 2012
• Master of Public Health, Harvard University 2003
• Member of the American College of Rheumatology 2001
• Rheumatology Certificate of Completion of Training & Board Certification 2001
• MD Medicine 1996

After completing Specialist Training in Rheumatology, Paola de Pablo pursued a Masters Degree in Public Health at Harvard University, with a focus on Clinical Effectiveness. She obtained a Pan-American Fellowship from the Fogarty International Center-National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Conacyt, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Arthritis Foundation (USA) to get further training in epidemiology at the Department of Rheumatology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

After completing her postdoctoral fellowship, she was appointed an Assistant Professor in Medicine at the Tufts University Medical School, New England Medical Center in 2005. She relocated to the United Kingdom in 2008 and was appointed a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, obtaining her Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom Specialist Certificate in Rheumatology in 2012, followed by a PhD degree in Medicine from the University of Birmingham in 2013.

She has recently been awarded a prestigious five year National Institute for Health Research fellowship to investigate novel biomarkers and causal pathways in the development of RA as well as tools to assess disease and response to therapy.

Teaching Programmes

• MBChB - Rheumatology Lecture to 4^rd year Medical Students, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, UK
• Rheumatology to 4^th year Medical School, University of Birmingham, UK
• Rheumatology to 4^th year Medical Students, weekly sessions in clinic, Department of Rheumatology, University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
• Rheumatology Lecture to 3^rd year Dental Students, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, UK

Dr de Pablo is interested in supervising masters & doctoral research students in the following areas:

• Epidemiology of the rheumatic diseases
• Comorbidities of the autoimmune chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases including periodontal disease, accelerated atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and bone loss

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Dr Paola de Pablo directly, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email mds-gradschool@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.

Research themes

Epidemiology of the Rheumatic Diseases, Biomarkers and Outcomes Research, Clinical Trials; Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Comorbidities of the Autoimmune Chronic Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases, including Periodontal Disease, Accelerated Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular Disease, and Bone Loss

Research activity

Dr de Pablo’s clinical research is in the epidemiology and outcomes of rheumatic diseases, with a focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus. Particular interests include the modifiable risk factors, predisposing conditions, as well as the comorbidities of RA and the systemic impact of the burden of chronic inflammation.

Previous work includes a meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials showing that there is a critical period during which anti-rheumatic therapy should be initiated, a therapeutic window of opportunity early in the course of RA, associated with sustained benefit on disease progression and structural damage.

Previous epidemiologic investigations on novel and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease in RA showed that individuals with RA have higher inflammatory markers associated with cardiovascular disease and lower antioxidant levels.

Our group also showed in a large epidemiologic study that systemic inflammation has an impact on bone loss.

In recent work, our group has studied associations between periodontal disease, a common chronic inflammatory disease, and RA and lupus. We have reported a distinct antibody reactivity against both citrullinated and uncitrullinated peptides in individuals with periodontal disease, which may predispose to RA. We are currently conducting a clinical trial on the effect of periodontal therapy on outcomes of RA (OPERA trial).

Current clinical activity

Honorary Consultant in Rheumatology, Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust