Dr Alwin Sebastian

Dr Alwin Sebastian is a Consultant Rheumatologist practising at Bon Secours Hospital Limerick and within the UL Hospital Group in Limerick, Ireland. He specialises in general adult rheumatology, with particular clinical and research interests in giant cell arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, large vessel vasculitis, musculoskeletal ultrasound, and vascular diagnosis in rheumatology.

Dr Sebastian completed dual speciality training in Rheumatology and General Internal Medicine in Ireland and the UK. He undertook a Fellowship in Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica at Southend University Hospital in the UK, funded through the Bresnahan-Molloy Educational Fellowship Award from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, under the mentorship of Professor Dasgupta.

Alongside his clinical work, Dr Sebastian is an external tutor for the First Contact Practitioners Musculoskeletal Masters programme at University of Essex. He completed a PhD in Giant Cell Arteritis at the University of Essex and previously worked as an Honorary Research Fellow at Southend University Hospital. He is also a faculty member of the international annual GCA and PMR workshops.

Dr Sebastian holds active Membership of the Royal College of Physicians in both Ireland and the UK. He completed a Master’s degree in Rheumatology at King's College London with Merit and has also completed the European Board of Rheumatology certification examination. In addition, he is a Level-1 European certified musculoskeletal sonographer.

His research work includes leading the international prospective observational HAS-GCA study, which was included in the NIHR portfolio in the UK. He also developed and first-authored a pre-test probability-based algorithm for suspected giant cell arteritis that is now used internationally. Dr Sebastian has published research in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. In 2020, he received the Paul Bacon Vasculitis Award from the British Society of Rheumatology for Best Research in Vasculitis.