Dr. Dobrina Hull

Dr Dobrina Hull studied Medicine at the University of Oxford, graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Physiology and a prize for excellence in Clinical Medicine finals. She was appointed as Consultant Rheumatologist at Kingston Hospital in 2017. She also works at New Victoria Hospital and Nuffield Health Parkside Hospital.

She completed specialist training in Rheumatology within the London South Thames training programme and has worked at some of the UK’s leading specialist centres, including Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, St George’s Hospital and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This has given her extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of rheumatological conditions.

In 2009, she was awarded a clinical research fellowship at the prestigious Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology to complete research on the effects of anti-TNF therapies on T cell subsets in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, and correlate relationships to treatment response. This led to the award of a PhD from the University of London in 2014 and developed her expertise in the treatment of inflammatory arthritis and the use of biologic therapies.

She maintains a strong interest in the diagnosis and management of psoriatic arthritis and has set up and runs the joint rheumatology/dermatology clinic at Kingston Hospital. She continues to participate in clinical research and is Principal Investigator on a number of clinical research studies. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and published in scientific peer-reviewed journals, as well as co-authoring several chapters in the Oxford Handbook of Paediatric Rheumatology.

She is committed to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians examination question writing group for the Specialist Certificate Examination in Rheumatology. She has a keen interest in patient education, as well as the education and development of allied health professionals, and has delivered teaching to GPs, prescribers' courses and patient forums.

She has an active role on the South West London Rheumatology Clinical Network and is involved in a number of projects within the region to improve rheumatology provision and services for patients with rheumatic conditions. Her active role on the South West London Bone Health Network has led to the development of a specialist interest in the management of osteoporosis and osteopenia, and she has contributed to the set-up of a local fracture liaison service.

Dr Dobrina Hull has expertise in managing all aspects of rheumatological conditions, including:

• Inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, spondyloarthropathies)
• Crystal arthritis (including gout and pseudogout)
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis and osteopenia
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Connective tissue diseases
• Soft tissue rheumatic conditions and tendonitis, including shoulder pain, bursitis and tennis elbow

She is highly proficient at performing joint and soft tissue injections.

Dr Hull is an experienced and compassionate rheumatologist who strongly believes in creating an individualised approach through shared decision-making with her patients and utilising her significant expertise to deliver outstanding and holistic care, ensuring timely diagnosis and effective treatment plans.

Clinical interests:

• Diagnosis and treatment of early inflammatory arthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Axial spondyloarthropathy / ankylosing spondylitis
• Osteoarthritis
• Gout / pseudogout
• Osteoporosis / osteopenia
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Connective tissue diseases (e.g. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sjogren’s syndrome, Scleroderma)
• Soft tissue rheumatism (including tendinopathies and bursitis)
• Joint and soft tissue injections
• Fibromyalgia