Update from Our Medical Advisory Board's Annual Meeting
Our Medical Advisory Board (MAB) came together for its annual meeting yesterday, bringing together volunteer healthcare professionals who help ensure our information, resources, and policy work reflect the latest scientific evidence and clinical practice.
The MAB advises Eczema UK on clinical and research matters, supports our operational activity, and informs our strategic development. Chaired by Professor Carsten Flohr, the Chair of Dermatology and Population Health Science at Kings College London, our Medical Advisory Board is made up of volunteer healthcare professionals who help ensure all our information, resources, and policy work reflect the latest scientific evidence and clinical practice.
In this years meeting, the Board discussed a range of issues shaping the future of eczema care, including:
NICE guidelines for adolescent and adult atopic eczema, and the upcoming refresh of the paediatric guideline
Emollient prescribing
Opportunities presented by the NHS 10 Year Plan, with its greater focus on prevention and community-based care
International recognition of skin diseases as a global public health priority, following the WHA78 declaration, and the emerging global action plan (EM to refine this section post meeting)
We are delighted to welcome three members to our Medical Advisory Board (MAB): Dr Claudia Gore, Nicola Housam, and Mandy Wan. All three joined their fellow Board members for the annual meeting yesterday, and we are thrilled to have their expertise, experience and commitment to eczema to help guide our work going forward.
Dr Claudia Gore
Claudia is a consultant and professor of practice in paediatric allergy at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust & Imperial College London. Clinically she has specific expertise in caring for children and young people with complex multisystem allergic disease, including severe eczema, and in providing as well as expanding services for allergic adolescents. Claudia's research is in the field of better diagnosis and treatment of childhood eczema. She chairs the adolescent and young adult committee of the British Society of Allergy & Clinical Immunology and is a trustee and member of the senior leadership team. Claudia's work includes promotion of holistic allergy and adolescent care through innovative ways of engaging patients, families, educators, health and care staff — find out more here.
Nicola Housam
Nicola is a Nurse Consultant in Dermatology who has made significant contributions to the care and treatment of patients with eczema, particularly children. Working within the NHS at United Lincolnshire Hospitals and now University Hospitals Plymouth, she has led the development of innovative service models that reduce waiting times and improve access to specialist eczema care.
Nicola has played an influential role in shaping national practice through her involvement on expert committees for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), contributing to evidence-based guidance for eczema management. She is also a member of the steering committee for the Eczema Systemic Therapy Register (A-STAR). Her research has supported practical innovations in care, including the use of dilute bleach baths to reduce skin infections and antibiotic use. A strong advocate for patient safety and education, Nicola has led national work on emollient safety and fire risk awareness. Her contributions have been recognised through national awards for improving standards of care and education.
Dr Mandy Wan
Mandy is a Consultant Pharmacist in Paediatric Research at Evelina London Children's Hospital, where she leads the pharmacy clinical trials service and serves as Deputy R&D Lead for children's research. She holds an MSc in Experimental Therapeutics from the University of Oxford and a PhD from King's College London, where she is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer. With many years of experience in paediatric clinical trials across a broad range of specialties, she has contributed to research innovation, governance, and translational medicine. In recent years, she has been part of a multidisciplinary team delivering clinical trials of novel systemic therapies for children with eczema. She is a co-applicant on the UK-Irish Treatment of Severe Eczema in Children Trial (TREAT) and a steering group member of the Eczema Systemic Therapy Register (A-STAR).
More details, including the current members, can be found here.
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