Dr Archana Rao Consultant Dermatologist and Specialist in Hair Disorders

Qualifications:

MBBS, DVD, FCPS, DNB (Dermatology), FRCP (Dermatology) UK

Professional background:

Dr Archana Rao is a Consultant Dermatologist and has trained in dermatology and dermatosurgery at Imperial College, London. She has the unique experience of training in dermatology both in the United Kingdom as well as overseas.

She is a recipient of five scholarships from the European Academy of Dermatology and the European Hair Research Society, including one which invited her to Bologna for advanced training in hair loss. These opportunities allowed her to develop an interest in treating hair disorders and enabled her to run one of the first hair loss clinics in South West London on the NHS. Archana currently sees patients with hair problems from all over the country, including overseas in her private clinics.

She is an invited lecturer at national and international meetings for dermatologists, GPs, trichologists and nurses, in addition to having taught trainee dermatologists on courses nationally.

An active member of the British Association of Dermatologists, St John's Dermatological society and Royal Society of Medicine, she has several papers presented at local, national and international meetings. She has published in her specialty field in several peer-reviewed journals with her research contributions in Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia featuring in Nature. Archana's advice on a range of skin and hair topics have been quoted in the Evening Standard, Vogue and Daily Mail.

Her diverse work portfolio includes having worked in medical camps in rural India for the underprivileged, to developing a community clinic for Kingston Hospital that was rated outstanding in a patient survey.

Archana was awarded a gold medal for her study on the dermatoscope on ethnic skin by the Indian Association of Dermatologists. She is a recipient of double clinical excellence awards by Kingston Hospital in 2019 in recognition of her work and contributions to the Trust, and in 2020 for her work during the Covid pandemic.