Patrick Hector Dessein possesses a MD (Catholic University Leuven, Belgium), FCP (SA), FRCP (UK) and PhD (Witwatersrand University). He is an Honorary Research Professor in the Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Genomics Research Unit, School of Physiology and Medicine/Rheumatology Department, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Witwatersrand University. He was a member of the Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical) at the University of the Witwatersrand during the period 2006-2015. He was Head of the Rheumatology Unit at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, during 2015-2017. He has 128 Pubmed publications with at least 5835 citations and a current H index of 38 (38 manuscripts cited at least 38 times). He is a National Research Foundation B-rated (internationally recognized) scientist. He is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Rheumatology and is an Academic Editor of the International Journal of Rheumatology. His main current research interest is the mechanisms involved in enhanced cardiovascular risk and disease outcomes in rheumatic and chronic kidney disease patients.