Detailed Biography

Dr Sarkany trained at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, qualifying as a Doctor in 1986.

After Junior Doctor posts at London Hospitals, including St Thomas’ Hospital, Brompton Hospital for chest diseases , the National Hospital for Neurological Diseases, and Hammersmith Hospital and Postgraduate Medical School, he was accepted by examination as a Hospital Specialist Physician (Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, 1989). After a period of research in Cambridge (1990-1994) during which he was awarded a Doctorate in Medicine for his research into sunlight sensitivity due to Porphyria, he trained as a Dermatologist in Cambridge.

After another period of research in the molecular biology of porphyria in Heidelberg , Germany, he became Consultant Dermatologist at Mayday Hospital in 1999. In 2002 he was invited to move to become consultant Dermatologist at St George’s Hospital and Medical School. In 2006 he was invited to become the Head of the Photodermatology Unit of St John’s Institute of Dermatology, based at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. This is one of the biggest and oldest established Units for the treatment of and research into skin diseases caused by allergic reactions to sunshine, and into the treatment of other skin diseases by ultraviolet light therapy (‘phototherapy’).

Under Dr Sarkany’s leadership the Unit grew and in 2010 he also established a new National Centre for the treatment of patients with Xeroderma Pigmentosum funded by the Department of Health. He remains as the senior Consultant working in the Photodermatology Unit, having stepped down from the role of Lead in 2023. He is one of the founders of the Rare Disease Centre, which opened at St Thomas' Hospital in 2017.

He is an international authority on sunlight sensitivity, sun allergy, inherited photodermatoses and ultraviolet light therapy, lectures around the world, writes widely on these subjects and heads a large scale research programme funded by the National Institute for Health Research. He is a busy and active Consultant Dermatologist looking after a large number of patients of all ages with the full range of skin diseases and skin cancers.