Associate Professor Paul Bird (FRACP, PhD, Grad Dip MRI) Paul Bird is a Rheumatologist in private practice and a Conjoint A/Professor at the University of New South Wales. In addition to his clinical duties, he is the Director of Optimus Clinical Research, a clinical research center undertaking Phase 2, 3 and 4 trials of novel agents for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. He has completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (RMIT University) and his PhD thesis (University of NSW) examined the feasibility, reliability and validity of MRI as an outcome measure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He maintains ongoing participation in research projects examining the application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in inflammatory arthritis.