He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1982, and trained in clinical immunology and allergy at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. He was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and Royal College of Pathologists of Australalasia in 1989.

He completed a PhD in immunology of at the Centenary Institute for Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology in Sydney in 1991. He was appointed staff specialist in Clinical Immunology at the Royal Newcastle Hospital in the same year.

In 1992 he was granted a Neil Hamilton Fairley NHMRC Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship which was undertaken at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology & Charing Cross Hospital in London. He returned to Sydney in 1994. Since 1995 he has worked in Canberra in private practice as a consultant physician in Clinical Immunology and Allergy at John James Medical Centre in Deakin, Canberra.

He currently has appointments as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medicine (Medical School), Australian National University and Adjunct Professor, Clinical Immunology, Health Sciences, University of Canberra.

Clinical interests include the management of asthma and hay fever, anaphylaxis, allergic reactions to food, medication and insect stings, food intolerance and sinus disease.

Current research interests include the cause and epidemiology of food allergy and anaphylaxis, gelatin (gelatine) allergy, and anaphylactic reactions to Australian venomous ants ("Jumper Ants").

He belongs to the following professional societies:

1. •Australian Medical Association (member)
   

2. •Royal Australasian College of Physicians (Fellow)
   

3. •Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (Fellow)
   

4. •British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (member)
   

5. •Australian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy (member)
   

6. •American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (International Fellow)
   

7. •American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (member)
   

8. •European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (member)
   

He has filled various committee roles in the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) including as Newsletter Editor, Chair of the Clinical and Laboratory Practice Committee, Chair of the Education Committee 2000-2006 involved in generating patient educational material for the ASCIA web site, as President Elect 2007-8 and as President 2008-present.

He acts as a medical advisor for Anaphylaxis Australia (previously known as FACTS), was series co-editor for the Medical Journal of Australia "Allergy Update" series published 2006 and co-authored the Access Economics-ASCIA Report on the Economics Cost of Allergic Disease in Australia in 2007.

In the last 5 years he has acted as an external manuscript reviewer for the journals:

•Allergy

•Allergologia et Immunopathologia

•Clinical Experimental Allergy

•Internal Medicine Journal

•Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health

•Medical Journal of Australia

•World Allergy Organisation Journal

PUBLICATIONS

REVIEW ARTICLES

1. Mullins RJ. Investigation of Urticaria. Modern Medicine 1998; 41: 119-124.

2. Mullins RJ. How to investigate the patient with urticaria. Modern Medicine of South Africa. Sept 1999: 48-54.

3. Mullins RJ. Anaphylaxis: Diagnosis and Management. Current Therapeutics. February 2002: 59-65.

4. Mullins RJ. Anaphylaxis. N Ethical J 2002; 5 (3): 43-50

5. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Echinacea in the prevention and treatment of infections. Medicine Today 2005; 6: 79-81.

6. Brown SGA, Mullins RJ, Gold MS. Anaphylaxis: Diagnosis and Management. Med J Aust 2006; 185: 283-289. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_05_040906/bro10212_fm.html

EDITORIALS

1. Mullins, Heddle R, Smith P.  Non-conventional approaches to allergy testing: reconciling patient autonomy with medical practitioners’ concerns (Editorial). Med J Aust 2005; 173-4.  http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/183_04_150805/mul10358_fm.html

2. Kemp A, Mullins RJ, Weiner JM. The allergy epidemic – what is the Australian response? (Editorial). Med J Aust 2006; 185: 226-7. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_04_210806/kem10218_fm.html

BOOK CHAPTERS

1. Feldmann M, Dayan C, Quarantino S, Mullins R, Londei M.  Mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of thyroiditis: usefulness of T cell cloning to define antigens, epitopes and the role of anergy in disease induction in: 80 Years of Hashimoto Disease.  Nagataki S, Mori T and Torizuka K (eds) Exerpta Medica International Congress Series 1028 (Proceedings of the International Hashimoto's Symposium, December 2-5, 1992. Fukuoka, Japan). 1993. Elselvier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2. Healthy Homes. A guide to indoor air quality in the home for buyers, builders and renovators. Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging, Canberra, Australia 2003. http://enhealth.nphp.gov.au/council/pubs/pdf/healthy_homes.pdf

3. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse reactions associated with echinacea and other Asteraceae in: S.C. Miller and H. Yu (eds). ECHINACEA: The genus Echinacea" a volume in the series entitled: "MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS – INDUSTRIAL PROFILES", Harwood Academic Publishing - Taylor & Francis Books Ltd., London, UK 2004. ISBN 0-415-28828-2.

LETTERS/CASE REPORTS

1. Brown MA,  Mullins RJ,  Stokes GS,  Gyory A.Z.  Essential hypernatraemia:  Disordered thirst and blood pressure control.  Aust NZ J  Med.  1985.  15:751-754.

2. Mullins RJ.  Yersinnia arthritis.  Aust NZ J.Med.  1986.  16:83.

3. Mullins RJ,  Bastion B,  Sutherland DC.  AIDS and the heart.  Aust NZ J Med.  1988.  18:809-811.

4. Mullins RJ,  Russell A  McGrath GJ, Smith R, Sutherland DC.  Breast feeding anaphylaxis. Lancet.  1992.  338:1279-1280.

5. Mullins RJ. Dental implications of drug allergy. Aust Prescr. 1995. 18:7.

6. Mullins RJ, Walker T.  Allergic reactions to oral, surgical and topical bovine collagen: anaphylactic risk for surgeons. Aust NZ J Opthal 1996; 24: 257-260.

7. Mullins RJ, Shanahan TM and Dobson RT.  ACE inhibitor induced visceral angioedema. Med J Aust 1996; 165: 319-321.

8. Mullins RJ. Images in Medicine: “Allergic “ reactions to xylocaine. Med J Aust 1997; 167: 23.

9. Mullins RJ. Autoimmune thyroid disease. Aust NZ J Med 1997; 27: 78-9.

10. Mullins RJ. Echinacea associated anaphylaxis. Med J Aust 1998; 168: 170-1.  http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/feb16/mullins/mullins.pdf

11. Mullins RJ. Echinacea associated anaphylaxis (reply to comment). Med J Aust 1998; 168:583-4.

12. Mullins RJ, Lones R, Dutta B. Lichenoid drug eruption secondary to topical timolol and dorzolamide eye-drops. Australas J Dermatol. 2004 May;45(2):151-2.

13. Mullins RJ. Systemic allergy to topical hexamidine. Med J Aust 2006; 185: 177. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/185_03_070806/letters_070806_fm-1.html

14. Smith W, Mullins RJ. No proof of cross-reactivity between celecoxib and antibiotic sulphonamides. Intern Med J 2007; 37: 347-8.

15. Tang M, Mullins RJ. Is "nut-free" sunflower seed butter safe for children with peanut allergy? Med J Aust 2008; 188: 316. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/188_05_030308/letters_030308_fm-1.html

CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS/POSTERS

1. Mullins RJ, Chernajovsky Y, Dayan C, Feldmann M.  Transfection of thyroid autoantigen into autologous antigen-presenting cells in patients with Graves' disease (abstract). J Endocrinol Invest. 1993.16 (supplement 2):118

2. MullinsRJ. Allergic reactions to Echinacea. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000; 105 (1: Part 2). Abstract 1003, S340-1.

3. Baumgart K, MullinsRJ. Use of hydroxychloroquine in refractory urticaria. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000; 105 (1: Part 2). Abstract 795, S268-9.

4. Mullins RJ. Anaphylaxis in Australia's Capital - I:Incidence and Relapse.ACI International 2000 (Supplement 2);98.

5. Mullins RJ. Anaphylaxis in Australia's Capital - II: Clinical Features. ACI International 2000 (Supplement 2); 98.

6. Mullins RJA, Apostolou E. Anaphylaxis to beef, gelatin and Haemaccel. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004; 113 (2, abstract 861): S241.

7. Mullins RJ. Time trends for food allergy 1995-2006 in the ACT: increased incidence or increased anxiety? Internal Medicine J 2006; 36 (Suppl. 6): A208, P29

8. Loblay R, Soutter V, Swain A, Pintol E, Mullins RJ. Prevalence of reported food allergies in childcare in Central Sydney (CSAHS) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Internal Med J 2006;  36 (Suppl 6): A209.

9. Mullins RJ. Trends in Oral Allergy Syndrome in Adults with Allergic Rhinitis 1996-2007. Internal Medicine Journal 37 (s5), A128–A135.
doi:10.1111/j.1445-5994.2007.01551.x  http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/imj/37/s5

10. Mullins RJ, Camargo, Carlos Arturo,Jr.,M.D. Childhood anaphylaxis in Australia: geographic and socio-demographic influences (ASCIA 2008 abstract). Internal Medicine Journal, Volume 38, Issue s6 (p A151-A168.). http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121509793/PDFSTART DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2008.01830.x

11. Mullins RJ, Tang MT. Food Allergy Update. Nutricia Pharmaceuticals 2008.

12. Mullins RJ, Tang MT, Dear K. Child peanut allergy trends 1995-2007. ASCIA Conference abstract 2008. Internal Medicine Journal, Volume 38, Issue s6 (p A151-A168). http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121509793/PDFSTART DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2008.01830.x

13. Mullins RJ. Eosinophilic disorders: eosinophilic oesophagitis. Pathology 2009; 41 (supplement): 40.

14. Mullins RJ, Clark S, Camargo CA Jr. Latitudinal differences in childhood food allergy and anaphylaxis in Australia: a role for vitamin d? ASCIA 2009 meeting, Adelaide.

15. 15.Mullins RJ, Clark S, Camargo CA Jr. Socio-economic and regional influences on anaphylaxis in Australia. ASCIA 2009 meeting, Adelaide.
    

16. 16.Vassallo MF, Banerji AS, Rudders SA, Clark S, Mullins RJ, Camargo CA Jr. Season of birth is associated with food allergy in children. AAAAI meeting, New Orleans USA 2010.
    

17. 17.James H, Commins S, Hosen J, Cooper P, Mullins RJ, Platts-Mills T. Tick bites from Amblyomma americanum as a major cause of IgE antobodies to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose. AAAAI 2010 meeting, New Orleans.
    

MISCELLANEOUS

1. Mullins RJ.  ACE inhibitor induced visceral angioedema. Internet-based computer-interactive teaching case formatted by Med-E-Serve Internet provider, Queensland. Prepared for the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Canberra, May 1996. URL http://www.medeserv.com.au/rmullins/users/intro.html

2. Mullins RJ. Capital Immunology website. Australian Allergy and Immunology Resources for Consumers and Health professionals (published 8 February 2000; revised 18 April 2000). http://www.capitalimmunology.com.au Site moved to http://wwwallergycapital.com.au in February 2002.

3. Co-author of professional and consumer publications written by the National Asthma Campaign and Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy: Asthma and Allergy, and Asthma and Complementary Therapies Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging (2005).  http://www.nationalasthma.org.au/HTML/management/info_papers/index.asp

4. Co-author of Asthma Management Handbook 2006 (Complementary Medicine chapter). National Asthma Campaign.

5. Mullins RJ et al. The economic impact of allergic disease in Australia: not to be sneezed at.. ASCIA/Access Economics Report November 2007 (http://www.allergy.org.au/content/view/324/76/

GUIDELINES/POSITION STATEMENTS

1. K Baumgart, S Brown, M Gold, A Kemp, R Loblay, R Loh, D Mitrou, R Mullins, J Peake, J Ruhno, M Said, J Sinclair, V Smith, W Smith, G Solley, V Soutter, M Tang, J Ziegler. ASCIA guidelines for prevention of food anaphylactic reactions in schools, preschools and child-care centres. J Paed Child Health 2004; 40: 669. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2004.00509.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=jpc

2. Mullins RJ (ASCIA Position Statement): Unorthodox Techniques for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergy, Asthma and Immune Disorders (2006). http://www.allergy.org.au/content/view/322/271/

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

1. Mullins RJ,  Olson LG,  Sutherland DC.  Nasal histamine challenges in normal and allergic subjects.  J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1989. 83: 955-959.

2. Mullins RJ, Basten A.  The effect of preincubation of cells in serum on the response to antigen in leprosy patients and healthy controls.  Int J Leprosy. 1989. 57:777 - 787.

3. Fournie J-J,  Adams E,  Mullins RJ,  Basten A.  Inhibition of T lymphocyte proliferation by mycobacterial phenolic glycolipids in humans.  Infect Immun.  1989.  57:3-9.

4. Fournie J-J,  Mullins RJ,  Basten A.  A monoclonal antibody defined phospholipidic antigen from Mycobacterium leprae:  Characterisation,  purification and use for diagnosis of M.leprae exposure.  J Biol Chem. 1991. 266:1211-1219.

5. Mullins RJ,  Fournie J-J,  Maloney B,  Brown P,  Jones P,  Basten A.  Serological response to mycobacterial phosphatidyl inositol mannosides in healthy controls and patients with leprosy and tuberculosis. Int J Leprosy . 1992. 60:353-367.

6. Mullins RJ,  Roche P,  Adams E,  Jones P,  Chen S,  Theuvenet W, Basten A.  Limiting dilution analysis in  leprosy.  Imm Cell Biol. 1992.70:277-290.

7. Baumgart KW, Britton W, Mullins RJ, Basten A, Barnetson R StC. Subclinical infection with M leprae -  a problem for leprosy control strategies. Trans Royal Soc Trop Med Hygeine. 1993.87:412-415.

8. Mullins RJ, Chernajovsky Y, Dayan C, Londei M, Feldmann M.  Transfection of thyroid autoantigens into EBV lines; recognition by  Graves' disease thyroid T cells. J Immunology 1994. 152:5572-5580.

9. Mullins RJ, Cohen S, Webb L, Chernajovsky Y, Dayan C, Londei M, Feldmann M.  Heterogeneity of cytokine release by human TSH receptor-specific T cell clones; identification using autoantigen-transfected EBV-transformed B cell lines in Graves' disease.  J Clin Invest.  1995. 96:30-37.

10. A-L Ponsonby, Glasgow N, Gatenby P, Mullins R, McDonald T, Hurwitz M, Pradith B, Attewell R. The relationship between low level nitrogen dioxide exposure and child lung function after cold air challenge. Clin Exp Allergy 2001; 31: 1205-1212.

11. Mullins RJ, Heddle R. Adverse Reactions Associated with Echinacea: The Australian Experience. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002; 88: 42-51.

12. Ponsonby A-L, Gatenby P, Glasgow N, Mullins R, McDonald T, Hurwitz M. Which clinical subgroups within the spectrum of child asthma are attributable to atopy? An epidemiological assessment. Chest  2002: 121:135-142.

13. Ponsonby A-L, Gatenby P, Glasgow N, Mullins R, Hurwitz M, McDonald T. The association between synthetic bedding and adverse respiratory outcomes among skin-prick test positive and skin-prick test negative children. Allergy 2002; 57: 247-53.

14. Mullins RJ. Anaphylaxis: risk factors for recurrence. Clin Exp Allergy 2003; 33: 1033-40

15. Mullins RJ. Paediatric food allergy trends in a community-based specialist allergy practice, 1995-2006. Med J Aust 2007; 186: 618-621. http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/186_12_180607/mul11320_fm.html

16. Mullins RJ, Dear K, Tang ML. Characteristics of childhood peanut allergy in the Australian Capital Territory 1995-2007. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009; 123: 689-93.

17. 17.Mullins RJ, Clark S, Camargo CA Jr. Regional variation in EpiPen prescriptions in Australia: More evidence for the vitamin D-anaphylaxis hypothesis. Annals Allergy Asthma Immunol 2009;103:488–495.
    

18. 18.Mullins RJ, Clark S, Camargo CA Jr. Regional variation in infant hypoallergenic formula prescriptions in Australia. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2009; DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2009.00962.x
    

19. 19.Vassallo MF, Banerji AS, Rudders SA, Clark S, Mullins RJ, Camargo CA Jr. Season of birth is associated with food allergy in children. Annals Allergy Asthma Immunol 2010: in press.