Dr Maria Knobel, MBBS BSc (Hons) MRCGP
Dr Maria Knobel is a GMC-registered GP (GMC 7495073) and Medical Director of MedicalCert, a UK private medical certificate platform. The GMC register records her primary medical qualification as MB BS, University of London, 2015, and lists her on the GP Register from September 2023. She holds a BSc (Hons) from Imperial College London and membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She sets the clinical standards framework the platform operates to, and each consultation is assessed independently by the GMC-registered doctor who reviews it.
Expert commentary in health and lifestyle media
Dr Knobel contributes expert medical commentary to health, wellness, and consumer publications. Her insights on workplace health, telehealth and preventative medicine have appeared in outlets including CNET, Healthline, MedicalNewsToday, EverydayHealth, Shape, Yahoo, RealSimple, Bustle, Tom's Guide, Hello Magazine, Women's World, Success and NewsBreak, alongside UK titles including Good Housekeeping, the Mirror and the Express.
Experience across GP care and digital health
Dr Knobel works in general practice and lifestyle medicine, with stated clinical interests in menopause care, sports medicine and digital health, alongside a focus on accessible digital healthcare.
Clinical leadership
Medical Director of MedicalCert. Responsible for the platform's clinical standards framework and for the recruitment of the GMC-registered doctors who work through it.
Medical certification standards
Works on the clinical criteria for issuing private medical certificates and on workplace absence documentation, applying GMC good practice guidance. This is general practice work, not the separate GMC specialty of occupational medicine.
Lifestyle medicine
Internationally board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM). Published GP with a focus on evidence-based preventative care and long-term wellbeing outcomes.
Clinical standards behind every certificate
No certificate is issued without individual review by a GMC-registered doctor. The doctors who review consultations through MedicalCert are independent practitioners who reach their own clinical decisions and are individually accountable to the GMC. Dr Knobel's role as Medical Director is to set and maintain the platform's clinical standards framework, not to review each case herself. The clinical review process sets out how each request is assessed against GMC good practice guidance and when a request is declined.
- Stress and mental health certificates Clinical criteria for stress-related absence, signed-off-with-stress documentation, and workplace mental health certification.
- Workplace sick notes Private sick notes for employer absence records, Statutory Sick Pay documentation, and the 7-day self-certification rule.
- Mental health documentation Certificates covering depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions affecting work capacity.
- Sports and event medical certificates Pre-participation fitness assessments, sports medical clearance, and event medical certificates for competitive and recreational activities.
- Return-to-work certification Fitness-for-work assessments, phased return documentation, and workplace adjustment medical certificates.
- Full certificate catalogue 33+ certificate types including fit-to-fly, sports medicals, disability accommodation letters and other medical documentation.
Academic background and qualifications
Education, postgraduate training, clinical registrations and areas of clinical interest.
Dr Knobel graduated with a BSc (Hons) from Imperial College London before qualifying in medicine. The GMC register records her primary medical qualification as MB BS, University of London, 2015, with full registration from August 2016. She is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC number 7495073) and holds a licence to practise. Her registration status can be verified on the GMC public register.
Her postgraduate qualifications include Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) and International Board Certification in Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM). She has been on the GMC GP Register since September 2023. She is not on the GMC Specialist Register, so menopause care and sports medicine are stated clinical interests rather than specialist qualifications.
Dr Knobel's clinical interests extend to digital health and medical technology, which inform MedicalCert's approach to remote consultations and online certificate delivery. The platform's clinical review process sets out that every case receives individual assessment by a GMC-registered doctor, and that a request is declined where there is no clear clinical basis or where in-person examination or onward referral is needed.
She speaks English, German, Mandarin and Taiwanese.
Conflicts of interest
Dr Knobel is Medical Director of MedicalCert, operated by Nobel Medical LLC. No other conflicts of interest declared.
Find MedicalCert online
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GMC registration can be verified via the official register. For platform governance and clinical standards, review our policies.