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As Dean, Alison provides leadership of staff in the School. .This includes the Undergraduate MBBS Programme, Physician Associate Programmes, Vision Sciences, Audiology Programmes and a large suite of Postgraduate Programmes. Her role is supported by the Head of Dentistry, Dental and Dental Therapy Degrees. Our students are on campuses in Preston, Burnley and Whitehaven in Cumbria.

Alison gained Bachelor’s degrees in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in London in 1985. She gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education (Distinction) in 2002 and a Masters in Clinical Science in 2004 from the University of Plymouth.
Alison was formerly the Associate Dean for Clinical Education in the College of Medicine in Qatar University (2016- 2022). Here, she was responsible for leading the design and introduction º£½ÇÊÓƵ Clinical Programme º£½ÇÊÓƵir new Medical College.

Alison brings a wealth of experience in medical education and a track record of establishing new organisations in healthcare education. Alison has held a number of senior education leadership roles in undergraduate medicine, postgraduate medicine and developing national policy. Previous roles include:

• Director of Postgraduate Education for Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and Medical Director for the new Postgraduate Diploma in Physician Associate Studies (2012- 2016)

• Senior Clinical Advisor to the Medical Education and Training Programme º£½ÇÊÓƵ Department of Health in London (2008- 2013)

• Senior Clinical Advisor in NHS England (2013- 2014)

• Deputy Postgraduate Dean in the new South West Peninsula Postgraduate Deanery (2005-8)

• Director of Phase 2 curriculum for PCMD (2002-5)

• Foundation Programme Director in Plymouth (2004-5)

• Education Director for the South West School of Anaesthesia (2001-5)

• College Tutor in Plymouth (1999- 2002)

As Senior Clinical Advisor to the Medical Education and Training Programme º£½ÇÊÓƵ Department of Health in London (2008- 2013), Alison advised the Civil Service on government initiatives. She led the development of national standardised selection into Specialty Training across the Medical Specialties in England.

Alison was a faculty member º£½ÇÊÓƵ international “Leadership in innovations in healthcare and education” programme º£½ÇÊÓƵ Harvard Macy Institute in Boston, Massachusetts from 2009-2021. Alison has substantial experience of medical career planning, which supports medical students embarking on their new careers. She led the National Statistical Evaluation of Selection into Specialty Training in England from (2010- 2021) and was Co-Chair º£½ÇÊÓƵ UK Career Planning Group for Medicine (2012-4).

As well as her educational roles, Alison has worked in the NHS for over thirty years, in Plymouth NHS Teaching Trust as a Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist (1997- 2016) and most recently in Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool as an Honorary Consultant. She gained the Fellowship º£½ÇÊÓƵ Royal College of Anaesthetists in 1992. She was awarded a Silver Merit Award in 2014 in the NHS and recently an Honorary Membership º£½ÇÊÓƵ Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

Alison’s research interests in Anaesthesia are the prevention of postoperative vomiting in children and methods of optimising pain relief in children perioperatively. Her research is also in medical education, in selection and assessment. She chaired the Guidelines Committee on the prevention and treatment of postoperative vomiting in children for the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, which developed the clinical guidelines used in international practice (2009-2016).