Key roles
Dean of Medicine and Head of School
Professor Deborah Williamson
Professor Williamson is the Dean of Medicine and Head of the School of Medicine. She has held strategic leadership roles in academia and public health agencies in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. A clinician-scientist with a strong public health background in microbiology and virology, Professor Williamson has a global network of collaborators and over 300 journal publications. As Dean, she brings a wealth of leadership experience and commitment to advancing medical education and research.
Full biography
- Email:
- medical.dean@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 46 3502
Deputy Head of School and Director of Admissions
Professor Lindsey Kent
Professor Kent is the Deputy Head of the Medical School and School Director of Admissions.
As Director of Admissions, she is responsible for overseeing the admissions process for the School of Medicine. Her research programme investigates the biological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders.
Full biography
- Email:
- lsk8@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
MBChB Programme Director
Dr Rebecca Walmsley
Dr Rebecca Walmsley was appointed as the Clinical Lead for the BSc Honours Medicine programme in 2016 and the BSc Course Director in 2020. In the role of BSc Programme Director, she is responsible for overseeing the BSc Hons Medicine programme. Dr Walmsley graduated from the University of Nottingham with MBChB in 2002 and progressed to GP training on the Oxford VTS. In addition to her role at the university, Dr Walmsley is a GP in Fife.
Full biography
- Email:
- ram29@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463540
Programme Director - Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM)
Dr Fiona Graham
Dr Fiona Graham is the Programme Director for Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM). As Director of Medical Education at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, she oversaw the introduction and development of ScotGEM in this rural partner health board. A GP by background, she has also worked in senior positions in palliative medicine and orthogeriatrics and has been a GP trainer and Senior Lecturer in General Practice.
Full biography
- Email:
- fg53@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
Director of Research
Professor Nicholas Feasey
Professor Feasey is the Director of Research and Sir James Black Chair of Medicine. He is an Infectious Diseases physician and clinical microbiologist who joined the School in August 2023 from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme in Balantyre, Malawi. His research is focused on the surveillance and management of antimicrobial resistant bacterial infection and taking a one-health approach to exploring the transmission of enteric pathogens associated with invasive disease.
Full biography
- Email:
- naf6@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
Director of Teaching
Dr Rachel Davies
Dr Davies is the Director of Teaching for the School.
She is responsible for leading the development of strategy and policy for all learning, teaching and assessment of undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes in the School of Medicine.
Full biography
- Email:
- rcd21@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 461883
School Manager
Mr Clive Masson
Mr Masson is the School Manager and oversees all aspects of the School’s support functions; strategic planning, leadership of the Professional Services staff, governance of the School and the students, information management and fitness to practise matters. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Mr Masson was an infantry officer for 22 years. Graduating with an MA in Defence Management from Cranfield University Business School, he also attended the Advanced Course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
Full biography
- Email:
- dcm10@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463550
Director of Postgraduate Research Studies
Dr Jaclyn Pearson
Dr Pearson is the Acting Director of Postgraduate Research Studies and a lecturer in the School's Infection and Global Health Division. She is a microbiologist by training and joined the School in January 2024 from the Hudson Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia, where she headed the Host-Pathogen Interactions Research Group. The major focus of Dr Pearson's research is understanding host-pathogen interactions mediated by highly drug resistant bacterial gut pathogens.
Full biography
- Email:
- jp287@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
Director of Postgraduate Teaching
Dr Veronica O'Carroll
Dr Veronica O’Carroll is the Director of Post Graduate Teaching and Programme Director for the Masters in Health Professions Education Programme. Her research interests include interprofessional education and collaborative practice and how these impact on health and social care. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care.
Full biography
- Email:
- vo1@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463011
Director of Inclusion
Dr John Winpenny
Dr Winpenny is the School’s Director of Inclusion. He leads on School wide equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives and helps implement the University’s policies and initiatives as part of the Diverse strand of the University Strategic plan (2018-2023). He joined the School in 2020 as a Senior Lecturer (Education Focused). He is passionate about widening access to medicine - an important part of the Inclusion portfolio.
Full biography
- Email:
- jpw21@st.andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463573
Head of Division - Cellular Medicine
Dr Samantha Pitt
Dr Pitt is the Head of the Cellular Medicine Division. She joined for the School of Medicine in 2013 on a Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship where she co-founded the Metal Ions in Medicine Research Group. She was appointed as Senior Lecturer in September 2019. She is a board member of the International Society for Zinc Biology and is a committee member of the Scottish Cardiovascular Forum. Her research focuses on intracellular calcium dynamics in the heart with a view to uncover new drug targets in the treatment of the failing heart.
Full biography
- Email:
- sjp24@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463516
Head of Division - Education
Dr Alun Hughes
Dr Hughes is Head of the Education Division, where he coordinates the education-focused research undertaken in the School.
Full biography
- Email:
- ah200@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463533
Head of Division - Infection and Global Health
Professor Matthew Holden
Matthew Holden is the Head of the Infection and Global Health Division. He was appointed as Professor in Bacterial Genomics in 2016, and is an Honorary Consultant at Health Protection Scotland, advising on the implementation of whole genome sequencing (WGS) in national Microbiology Reference Laboratories. He has research interests in the use of WGS for clinical microbiology and is also studying the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistant pathogens.
Full biography
- Email:
- mtgh@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 463504
Head of Division - Population and Behavioural Science
Professor Colin McCowan
Colin McCowan is the Head of the Population and Behavioural Science Division. He was appointed as Professor in Health Data Science in January 2019 at the University of St Andrews and is an Honorary Professor within the Institute of Health & Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. He has research interests in the use of existing routine data within epidemiological studies and in the support of clinical trials and other research methods.
Full biography
- Email:
- cm434@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 46 3481
Pro Dean (Student Support)
Dr Kerri Greene
Dr Greene is the Pro Dean (Student Support). In this role she leads the medical student support team, which oversees all academic and pastoral affairs of all undergraduate BSc and ScotGEM students in the School. Dr Greene graduated from St Andrews and completed her clinical training at The University of Edinburgh, where she obtained her MBChB. Dr Greene completed her postgraduate medical training in South East Scotland. In addition to her roles as Pro Dean and Clinical Lecturer at the university, she continues to work clinically as a GP.
Full biography
- Email:
- klg3@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Phone:
- 01334 461888