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Staff Profile

Professor Clare Guilding

Prof of Pharmacology & Medical Education

  • Address: School of Medicine
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Cookson Building
    Newcastle University
    NE2 4HH
Background

Background

Clare is the Deputy Dean of Education in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University. She holds a degree and PhD in neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh and began her career with postdoctoral research in neuroscience and neuropharmacology at the Universities of Glasgow and Manchester.

Clare joined Newcastle University’s School of Medicine in 2011, initially as a Lecturer focused on pharmacology education and student support. She co‑led the Clinical Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Prescribing strand (2011–2016), served as a Lead Student Support Tutor, and was MBBS Deputy Degree Programme Director from 2014–2016.

From 2017 to 2020, she was seconded to Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) as Dean of Academic Affairs, where she had responsibility for quality assurance, assessment, student progress and support, staff development, and engagement with external regulators. She led the development and delivery of a new MBBS curriculum and oversaw a successful Malaysian Medical Council re‑accreditation, securing the maximum five‑year approval.

After returning to the UK, Clare held senior leadership positions including Head of Recruitment and Admissions (MBBS) from 2020–2026, Director of Education from 2021–2024, and Deputy Head of the School of Medicine from 2022–2026. In these roles she led major developments in medical student recruitment, including the transition to online selection during the pandemic, redesign of the admissions policy with a strong widening participation focus, and improvements in diversity of entrants. She provided oversight of core quality assurance processes across undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes and contributed to School and Faculty enhancement through her work on the Faculty Education Committee and key policy and infrastructure groups. As Deputy Head of School she also supported governance, workforce planning, line management and community‑building across the School.

Clare’s education research focuses on curriculum development, inclusive education and pedagogical innovation. She played a central role in developing the British Pharmacological Society’s UK BSc pharmacology curriculum in 2016, and was a key member of the steering group that created the Society’s clinical pharmacology, therapeutics and prescribing curriculum for medical degrees, published in 2025. She is also a senior leader of the International Core Concepts of Pharmacology project, a global initiative redefining pharmacology education by articulating and promoting the fundamental concepts that underpin the discipline.


External roles 


Qualifications

  • Masters in Medical Education, Newcastle University (2024)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Higher Education Academy (2014)
  • Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Studies in Academic Practice, Newcastle University (2014)
  • ILM Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management, The University of Manchester (2011)
  • Ph.D, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, The University of Edinburgh (2004)
  • BSc (Hons) Neuroscience, 1st class & Class Prize, The University of Edinburgh (2000)


Impact and Awards

Teaching

Clare teaches a range of pharmacology, physiology and neuroscience subjects to medical students.


Research

Clare Guilding's research primarily focuses on medical and pharmacology education, with an emphasis on curriculum development, innovative teaching methods, student support and success, and global education. Her interests in student support and success span research on sense of belonging, admissions, curriculum developments and university level initiatives. As Head of Recruitment and Admissions, she is interested in diversity, inclusion, and widening participation in medical admissions, studying the impact of selection processes across diverse student groups. She has been a lead in the development and implementation of Learning Communities in the medical degree programme and co-ordinates research surrounding these communities. She is a project team member for the University’s Student Launchpad project, working to transform student personal and professional support across the institution. She leads in the development of pharmacology, therapeutics, and prescribing curricula for medical and undergraduate pharmacology students nationally through her role as Vice President Academic in the British Pharmacological Society. Clare is actively involved in transnational medical education and leads global collaborative activities as Chair of the IUPHAR Education Section, and co-leads the Core Concepts of Pharmacology research initiative, which aims to transform global pharmacology education through the development of concept-based curricula and associated resources.

Publications