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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 Deputy Head and Head of Recruitment and Admissions (MBBS) at the School of Medicine. Originally from York, she graduated with a degree and PhD in neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh. Her early career involved postdoctoral research in neuroscience and neuropharmacology at the University of Glasgow and the University of Manchester. In 2011, Clare transitioned into medical education at Newcastle University’s School of Medicine where she has held various roles, including Director of Education, MBBS Deputy Degree Programme Director, PARTNERS Widening Participation Summer School lead and co-lead for the Clinical Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Prescribing strand.


From 2017- 2020, Clare was seconded to Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) as the Dean of Academic Affairs. In this role she was responsible for quality assurance, assessment, student progress and student support for the MBBS programme. She managed the delivery of the first two years of this programme, ensuring that the outcomes and standards were the same as those delivered in Newcastle UK. Clare was intimately involved in the design and development of Newcastle's new MBBS curriculum and led and managed the implementation of this curriculum in Malaysia, led in the development and delivery of NUMed's staff development programme, and oversaw the Student Association.


Clare's education research interests lie in curriculum development, inclusive education, and innovations in teaching. She played a key role in developing and more recently updating the British Pharmacological Society’s (BPS) UK undergraduate pharmacology curriculum, working with the inclusive pharmacology steering group to develop principles for inclusive implementation of the curriculum. Clare is a key leader in the Core Concepts of Pharmacology project, which seeks to transform pharmacology education globally by establishing and promoting fundamental pharmacological principles for curricula. ​


Current 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