Professor Bill Irish, Regional Postgraduate Dean
Bill studied in Cambridge and London, before training as a general practitioner in Bath and pursuing a parallel career in postgraduate medical education. Previously he was Director of GP Education in Health Education Southwest and chair of COGPED.
He leads postgraduate medical education and oversees all educational placements for nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, dental and allied health profession students across the East of England.
Bill is the UK lead postgraduate dean for the specialities of general surgery, trauma and orthopaedic surgery and clinical genetics. He also leads on study leave policy and the MDI scheme for the English Deans.
He holds visiting chairs of medical education at Bristol, East Anglia and Anglia Ruskin universities. He is a fellow at Hughes Hall, Cambridge University and has research interests in high-stakes assessment, medical trainee recruitment and selection.
Bill was fortunate to be deployed as clinical lead for a large Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone during the 2015-16 pandemic, and has a continued interest in global health working closely with regional, national and international partners.
Dr Rowan Burnstein, Deputy Postgraduate Dean
Rowan completed undergraduate medicine and intern/SHO jobs in Sydney, Australia before relocating to the UK. She trained as an anaesthetist and intensivist in the east of England and took up a post as Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, with a subspecialist interest in Neurocritical Care and Major Trauma at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge in 2002, where she continues to practice clinically.
Rowan has had a long standing interest in medical education for both undergraduates and graduates. She continues to be a Fellow, Director of Studies and Tutor at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Previously she has been the Regional Adviser and TPD for Intensive Care Medicine, and Head of School of Anaesthesia.
Rowan is a Deputy Dean in the east of England, leading the International Office and Educational Delivery. The latter includes Blended Learning, Simulation, Emerging Educational Technologies, Leadership, Clinical Entrepreneurs and Genomics. She is the lead UK Postgraduate Dean for Urology and ENT.
Rowan has had a long standing interest in global health. She has previously led a partnership in Trauma and Intensive Care in Myanmar, and currently leads SCALE Intensive Care in Uganda. She is a member of the Board of Cambridge Global Health Partnerships. She has a research interest in systems approaches to the development of clinical services and medical education in emerging health care systems and continues to publish in this area, working closely with colleagues in the University of Cambridge.
Dr Helen Johnson, Deputy Postgraduate Dean
Dr Helen Johnson is the Deputy Dean for the East of England NHSE WT&E, with an overarching remit of a number of postgraduate schools, a multiprofessional portfolio supporting foundation and the Norfolk and Waveney ICB. She is also an enthusiastic lead for the national enhance programme for foundation – built on the future doctor work. She graduated from St Mary’s in London, before training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Yorkshire with a special interest in Urogynaecology. She took a consultant post at NWAFT in urogynaecology with obstetrics. Education being a lasting passion, she jointly progressed in educational roles in foundation and O and G, before becoming EoE FSD then Deputy Dean. She has a Masters in Medical Education. Out of work she is an enthusiastic organic home grower and preserver and enjoys messing about on the river.
Dr Christopher O’Loughlin, Deputy Postgraduate Dean
Dr O’Loughlin graduated from Nottingham and after 3 years training in medicine in Sheffield and Cambridge moved specialty to psychiatry, his long term passion. He continues to work as a community psychiatrist in Cambridge but throughout his career has always been committed to medical education and promoted training in the region through being Training Programme Director, Director of Medical Education and then Head of School for Psychiatry, winning the RCPsych Trainer of the Year award in 2018 and leading on supervisor training.
He is now Deputy Dean for the East of England overseeing trainee processes and quality.
Dr O’Loughlin keeps active cycling around Cambridge, is slowly learning Italian and arguably drinks too much coffee.