Presenter Bios

Shaziya Begum is an Associate Clinical Facilitators from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). She graduated from the most recent cohort of the Physician Associate courses at UCLan and has recently taken up an academic post at the university where she supports the delivery of learning on the PA and MBBS programmes. 

Jay Cameron qualified as a Physician Associate in 2020, and has worked in primary care since then. In 2023, he began lecturing on the Masters in Physician Associate Studies course at St George’s University of London, where he is currently Primary Care Deputy Lead for the placements module. He has an interest in adult vaccination, as well as the prioritisation of LGBTQ+ health and education.

Tripti Chakraborty qualified as a Physician Associate in 2012, balancing clinical work in general practice and academic roles since 2016. Currently, she serves as the Placements Module Lead and Deputy Course Director at City St Georges, University of London. Nationally, she holds the position of  Placements Workstream Lead for PASC, showcasing her dedication to education and professional development within the Physician Associate field. 

Chanceeth Chandrakanthan qualified at St George’s, University of London in 2016 and has worked in primary care as a PA since. He has a special interest in hypertension, anticoagulation and PA student placement. In 2019, he joined the St. George’s, University of London physician associate studies (MPAS) education faculty. He is currently lead for problem-based learning and applied pharmacology. He is particularly passionate about effective small group teaching, and teaching around safe medicines management. He enjoys contributing to academia and has presented at national conferences. He continues to work clinically 2 days a week. 

Claire Darling-Pomranz is a Physician Associate in Acute Medicine in Sheffield and Course Director for the PA Programme at the University of Sheffield. In addition she is Deputy Director of Assessment for the MBChB programme. I am lead for the PA OSCEs and teach a variety of sessions to our stage 1 and stage 2 students. 

Dr Adam Dalby is an Emergency Medicine Doctor at Scarborough Hospital and is the Clinical Governance Lead for ED and EAU in Scarborough. He is the QI Lead for the Medicine Care Group. He is a Senior Lecturer at Hull York Medical School (HYMS) in Patient Safety and Improvement Sciences and leads the Quality Improvement Module on the MSc in Physician Associate Studies at HYMS. He holds a BSc in Medical Sciences with Management from Imperial College London, a Primary Medical Qualification (MB BCh BAO) from The Queen's University of Belfast (sorry UU!), a postgraduate certificate in Health Economics from the University of Aberdeen, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Hull. He has developed the QI module with the aim of ensuring that PAs of the future have the requisite skills to differentiate themselves in the workplace, through the introduction an assessment which encourages the development of investigative skills following a clinical incident. He has introduced additional sessions into the module (some from external speakers) on health informatics, digital health, health economics and research.

Dr Helen Davis is a doctor with a special interest in paediatrics, particularly neonatal health. She has worked on the Physician Associate programmes at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) for 9 years where she has helped create and develop various IPE and simulation events in collaboration with the School of Medicine IPE lead, Dr Abhilasha Jones, and key people from other healthcare courses. The IPE events vary in format from large online MDTs, to escape rooms, to use of virtual reality.

Amy Donaldson-Perrott qualified as a Physician Associate from the first cohort at St. George's, University of London (SGUL) in 2010. She worked in emergency medicine and primary care alongside academia and is now the Course Director for the Master's in Physician Associate Studies at her SGUL. She was the Chair of Education and board member for the Faculty of Physician Associates from 2021-2023.

Dr Clare Puddifoot is a Senior Lecturer in Physiology in the School of Medicine at Ulster University. Clare is also School lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, MBBS Year 2 Lead and MBBS Physiology lead. 

Dr James Gray was Course Director of the MMedSci PA studies at the University of Sheffield from 2016 to early 2025, now deputy programme lead for Medicine. General Practitioner. PA Schools Council research Subgroup lead. Director of Student recruitment School of Medicine and Population Health. Interests in Clinical Reasoning and Professional Development and Education. 

Prof. Patricia Harris has worked in medical and health professionals education for the last 10 years. She is a biology graduate who undertook her PhD in Student Wellbeing in Higher Education. She has held a number of academic leadership roles in health and medical schools across the UK, spanning Admissions and Widening Participation, Academic Support, Interprofessional Education, Student Experience, Quality Assurance, Curriculum Design including Assessment and Validation and Accreditation with a range of PSRBs. Her expertise is in the review and development of educational strategy, academic processes and governance to improve outcomes and experience.

Chandran Lewis graduated from St George's University of London (SGUL) PA programme in 2014. Previously he worked in NHS management. Since qualifying, he has worked clinically in urology at St George's University Hospital. In 2017, Chandran joined St George's University of London physician associate (PA) faculty and is now a Senior Lecturer and written chief examiner for the MPAS Physician associate course. In November 2022, Chandran joined the South East School of Physician Associates (KSS region) as their PA director. Chandran completed his RCP leadership accreditation in 2021 and has previously held roles for Health Education England as a PA ambassador. Additional roles that Chandran holds include: sitting on the question writing board for the physician associate national exam (PANE) and being an external examiner for the PA programme at Swansea University.

Dr Silvia Lovato I am a consultant haematologist, I work as Senior Lecturer for PA MSc at Brunel University and Content expert for Haematology for MBBS at Brunel.The MBBS teaching is done true TBL and I use TBL to teach haematology to PA.

Jade Moore I am a Physician Associate who qualified in 2010. I have been an academic since 2014 and direct a PA course in Essex

Aisha Shahid is an Associate Clinical Facilitators from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). She graduated from the most recent cohort of the Physician Associate courses at UCLan and has recently taken up an academic post at the university where she supports the delivery of learning on the PA and MBBS programmes. 

Chantal Simon GP, Professor of Medical Education and Programme Lead for the PA course at Bournemouth University

Esin Turkaslan is an Associate Professor and Program Lead for the Physician Associate course at Buckinghamshire New University. Passionate about PA education and workforce development, Esin collaborates closely with Health Education England (HEE) and NHS Trusts to enhance clinical training pathways and interprofessional learning. She is committed to standardizing PA placements and integrating simulation-based education to improve student readiness. Her current research focuses on PA students’ preparedness for primary care practice, aiming to refine educational strategies that foster confidence and competence in clinical settings. Through her work, Esin strives to bridge the gap between medical education and real-world healthcare demands, ensuring PA graduates are well-equipped for evolving clinical roles.

Dr Kim Walker is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen  with responsibility for faculty development including pedagogic research. She has significant experience in quantitative and qualitative research including the use of big data and population studies. Her main areas of research are career choice and decision making, widening access, faculty development and doctors' wellbeing.  More recently she has been appointed as the Research Lead for Physicians Associates.

Dr Pádraic Dunne (PhD) is an immunologist, practicing psychotherapist, accredited senior coach, and certified lifestyle medicine professional, based at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences (CPHS). As a Senior Lecturer (US: Associate Professor) and lead researcher of the Digital Health Research Group, Pádraic is interested in the development of health coach-led health and wellbeing programmes for the public. Online health coaching platforms can deliver motivational and educational support to citizens, in conjunction with existing community-based services like Sláintecare Healthy Communities and Healthy Ireland. Pádraic is also a Co-director of the Centre's MSc in Positive Health Coaching and Director of the online Certificate, An Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine. 

Martin Hart is Assistant Director, Education at the General Medical Council. In this role he oversees the GMC’s responsibilities to promote high standards of basic medical education and training so that patients, now and in the future, can be confident they will receive safe, high quality medical care.