Expert panel members' biographies and disclosures of interest
Updated 4 July 2018
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Dr Michael McBride (expert panel chair)
Dr Michael McBride was appointed to the post of Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in September 2006. Prior to joining the department he had been Medical Director at the Royal Group of Hospitals from August 2002. As Medical Director at the Royal Hospitals, he contributed to strategic change at trust, regional and national level. Dr McBride graduated with distinction from Queen’s University Belfast in 1986 and completed his undergraduate and postgraduate training in Northern Ireland. In 1991 he attained a Research Fellowship at St Mary’s Medical School and Imperial College London, where he carried out research into new drug treatments for HIV. Dr McBride has been a consultant in the health service since 1994 when he was appointed Consultant Physician in HIV Medicine at the Royal Group of Hospitals and has more than 10 years of health service management experience. He has a longstanding interest in continuing medical education and was Postgraduate Clinical Tutor in the Royal Group of Hospitals between 1996 and 2000 and Director of Education in the Royal Hospitals from 2000.
Dr McBride took up the post of Chief Medical Officer during a time of significant change for health and social care in Northern Ireland. He has been closely involved in the development of the new health and social care structures post review of public administration, including the establishment of the Public Health Agency and in developing a range of service frameworks across Northern Ireland.
Declaration of interests
- Nil
Professsor Finbar O’Callaghan
Finbar O’Callaghan, MA (Oxon) MB ChB MSc PhD FRCP FRCPCH, is Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, University College London and (Hon) Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. He has special interests in infantile epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis complex and his research has been in the area of neuroepidemiology and clinical trials. He has completed epidemiological studies of both tuberous sclerosis complex and childhood stroke. He is Chief Investigator of the International Collaborative Infantile Spasm Study (ICISS) and the Metformin in Tuberous Sclerosis (MiTS) trial.
He is President of the British Paediatric Neurology Association and Secretary of the European Paediatric Neurology Society.
Declaration of interests
- Nil
Dr Jacqueline Cornish, OBE
Dr Jacqueline Cornish, FRCP(Lond) Hon FRCPCH DSc(Hon), was appointed to the post of National Clinical Director Children, Young People and Transition to Adulthood in NHS England in April 2013. She is passionate about continuously striving for improved healthcare outcomes in children and young people, giving them and their families the best experience and delivering care safely to the highest possible standard. She believes that the strong synergy between clinicians, dedicated managers and commissioners leads to the best result for patients and is a hallmark of high performing organisations and services.
Dr Cornish has been a practicing clinician, having only recently stepped down as Director of Paediatric Stem Cell Transplant at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, and also has over 20 years’ experience of medical management in the NHS, having been Head of Division of Women’s and Children’s Services at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust for 10 years, before taking up the national post.
With this clinical and managerial background, she continues with the help of a small team to contribute towards making a real impact on the improvement of health and wellbeing outcomes in Children and Young People (CYP) in England. She believes strongly in parity, for CYP overall but importantly bringing mental health on a par with physical health in fully integrated pathways. She hopes to secure robust transition to adult services through multi-agency partnership working for all young people with chronic and long-term mental and physical health conditions.
Declaration of interests
- Nil
Dr Clare Gerada, MBE
Dr Gerada, FRCP FRCGP MRCPsych, is a registered medical practitioner with an understanding of and experience in the provision of general practice, mental health and addiction services. She undertook her psychiatric training at the Maudsley and Bethlam Hospitals, 1986 to 1990.
Since 1991 Dr Gerada has worked as a Principal in General Practice though has maintained her interest and expertise in the addiction field. Dr Gerada writes, teaches and lectures widely on the subject of the role of general practitioners in the care of substance misusers. Since 1993 Dr Gerada has been the lead clinician for the Consultancy Liaison Addiction Service which provides support to general practitioners such that they are able to deliver effective care to drug users.
Dr Gerada has held a number of national roles, including, Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Health, Drugs and Alcohol, Director of Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Substance Misuse Use Unit and was Chair of RCGP National Expert Group on Substance Misuse. In both of these roles, Dr Gerada provided national leadership in substance misuse, developing the RCGP Certificate in Substance Misuse and supporting the creation of shared care working across England. Also:
- Director Primary Care, National Clinical Governance Support Team, 2003 to 2006: responsible in part for developing the government’s response to the Shipman Inquiry.
- Vice Chair RCGP 2007 to 2010. Chair RCGP 2011 to 2013
Declaration of interests
- partner of the Hurley Group – an NHS GP practice
- shareholder of Hurley Innovation (e-consultant)
- medical director of the NHS Practitioner Health Programme
- trustee BPAS
- former member of the Advisory Council Misuse of Drugs – demitted office around 2005
- former RCGP lead for substance misuse
Dr Jenny Harries, OBE
Jenny Harries, BSc (Pharm), MB ChB, MPH, MBA, FFPH, FCMI, is Deputy Medical Director and Regional Director South for Public Health England. She studied medicine, pharmacology and health service management at Birmingham University before specialising in public health and has worked since in operational and advisory public health roles across the UK and internationally. She has previously served on several national specialist advisory committees including the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the Advisory Group on the NHS Constitution and currently the Advisory Group on Clinical Executive NHS Leadership. She has particular experience of specialised commissioning and the management of individual funding requests and is a current member of the NHS England Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.
Declaration of interests
- directorship of Movente Ltd
- varied private pension (eg. SIPP, ISA) investments only
Professor Tom Walley, CBE
Qualified in medicine in Dublin in 1980, he has been a consultant physician in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital since 1991, and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in Liverpool University since 1994. He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and of Ireland, of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and of the British Pharmacological Society.
Tom Walley is the director of the MRC/NIHR Efficacy and Mechanisms Evaluations Programme and the NIHR systematic reviews programme, and was Director of the HTA programme 2004 to 2015. He also has responsibility for other NIHR programmes including the Health Service and Delivery Research programme and the Public Health Research programme.
He formerly headed a research group at Liverpool University, focusing on drug prescribing, pharmaceutical policy, and clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. He now heads a research institute in Liverpool, the Institute of Psychology Health and Society.
In June 2008, he was awarded a CBE by the Queen for his services to medicine.
Declaration of interests
- Director, UK Dementia Research Institute
Andrew Evans (non-voting observer)
Andrew Evans was appointed Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Wales in August 2016, having held the post on an interim basis since January 2016. He is an independent professional adviser to the Welsh government on matters related to medicines and pharmacy practice.
Andrew is a public health specialist and was previously principal pharmacist in pharmaceutical public health at Public Health Wales and principal pharmaceutical officer at the Welsh government. He is an honorary lecturer at the Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and has research interests in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical aspects of public health
Declaration of interests
- Nil
Professor Martin Kirkpatrick
Martin Kirkpatrick MBBS, DCH, FRCP, FRCPCH is a child neurologist. He holds the appointments of Consultant Paediatric Neurologist at Tayside Children’s Hospital, Dundee and Honorary Professor of Child Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Dundee. He is the Lead Clinician of the North Scotland Child and Adolescent Neurology Network set up with the aim of providing equitable specialist paediatric neurology care across widely geographically dispersed populations. He is also a founder member of the formally commissioned Scottish Paediatric Epilepsy Network. His research interests are in medication adherence in epilepsy and in epilepsy clinical service design and audit.
He chaired the SIGN (Scottish Inter-collegiate Guidelines Network) Clinical Guideline on children’s epilepsies and is a current member of the Guidelines Task Force of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). He is also the chair of the Education, Quality and Standards Committee of the British Paediatric Neurology Association. Professor Kirkpatrick is responsible for the design and implementation of a national and international training programme of paediatric epilepsy training that is delivered in partnership with the ILAE. These courses teach evidence-based, safe practice in diagnostic and clinical management issues related to childhood epilepsy.
Declaration of interests
- Nil