Board of Trustees

Consultant Physician, NHS Fife and Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh.

BSc, MBChB, PRCPEdin., FRCPSG., FRCPLond., FRCSEd (Ad hominem (FICP(Hon)), MACP.

Andrew Elder is the first Geriatrician to become President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. As an NHS consultant in Medicine for Older People for thirty years, he is first and foremost a clinician. He sees the doctor’s role in patient care as a privilege, believes that the teaching of medicine is a vital part of a professional life and that the traditional attributes of the physician, such as compassion, communication and clinical competence, remain paramount.

Dr Sue Pound is the Vice President. She graduated from Edinburgh University in 1986, and trained in general and elderly medicine. Sue was appointed as Consultant Physician and Geriatrician in NHS Fife in 1996 and has worked there ever since.

As lead clinician for elderly medicine, she has worked along with her enthusiastic colleagues to redesign and develop local services including hospital at home and front door frailty. Sue has been involved in the MRCP(UK) PACES exam as an examiner and, until recently, was Assistant Director of Examinations for several years.

Sue is also the Training Programme Director for geriatric medicine in South East Scotland.

*Why you liked being involved in this college role* 

*Other college roles*

Consultant in Nephrology and Honorary Professor at Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

 Academic Representative for Academy of Royal Colleges, and Acting Quality Research and Standards Committee Lead.

Prof Bhandari graduated from the University of Edinburgh and trained in Kidney and Transplant Medicine in Yorkshire (UK) and Sydney, Australia. He serves as the Academic Representative for the College and is an International Expert in anaemia of chronic kidney disease, with research interest in anaemia, cognitive function in chronic kidney disease and delaying kidney progression. Prof Bhandari offers opinion on College and wider matters by reviewing the RCPE responses to consultations and Policy documents from various bodies including Government and NCE.

Prof Bhandari chairs the Digital Strategy Group. He has a major interest in education and training, and co-directs the UK advanced Nephrology and Applied Nephrology courses. He is a regular PACES examiner and chair in the UK and Globally, and is a question writer for the SCE Federation of colleges exam for Nephrology.

"It is a privilege to help advance the College's vision for medicine and its excellence to optimising patient safety, and serve as an ambassador in the UK and Globally." - Prof Bhandari

As well as being a member of Council, Prof Bhandari is also a member of the Finance Committee, Remuneration Committee, Fellowship Strategy Committee and the International Executive Group. He deputises for NHSE and Academy meeting on behalf of the President. Prof Bhandari was the previous International Director of RCPE.

Consultant in Medicine of the Elderly, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh

I obtained my medical qualification from University College Dublin and did my postgraduate training and research in Dublin and Bristol, with a subspecialty and research interest in Parkinson’s disease and cognitive dysfunction. I was awarded an MD from Trinity College Dublin for a thesis on Neurobiological Markers of Dementia. After spending three years at the University of Bristol as Lecturer in Care of the Elderly, I moved to Edinburgh.

I work as a Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh specialising in Parkinson’s Disease. I developed a multidisciplinary network of care for people with Parkinson’s in the Lothian area. I am an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

I was Director of Education at the College from 2015 to 2019 before being elected as Vice President (International).I have been integrally involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, training, and examinations throughout my career. I am an experienced MRCP(UK) PACES examiner having examined and hosted the examination nationally and internationally for over 20 years.

My role as International VP also includes the following commitments:
- Member of Council and trustee of RCPE
- Chair of RCPE International Executive Group – the group developing the College’s International Strategy and budget
- Chair (Convener) RCPE Fellowship Committee – The committee that discusses all nominations for Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Member of the Fellowship Strategy Group
- Member of the Membership Disciplinary Group
- RCPE Representative: Federation UK Exams Board & Federation International MAP Board (overseeing MRCP(UK) exams internationally)
- Member and previous Chair: RCPE Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Committee: 2018 to date
- Member: RCPE Finance Committee
- Member of Medical Training Initiative (MTI) Steering Group: This is the group that co-ordinates the placement of international medical graduates in training posts in the UK. I interview regularly, on behalf of RCPE, for the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) programme, which places trainees from around the world in UK hospitals
- I completed a Committee Review for the College in 2022

Dr White is a Consultant Neurologist in NHS Tayside and Honorary Senior Clinical teacher at the University of Dundee.

She qualified from the University of Dundee and trained  in Neurology in Middlesbrough, Newcastle-upon -Tyne and Manchester. She has been a Consultant Neurologist in Tayside since 2002.

Kathleen's areas of special interest include Epilepsy and Functional Neurological Disorders.

She has been Equality and Diversity Champion for NHS Tayside since 2006, Commercial Research Champion for NHS Tayside since 2013, and Regional adviser for the College for Tayside since 2013.

Consultant Geriatrician, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Trust

A graduate of the Royal London Hospital, Matt undertook his higher training in Wessex and remains there as a Consultant Geriatrician where he has helped develop syncope services and the acute frailty unit at Poole Hospital. An RCPE examiner for nearly 20 years Matt has been Training Programme Director for Geriatrics in Wessex as well as Wessex Representative on the British Geriatric Society Council. The RCPE Regional Adviser for the South West for a number of years, Matt has led / been part of a number of symposium committees for the RCPE and took on the role of Dean of Examinations in September 2023.

"Welcoming new members to the RCPE family at the start of their higher training is a real privilege and the bonus for this role which allows me to promote clinical skills and standards globally through the RCPEs Members and Fellows at home and abroad." - Dr. Matt Thomas.

Deeply rooted in postgraduate medical education and training since chairing the T&MC as a medical registrar. Previous elected Council representative for Lothian, Fife and Borders. Many years of experience as a Training Programme Director in CMT/IMT/GIM and Associate Postgraduate Dean for stage 2 Internal Medicine. I’ve embedded a career in education and training alongside grassroots clinical work in front door medicine in a busy district general hospital in Fife to ensure credibility, currency and understanding of the issues at the coalface.

Passionate about building an inclusive and equitable approach to medical education and provision of world-class resources for all our members across the world, and for collaborative working with stakeholders to drive up the quality of medical training in the UK and beyond.

I'm so proud to be a doctor serving doctors and having the opportunity to influence the education and careers of our current and future workforce for the better - change comes from the inside!

Dr Dawson graduated from the University of Edinburgh and trained in medical oncology in Glasgow, London and Edinburgh. 

Alongside her clinical work, Dr Dawson is the Associate Director of Medical Education with responsibility for the quality of the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate education for the Western General Hospital. She is also responsible for recognition of trainers in NHS Lothian, supporting trainer training, appraisal and revalidation. Dr Dawson organises and chairs the NHS Lothian Grand Round following the move of the WGH Grand Round online in 2020 in response to Covid with increased attendance from across NHS Lothian from primary to tertiary care.

She has been Scottish Training Programme Director for Medical Oncology and chaired the MRCP(UK) SCE question writing group.

Dr Dawson has been involved RCPE activities for over 20 years from being the secretary of the Trainees’ and Members’ Committee, sitting on Council as an elected representative for Lothian, Borders and Fife, participating in an invited RCPE review of clinical services and more recently being a member of the Heritage and Library committee and the Training Strategy Committee. She is one of the Social Convenors of the RCPE.

As the Honorary Secretary, I am delighted to contribute to the work of the College shaping strategy, serving on Council and as a Trustee, contributing to governance processes and welcoming new fellows and members to the RCPE.

Mark Strachan is a consultant in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Acute Medicine at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh and Honorary Professor of the University of Edinburgh. His clinical interests include endocrine oncology and monogenic diabetes. He established the Scottish Thyroid Cancer Network and was given the Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust award for ‘Outstanding Services to Thyroid Cancer’ in 2020 for this work. He is also one of the lead members of the South East Scotland Neuroendocrine Cancer service. He was Trustee and Treasurer of the British Thyroid Foundation for 13 years and was a founder and Trustee of the Anne Edgar Charitable Trust for patients with neuroendocrine tumours. He is a former RD Lawrence lecturer of Diabetes UK and his work on C-peptide measurement in diabetes led to the establishment of a national programme of testing in Scotland. He is former President of the Scottish Society of Physicians and is an editor of the international textbook  ‘Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine’.

Mark has been active with the RCPE for many years. He was Secretary of the Symposium Committee from 2005-2009 and was first elected to Council in 2010. In 2016 he was appointed Secretary of the College and demitted office in September 2024, before taking up his current role as Honorary Librarian and Heritage Trustee. 

Consultant physician working in the Frailty Unit in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Marion studied at the University of Edinburgh before beginning an eclectic postgraduate journey. During her later training in the North of Scotland she chaired the RCPE Trainees and Members' Committee, affirming a deep commitment to education, training and equality, diversity and inclusivity. During this time she helped establish an SAS subcommittee and led on the publication of an SAS Charter. Marion is Deputy Postgraduate Dean for the Scotland Deanery in NHS Education for Scotland, with responsibility for Diagnostics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Paediatrics training nationally. She has been Associate Postgraduate Dean for Medicine in the North of Scotland for 7 years and is also an Associate Postgraduate Dean for the Rural and Remote Health Credential. 

Marion has been the College's Workforce Lead and Regional Adviser for Grampian and previously co-chaired the Recently Appointed Consultants Committee, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Group and the College Advisory Forum on the Environment. She has completed the Scottish Quality and Safety Fellowship and the Developing Senior Systems Leadership Programme as well as the RCPE's Quality Governance Fellowship.

Marion is also a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Young Academy of Scotland and sits on RSE's Health and Wellbeing Community Advisory Group.