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Profiles: Anatomical Society Council 2022

Professor Tracey Wilkinson, President 

As President of the Anatomical Society, I work with our excellent Council to promote, develop and advance research and education in the anatomical sciences in the broadest sense. This involves, for example, running scientific meetings, publishing our two prestigious journals (Journal of Anatomy and Aging Cell), giving out awards and prizes, including PhD projects for young scientists, and supporting our members.  

I have just started as the Sands Cox Chair of Anatomy at the University of Birmingham and look forward to working with a new team there, who are involved in the teaching of several programmes, including medicine, dentistry, physician associate, biomedical sciences, pharmacy and nursing. I have worked in several universities both abroad and in the UK and have completed at least five years in a university in each of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales! My research interests are broad and include biomechanics, functional anatomy and medical education. I have previously been the Honorary Treasurer of the Anatomical Society and ran the Anatomy Training Programme (Anatomical Society and American Association for Anatomy) for several years, until taking over the Presidency in 2023.

Dr Joanna Matthan, Honorary Secretary

Professor Cecilia Brassett, Deputy Secretary

As the Deputy Secretary, I assist the Honorary Secretary in managing the governance activities of our Society.

As the University Clinical Anatomist in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, I organise the dissection-based anatomy teaching course for preclinical medical students, supervise clinically applied anatomical research, manage our team of senior and junior demonstrators, and run revision sessions for clinical students. I work with a number of clinicians on a range of projects, especially involving the gastrointestinal tract and musculoskeletal disorders, and participate as a faculty member on external courses for health professionals.

Professor Kieran McDermott, Honorary Treasurer

As the Honorary Treasurer, I assist in all matters relating the financial control of the Society according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Charity Commission. This includes oversight of all income and expenditure, maintenance of the Society’s and the Company of Anatomist’s bank accounts and monitoring of the Society’s investment portfolio. I am also a member of the Finance and Investment Committee and the Research Advisory Committee.

I am Professor of Anatomy and Head of Teaching and Research in Anatomy at the Graduate Entry Medical School at the University of Limerick. My research interests focus on the developmental origins and lineage determinants of neural cell types, the vulnerability of nervous system development to intrinsic and extrinsic perturbation and the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Doctor Jeremy Mortimer, Deputy Treasurer 

As Deputy Treasurer and member of the finance committee, I work with the Honorary Treasurer to facilitate all the financial affairs in the running and charitable delivery of the Society, according to the rules and regulations laid down by the Charity Commission. This includes oversight of all income and expenditure, maintenance of the Society’s and the Company of Anatomists’ bank accounts and monitoring of the Society’s investment portfolio.

I am a lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Bristol and teach across a variety of professional and science programmes, including medicine, functional and clinical anatomy and applied anatomy. I also develop continuing professional development courses at the Vesalius Clinical Training Centre and teach on post-graduate anatomy courses locally and throughout the UK. I have a clinical background, with a focus on plastic and hand surgery, and my research interests focus on musculoskeletal tissue interfaces and post-graduate anatomical education.

Dr Eilidh Ferguson, Meetings Officer 

As Meetings officer, I am in charge of making sure that the Anatomical Society organises and participates in a range of meetings that appeal to our members. Along with the local meeting organisers, the Meetings officer makes sure that meetings are academically stimulating, well-attended, run efficiently and to budget. I am involved in forging links with other professional, biomedical and anatomical societies, encouraging joint meetings, and spreading best practice.

As a lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Glasgow, I teach students across Life Sciences, Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing. I am the anatomy subject lead for Medicine and anatomy lead for the Glasgow Access to Medicine Programme, which is a Scottish Government funded widening participation initiative. My background is in Forensic Anthropology and I have experience of forensic casework both in the UK and Internationally. My research interests include craniofacial growth and development, human identification, and the use of 3D digitisation and interactive learning tools in anatomy education.

Professor Katherine Linehan, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer

I’m the Pro-Vice Chancellor for EDI and People at Nottingham University.  In this role I have responsibility for strategically leading the People and Culture work for all staff and students at our campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia.  This includes responsibility for the university’s work for the Athena Swan and Race Equality Charter marks.

Professor Hannah Shaw, Education Officer

Dr Catherine Hennessy, Website, Media and Communication Committee Officer

As WMCC officer, I am responsible for leading the management and editing of the Anatomical Society website and social media platforms and for chairing the WMC committee.

The WMCC committee includes several members, each with their own responsibilities for managing and editing particular sections of the website, editing the Society's e-newsletter Anastomosis, and for publishing specific social media and communication activities. The committee help to ensure that all relevant news is shared with the society’s members and that the Society is continually promoted to potential new members. The committee is also responsible for judging the biannual Anatomical Society Best Image Prize.

 As a Lecturer of Anatomy at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, I teach all areas of human anatomy at undergraduate and postgraduate level to medical and healthcare students and professionals. My research investigates how social media fits into the field of anatomy and medicine, and the implications for professionalism. I am particularly interested in exploring how medical students and doctors develop social media professionalism or e-professionalism. I am also involved in research which creates core anatomy syllabi for Pharmacy and Physician Assoicate students.   

Dr Gavin Clowry, Research Officer

As Research Officer, I chair the Research Advisory Committee and our role is to raise awareness of research involving the anatomical sciences principally through the Society studentship schemes, which provide post-graduate research studentships and undergraduate summer vacation research scholarships. We also promote research supported by the Society or otherwise conducted by its membership, the research symposia that form part of the Society meetings, and the Society journals. 

As a Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, I conduct research into molecular neuroanatomy and brain development. I am particularly interested in the development of the sensorimotor system in relation to cerebral palsy, the development of the human cerebral cortex in relation to autism spectrum disorders, and finding ways to map gene expression in the early human fetal forebrain. I also currently teach anatomy to medical undergraduates and neuroanatomy to biomedical science undergraduates and masters students studying neuroscience and behaviour. 

Dr Asha Venkatesh Membership Officer

I am the Membership Officer and work with the Deputy to ensure matters related to membership are dealt with effectively. I also lead the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion group of the Anatomical Society seeking to ensure that the Anatomical Society promotes equity of opportunity, and an inclusive culture in all of its work and avoid discrimination at all times.

I am a Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and Lead for Year 2 of our MBChB programme. I have helped implement change to the way we teach and assess Anatomy and the wider MBChB curriculum including developing a blended learning approach when the pandemic struck. I love teaching students especially embryology, histology and head and neck anatomy. I am passionate about supporting medical students in their curriculum and ensuring they gain a strong grasp of clinical anatomy. Externally, I have been the lead organiser of the Scottish Anatomists group (2016-2021) and am also a Committee member in the Education Development Committee of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME). Through my role in ASME, I try to raise the profile of Anatomy and other fundamental sciences in medical education.

My other passion is Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Various personal experiences spurred me to be involved in the Athena SWAN initiative and I successfully led our Institute (2016-2020) to its first Bronze award in 2017. I now lead our schools MBChB EDI Task Force and represent our medical school at the Medical School Council’s EDI Alliance.

Dr Claire Tierney

As an Ordinary Council member, my role is to support the society’s aims of promoting and encouraging engagement with all aspects of anatomical science, from both a research and education perspective, and supporting my fellow councillors in the various committees running under the Anatomical Society.

I am currently the Dentistry Anatomical Lead and Lecturer in the Human Anatomy Resource Centre (HARC) at the University of Liverpool and teach students across Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Medicine, Dentistry and Post-Graduate courses. My background includes an undergraduate degree (BSc Hons) from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) in Anatomy and PhD from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in Bone Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. My main field of interest is in Craniofacial Anatomy, of which I run the Head and Neck Anatomy modules at Liverpool, and it is also my main field of research. My prime field of interest is in the muscles of facial expression, muscles of mastication and the temporomandibular joint.