Dr Andrew Russell

National Teaching Fellow 2011 After graduating with first class honours in Human Sciences from Oxford University, Andrew Russell studied Biomedical Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. He then lived on the Isle of Coll in the Scottish Hebrides for three years working for Project Trust, the 'gap year' educational charity under whose auspices he had spent a year in Kerala State, South India, before starting his University career. He returned to Oxford to undertake DPhil research amongst the Yakkha, an ethnic group located primarily in the middle hills of East Nepal, from 1987 to 1992. Andrew's experiences in overseas settings have made him committed to widening the scope and appeal of Anthropology by extending its relevance to new groups of students, such as those from non-traditional backgrounds and medical students. He was responsible for creating the innovative 'Medicine in the Community' (MiC) strand of the Phase I Medicine development at Queen's Campus, Stockton. A major feature of MiC is its community placement scheme, which gives students first-hand experience of working in a range of non-clinical health and social care settings on Teesside. Andrew values experiential learning opportunities such as this for their ability to teach 'things which definitely cannot be taught in the lecture theatre' as one student put it. Another wrote "Andrew Russell is extremely enthusiastic, and brings a lot to the subject". This enthusiasm, along with a clear but engaging writing style, characterises his textbook for medical students, Lecture Notes: The Social Basis of Medicine, which won the British Medical Association's student textbook of the year award in 2010. Director of the University's community outreach and engagement programme from 2008 to 2011, Andrew is committed to transforming the relationship of universities with the wider world by enabling students and staff to gain experience in 'real world' settings and offering people from outside academia opportunities to become better acquainted with universities. A Director of the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action, and an active member of the Medical Anthropology Research Group, his latest appointment is Director of Professional Development, a 'first' amongst Anthropology departments in the UK.