With a background in neuropharmacology, Clare moved to Newcastle University’s School of Medical Education in 2011 to teach pharmacology to early years MBBS (medical) students. Her interests lie in curriculum development and innovations in teaching, and she led the development of Newcastle University’s new MBBS Clinical Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Prescribing curriculum, designed to provide students with an experience that more closely mirrors the clinical workplace.
Clare also played a key role in developing The British Pharmacological Society’s (BPS) new undergraduate pharmacology curriculum, now used to develop pharmacology curricula nationally and internationally. Clare is an enthusiastic and engaging educator who places a high value on interactivity and clinical fidelity in teaching and has a keen interest in simulation and inter-professional education. She continuously innovates and introduces new initiatives into her teaching, including simulations using the high-fidelity virtual patient SimMan in large group lectures. This innovation won the Association for the Study of Medical Education Educator Innovator Award, and the BPS Education Prize.
Working closely with academics from various healthcare professions at Newcastle and with external partners, Clare led the development of a novel Interprofessional Education Conference for students. Clare led the MBBS widening participation summer school and established the MBBS Peer Mentoring programme. As a senior pastoral tutor for MBBS her advice and guidance were frequently sought and highly valued by students. This support, together with her curriculum developments, were recognised by the Students’ Union ‘Overall Teaching Excellence Award’, and the ‘Vice-Chancellor's Distinguished Teacher Award’. She also received the BPS Rang Prize and Australasian Visitor Award. In 2017, Clare took up the position of Dean of Academic Affairs in Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed), leading the development and implementation of Newcastle’s new MBBS curriculum there, and establishing staff development initiatives and networks internally and nationally. She works with organisations including The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and the Pharmacology Education Project to develop educational resources, workshops and faculty development supporting the international pharmacology community.