Honorary Professor title awarded to highly-respected government advisor

Scottish Government Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Nicola Steedman
Scottish Government Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Nicola Steedman

Huge congratulations and a very warm welcome to Scottish Government Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nicola Steedman who has been confirmed as Honorary Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).

The newly-appointed Professor is a highly-respected government health official who regularly appears alongside First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during her live COVID-19 briefings - leading on national policy, science and research.

Professor Andrea Nelson, Dean of the School of Health and Life Sciences, and Director of the GCU Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), said she was “delighted” to welcome Professor Steedman to the University.

She added: “I look forward to developing collaborations that make a real difference to people, populations and places.  Through Professor Steedman’s policy leadership and her research endeavours, we are confident that our world-class research in the area of infection prevention will have even greater reach into the communities we serve, both nationally and internationally’. 

Professor Steedman said it was an “absolute honour” to be made an Honorary Professor at GCU’s School of Health and Life Sciences.

“I am really grateful for this opportunity to develop my relationship with some of the best health experts in the world and share my knowledge with staff and students,” she added.

Professor Steedman already has close research links with GCU’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus research group and is a key part of Professor Claudia Estcourt’s HIV prevention programme.

She also championed GCU Professors Sharon Hutchinson and David Goldberg’s Hepatitis C epidemiology research as part of Scotland’s Hepatitis C elimination strategy.

Professor Estcourt said: “Professor Steedman will make an unparalleled contribution to the staff and students of the University and in so doing enhance the University’s reputation for internationally excellent research which makes a real difference by rapid translation of findings into policy and practice.

“I know The Scottish Government is very supportive of this appointment and I am delighted that GCU is her preferred higher education institution. She will welcome opportunities to continue with ongoing research and contribute to masterclasses such as within the Masters of Public Health programme and co-supervise doctoral students in relevant areas.

“Professor Steedman is already contributing to GCU’s academic outputs as co-investigator on the CSO HIV PrEP programme, as a collaborator on the newly awarded NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research into online clinical care for STIs, and as an ongoing critical friend on several horizon scanning initiatives.

“Her leadership roles in Covid-19 testing and vaccination, membership of the key UK and Scottish health decision making groups, such as SAGE, provide links into the highest levels of policy and would ensure our quality research outputs are visible and informing national debate from the start.”