New leader for Plymouth’s Faculty of Health
Professor Bob Fern is our new Executive Dean
World-renowned neurobiologist Professor Robert Fern is taking on the role of Executive Dean for the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Health.
He has been appointed with immediate effect, having held the role on an interim basis since November last year.
Since joining the University in 2013, Bob has held numerous senior roles here – most recently as Associate Dean for Research.
His passion for health extends far beyond his specialism in translational neurobiology and he is a great asset to Plymouth.
Judith Petts CBE
Vice-Chancellor
Prior to joining the University of Plymouth in 2013, Professor Fern’s career spanned both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, including roles at UCL, Yale, and the Universities of Washington and Leicester.
The Faculty of Health includes six Schools: Peninsula Medical School; Peninsula Dental School; Health Professions; Nursing and Midwifery; Biomedical Science; and Psychology.
In addition to established facilities at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital and Science Park, plus centres in Exeter and Truro, the Faculty recently opened InterCity Place a new £33 million home for health professions, and a new pharmacy degree will begin in September this year.
The new developments and investments reinforce the University of Plymouth’s commitment to supporting the doctors, nurses, and other health and care professionals of the future.
In a message to colleagues in his Faculty, Bob expressed his excitement in taking up the new role as Executive Dean:
Plymouth is home to outstanding education and research. It is a place where we work as a team to provide our students with the best possible experience, and to deliver world-leading health research.
Our work delivers clear social value by allowing students to fulfil their potential. We use innovative ways to deliver the next generation of healthcare professionals for the health service, and we make seminal contributions to the development of new treatments and care practices.
The University of Plymouth has one of the broadest health education portfolios in the country – stretching from medicine to dentistry, optometry to podiatry, bioscience to psychology and adult nursing to midwifery, and almost everything in between.
We are home to a gloriously diverse and fantastically talented group of dedicated staff, and I am looking forward to building our success into the future.
Robert Fern
Executive Dean
Faculty of Health
Exceptional clinical and academic learning, social engagement and research in medicine, dentistry, nursing, psychology and health professions.
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From basic research discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care to the most vulnerable people in society, our thriving community conducts adventurous world-leading research.
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