Our people

Dr Naeem Aziz

SAS lead

Dr Theresa Barnes

RCP outpatients clinical lead

Dr Adam De Belder

Medical director, invited reviews

Dr Adam de Belder is the current medical director (MD) of invited reviews at the RCP.

A clinical chair in cardiology at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, he has pursued a career as a cardiac and valve interventionist and was part of a team that set up adult cardiological services based in Brighton in 1999. His experience in developing advanced cardiac audit programmes led to his appointments as chair of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) and vice president of the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) for clinical quality and standards. He was appointed deputy MD of RCP invited reviews in 2019 and MD in 2021.

Dr Jonathan Bennett

Deputy medical director, invited reviews

Dr Jonathan Bennett is deputy medical director for RCP invited reviews.

Dr Celia Bielawski

Clinical lead for assessments

Dr Celia Bielawski trained at Kings College Hospital Medical School and works as a consultant geriatrician and physician at Whittington Hospital.

At Whittington she has held various education roles, including undergraduate sub dean, Foundation Training Programme director and director of Postgraduate Medical Education. 

Dr Andrew Duncombe

Editor-in-chief, Future Healthcare Journal

Following undergraduate and postgraduate training in Oxford and London, Dr Andrew Duncombe has been an NHS consultant and honorary senior clinical lecturer in haematology specialising in blood cancers in Southampton since 1994.

As lead consultant in clinical haematology at University Hospital Southampton from 1995 to 2001, he led the successful bid for Southampton to be the Wessex Regional centre for blood and bone marrow transplantation (BMT). His clinical experience spans 12 different hospitals, including in Australasia.

He is a keen educator and has taught physicians, GPs, allied health professionals and patients. Andrew has been an investigator in more than 40 clinical trials and has championed their value in improving patient choices and outcomes.  He has co-authored national guidelines with National Cancer Research Institute subgroups and the UK COVID-19 Therapeutics Advisory Group. Andrew’s continuing research interests include the epidemiology of blood cancers and clinical response prediction in severe COVID.

He is excited by the diverse range of new diagnostic and therapeutic options that will transform future healthcare and passionate about expanding access to health improvements for all. Recently he has left his main clinical practice to concentrate on this academic work.

Professor Anton Emmanuel

Medical director of publishing and Editor-in-chief, Commentary

Anton Emmanuel is a professor in neuro-gastroenterology at University College London and consultant gastroenterologist at University College Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (Queen Square). His research includes gut neurophysiology and the study of the aetiology and management of functional gastrointestinal disorders of the upper and lower gut. 

Anton led NHS England's Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) programme and joined the NHS Wales Shared Service Partnership in 2023 to lead on the implementation of the WRES in Wales. Professor Emmanuel has also recently held the role of interim director of equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) at NHS England.

Anton is editor-in-chief of Commentary and medical director of publishing at the Royal College of Physicians.

Dr Anne Kinderlerer

Digital health clinical lead

Dr Shruthi Konda

RCP Linacre fellow

Dr Shruthi Konda is the RCP’s Linacre fellow, a role focused on the development and leadership of the RCP’s network of college tutors and associate college tutors.

She is responsible for linking their work to that of other regional roles, the RCP’s Trainees Committee and New Consultants Committee representatives, and advocates and champions college tutors’ work within the wider medical workforce.

Shruthi is a consultant respiratory physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital. She graduated from Imperial College London in 2007 and continued with her postgraduate training in respiratory and general medicine at Imperial College, St George’s and the Royal Brompton hospitals. She also has a bachelor’s degree with honours in management and medical sciences from Imperial College Business School, and a postgraduate certificate in medical education.

Alongside her role as a consultant physician, Shruthi is an MRCP PACES examiner and has hosted examinations herself on behalf of the RCP. A dedicated educator, she has worked as foundation training programme director and as an RCP tutor, overseeing around 130 postgraduate medical trainees at a time.

Shruthi is committed to getting the foundations of training right, so that we can produce competent, engaged and enthusiastic doctors who can meet the challenges of tomorrow. Dr Konda is also passionate about issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

Dr Sarah Logan

Director of the Medical Workforce Unit

Sam Mauger

Patient and Carer Network (PCN) chair

Sam Mauger is the Patient and Carer Network (PCN) chair on the RCP’s strategic priorities of improving, influencing and educating.

She is currently chief executive of the Third Age Trust and has worked for over 20 years in health and wellbeing, giving a voice to under-represented groups. 

Sam is also chair of the London Age Friendly Forum and has previously chaired a range of other entities, such as Healthwatch City of London and the London Voluntary Sector Forum.

In her new role as chair of the PCN, Sam will steer the group and set its strategic direction, working across the organisation to promote a meaningful approach to involving patients in a wide range of activities.

Find out more about the RCP's Patient and Carer Network.

Dr Rasha Mukhtar

Senior examiner (PACES)

Rasha Mukhtar is a consultant endocrinologist at Frimley Park Hospital who completed her medical degree at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, and moved to England once she completed her pre-registration postings to pursue a medical career in the UK. Her specialist training was based within the Severn Deanery, with time taken out for research leading to an MD from the University of Bath. Her specialist interest is in type 1 diabetes, diabetes-related technology and antenatal care and she has expanded these services during her time in post. In addition to direct clinical work, Rasha is involved in diabetes related research projects and has been the PI for several multi-centre national and international trials.

She is a keen educator involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate training. She was an Associate Clinical Lecturer for Newcastle University and is now involved with the new medical school at Brunel University where she is involved in the development and delivery of the endocrine curriculum. She is involved in junior doctor training initially as the Foundation year 2 programme director and more recently as a Clinical Tutor at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey.

Dr Sunil Nedungayil

FFFAP senior clinical lead

Professor John Newton

Garden fellow

Professor John Newton is garden fellow for RCP.

Dr Emma-Kate Reed

Deputy medical director, invited reviews

Emma-Kate is a consultant geriatrician at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) NHS Foundation Trust. She trained in Bristol and completed her specialist training in the Severn Deanery. She is a deputy medical director at UHBW, and her current portfolio includes urgent and emergency care. She has held previous senior leadership roles within the trust including clinical chair for the Division of Medicine. She has an interest in patient safety and medical education and has previously been one of the trust Foundation Programme directors. 

She was appointed as a deputy medical director for RCP Invited Reviews in June 2023.

Dr Andrew Rochford

RCP improvement clinical director

Professor Ponnusamy Saravana

Editor-in-chief, Clinical Medicine

Professor Anita K Simonds

Harveian librarian

Prof Anita K Simonds MD FRCP FERS is honorary consultant in Respiratory and Sleep medicine at Royal Brompton Hospital and Professor Emeritus at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London. She has a clinical and research background in acute and chronic ventilation, high dependency unit care, and the respiratory consequences of neuromuscular disease.

Prof Simonds has an interest in the history of mechanical ventilation and pandemics. These topics were linked in the RCP FitzPatrick lecture 'Pickwick, Polio and Pandemics - the history of mechanical ventilation and future challenges presented by home delivery' delivered in March 2024. She was president of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2020-21 and is editor of  ERS Handbooks on Respiratory Medicine, Respiratory Sleep Medicine and Non-invasive Respiratory Support.

Professor Michael de Swiet

Representative on the advisory committee of the Chelsea physic garden

Professor Michael de Swiet is RCP representative on the advisory committee of the Chelsea physic garden.

Dr Laura Waters

RCP patient involvement officer

Dr Sean Weaver

Deputy medical director, invited reviews

Sean splits his time between being a consultant gastroenterologist at University Hospitals Dorset and leading for Quality and Safety at the Trust. He trained in Oxford, Cambridge, Sydney and Bath where he obtained a PhD in molecular pharmacology. 

He was appointed in Bournemouth in 2005 and specialises in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and colonoscopy.  He has been clinical director and subsequently associate medical director for safety and quality.  During this role Bournemouth obtained the highest feedback nationally for safety in NHS staff survey and got outstanding for well led in a CQC inspection.  

He has completed a Masters in Quality Improvement and Leadership as part of the competitive Generation Q programmed funded by the Health Foundation. He was the national lead for the Royal College of Physicians Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality Improvement programme. 

He was Deputy Medical Director at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB – the precursor of HSSIB) for 4 years. During this time he led national thematic reviews on Never Events and Safety Management Systems.

He is now Medical Director for Quality and Safety at University Hospitals Dorset, visiting fellow in patient safety at the University of Loughborough and Deputy Medical Director of the Invited Review Service at the Royal College of Physicians