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Professor Deborah Swinglehurst, MBBS MA MSc PhD FHEA FRCGP

Deborah

Professor of Primary Care, NIHR Clinician Scientist

Email: d.swinglehurst@qmul.ac.uk
Telephone: 020 7882 7204

Profile

I am a General Practitioner and primary care researcher, combining my academic role with working as a GP in Suffolk. My research explores interfaces between medicine, social science and linguistics and focuses on the role of interaction and social relationships in primary health care settings.

I gained my first degree in Medical Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1990, qualified as a doctor at Imperial College London in 1993, and became a GP in 1998. I completed my postgraduate studies at UCL (MSc) and QMUL (PhD).

I lead an interdisciplinary team of researchers and PhD students exploring a range of generalist concerns including: multiple long term conditions; polypharmacy and medicines optimisation; medical overuse; the role of information technologies in practice; how health policies shape practice; patient and professional experiences of health care. I bring a scholarly lens to the work done by practitioners and patients as they navigate the complexities of health care. My research is grounded in practice and I seek to develop ‘practice-based’ evidence for clinicians and policymakers.

I am Institute Theme Lead for Complexity and Social Sciences and co-lead of the Primary Care Unit.  I am also on the core management team for the Wellcome Doctoral Training Programme and QMUL’s membership of the NIHR School for Primary Care. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

In 2019 I received the RCGP/SAPC John Fry Award for my contribution to the discipline of general practice through research.

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