Rupert Payne is a senior academic GP and consultant clinical pharmacologist, and Professor of Primary Care and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Exeter. He undertook his medical training and PhD in Edinburgh, and subsequently held a NIHR clinical lectureship in Cambridge and clinical senior lecturer position in Bristol.
He is deputy director of the Exeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), where he also supports work on communications and impact, and has responsibilities for clinical pharmacology and therapeutics teaching for Exeter's BMBS curriculum. He has supported many clinical and non-clinical academics over the years, from pre-doctoral through to experienced post-doctoral career stages.
Rupert leads a programme of applied health service research focused on improving the safety and quality of medication use in primary care. He has a particular interest in improving how we measure, evaluate and manage polypharmacy. He has expertise in pharmacoepidemiology, electronic health records, and data science, although the cross-cutting nature of his research has drawn on a range of other methods including clinical trials.
He continues to practise clinically as a GP in North Somerset.
Rupert has been an active member of SAPC for many years, and was co-chair of the organisation from 2022 to 2025.