AGM 2025

Duncan is Professor of Clinical Education & Primary Care at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), and GP in Brighton. Duncan uses they/them pronouns. At BSMS, Duncan is the deputy lead for curriculum development of the BM BS programme, academic GP training lead, and the lead for medical education research for the medical school.

Duncan has a background in teaching and research, having started their educational career as a biology teacher in an adult education college in the West Midlands. Their main area of research activity focuses on wellbeing, learning difficulties and disabilities in clinical education, health inequalities, inclusive and anti-exclusive practices, with an especial focus on care for trans and gender diverse people in the community setting. For their PhD, they looked at dyslexia in doctors.

Duncan is passionate about general practice. When they were a trainee, they chaired the RCGP national trainees committee, and supported national recruitment initiatives (there are still some cringe-worthy video clips posters floating about). They have also led the development of the RCGP's wellbeing strategy, and co-chaired the RCGP's newly established wellbeing committee for it's first year.

In 2021, Duncan was awarded the highest level of professional recognition from the Higher Education Academy – the Principal Fellow (PFHEA) status in recognition of a sustained and substantial impact from effective strategic leadership in higher education, resulting in changes of practice and improvements in quality. Curriculum development around interprofessional education (IPE) and health inequalities have received national awards and recognition.

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.