Skip to main content

Staff Profile

Dr Alison Graham

Senior Lecturer in Medical Sciences Education

  • Telephone: 0191 208 3609
  • Address: School of Medicine
    Faculty of Medical Sciences
    Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    NE2 4HH
Background

Roles and Responsibilities within the School of Medicine

  • Deputy Head of Admissions and Recruitment.
  • Widening Participation Lead for Medicine.
  • Enhancing Research Culture Project member.


Roles and Responsibilities within the University

  • Member of the Student Disciplinary Committee.


External roles

  • Co-chair of the Microbiology Society's Education & Outreach Network.


Previous roles at Newcastle University

  • University's Academic lead for Student Peer Mentoring and Chair of the Peer Mentoring Steering Group.
  • Admissions Tutor for the Biology and Zoology degrees.
  • Faculty Programme Liaison Officer for the Certificate in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice.
  • Higher Education Academy Professional Standards Advisor.
  • Co-chair of the Single Recognition Panel for the UK Professional Standards Framework.
  • School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Tablet Innovation Group Chair.
  • Chair of the School of Biology's Diversity Group/Athena SWAN Project Group.


Previous Roles at the University of York

  • MB BS Academic Lead for Applied Life Sciences.
  • Deputy Chair of the Student Fitness to Practice Committee.
  • Member of the Academic Cases Committee.


Qualifications

  • ILM Level 3 Certificate in Effective Coaching.
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice (Newcastle University).
  • Ph.D., University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Thesis title: Action and metal-specificity of SmtB/ArsR transcriptional regulators). Involved biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology and biophysical chemistry.
  • B.Sc. (Hons.), University of Sheffield.


Previous Positions

  • Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science and Medical Education, Hull York Medical School, University of York.
  • Senior Lecturer, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University.
  • Principal Scientist in Research and Development, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies.
  • Post-doctoral Research Associate, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield.
  • Visiting Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University.

  

Memberships

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
  • Microbiology Society.
  • Society for Applied Microbiology.
Research

Research interests

  • Experiences of students from under-represented and widening participation backgrounds whilst at university.
  • Engaging students with assessment and feedback.
  • How students become “professionally literate” and how instructors can best support this transition.

  

Awards

  • Vice-Chancellor's Education Excellence Award 2018. Click here for more information. £5000 award.
  • Winner of Outstanding Contribution to Teaching (Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering) at Newcastle University Students' Union Teaching Excellence Awards 2017. 
  • Newcastle University's prize for Best Peer Mentoring Co-ordinator 2016.
  • Society for Experimental Biology President's Medal Runner-up 2016.
  • Honourable Mention in the Student Engagement Category (UK region) of the Turnitin Global Innovation Awards 2015. 
  • Newcastle University SAgE Faculty Innovator of the Year in Pedagogic Research 2015 and 2014.

 

Funding

  • £1150 from the Microbiology Society (2024) to run two Education & Outreach Writing Workshops with Mel Lacey, Thiru Vanniasinkam and Sean Goodman.
  • £2220 from Newcastle University's Education Enhancement Fund (2023) for a project aimed at "Reducing the student experience gap: a project partnering with undergraduate FMS students at risk of less positive student experiences to determine the challenges they face and develop effective solutions to enhance their experience and attainment outcomes" with Beth Lawry and Vanessa Armstrong.
  • £2400 from the SAgE Faculty Education Development Fund (2019) for a project to provide "Peer-to-peer tablet support" for students in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and the School of Engineering.
  • £2500 from Newcastle University’s Innovation Fund (2018) to deliver a project entitled "SNES Undergraduate Skills Teaching Review" in collaboration with Helen Adamson and Sara Marsham.
  • £2400 from Newcastle University’s Innovation Fund (2017) and £1700 from the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences (2018) for a project investigating "Game-enhanced learning in biological sciences" (2017) in collaboration with Sara Marsham.
  • £5000 SAgE Faculty Innovator of the Year award 2015 in the Pedagogic Research category for creating a software program that visually maps assessments and submission/feedback deadlines for students and staff with Sara Marsham and Christie Harner.  
  • £3755 from Newcastle University’s Innovation Fund (2014) aimed at "Encouraging student interaction in practical classes through tailored demonstrator training" in collaboration with Gordon Port, Heather Martin and Samuel Logan.
  • £750 from the HEA (2013) to host a workshop on "Assessment and student dialogue: can online platforms use marking criteria and other tools to improve feedback and engage students in the marking process?".  
  • £2750 from Newcastle University’s Innovation Fund (2013) for a project aimed at “Using GradeMark to Improve Feedback and Involve Students in the Marking Process” in collaboration with Sara Marsham, Jon Goss and Christie Harner. Building on work from this project, we won £5000 from the SAgE Faculty Innovator of the Year award 2014 in the Pedagogic Research category.
  • £3500 from the Society for General Microbiology's Education Development Fund (2012). Project title: “Innovative postgraduate microbiology practical with instant feedback and direct assessment of skills”.


Selected conference presentations, workshops and posters

  • Poster at the Widening Participation Medics Network Conference, Newcastle, July 2025: "Experiences of students from less advantaged backgrounds attending medical school". (Alison Graham, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Charlie Williams, Arwa Katab, Bethan Gulliver, Sara Marsham, Jason Boland)
  • Lightning presentation at Newcastle University's Learning and Teaching Conference, April 2025: "Listening to understand: improving inclusion and outcomes for at-risk student groups". (Beth Lawry, Alison Graham, Vanessa Armstrong, Emma Gallop, Ashley Kwan)
  • Poster at Newcastle University's Learning and Teaching Conference, April 2025: "Experiences of students from less advantaged backgrounds attending medical school". (Alison Graham, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Charlie Williams, Arwa Katab, Bethan Gulliver, Sara Marsham, Jason Boland)
  • Lightning presentation at the 3Rivers conference, online, November 2024: "Embedding physical activity training in pre-clinical medical education: a collaborative initiative by RISE and Newcastle University medical school". (Scott Walker, Liam Isaac, Alison Graham, Bas Olthof, Rebecca Hancock, Jade Scott)
  • Poster at the Symposium for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Banff, Canada, November 2024: "Experiences of students from less advantaged backgrounds attending medical school". (Alison Graham, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Charlie Williams, Arwa Katab, Bethan Gulliver, Sara Marsham, Jason Boland)
  • Roundtable at the Symposium for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Banff, Canada, November 2024: "Facilitators and barriers to belonging in university students from less advantaged backgrounds". (Alison Graham, Sara Marsham, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Charlie Williams, Arwa Katab, Bethan Gulliver, Jason Boland)
  • Presentation at the ASME Annual Scholarship meeting in Warwick, July 2024: "What are the experiences of widening participation (WP) students who attend medical school through Gateway or standard programmes?". (Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Jason Boland, Bethan Gulliver, Charlie Williams, Laura Mongan, Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the National Medical Schools Widening Participation Forum Conference in Nottingham, April 2024: "Experiences of widening participation medical students attending medical school". (Alison Graham, Arwa Katab, Charlie Williams, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye, Bethan Gulliver, Jason Boland)
  • Presentation at the ASME Annual Scholarship meeting in Birmingham, July 2023: "Experiences of widening participation medical students during their time at medical school". (Alison Graham, Jason Boland)
  • Presentation at the National Medical Schools Widening Participation Forum Summer Meeting in Birmingham, July 2023: "Experiences of widening participation medical students during their time at medical school - a project update". (Alison Graham, Jason Boland, Charlie Williams, Bethan Gulliver, Kehinde Akin-Akinyosoye)
  • Presentation at Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference in London, June 2022: "Experiences of under-represented and widening participation medical students during their time at medical school". (Alison Graham, Almaaz Shaikh, Katharine Hubbard, Jason Boland)
  • Invited presentation at the National Medical Schools Widening Participation Forum Summer Meeting in Birmingham, June 2022: "Experiences of widening participation medical students during their time at medical school". (Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the HEA STEM Annual Conference in Manchester, January 2020: "Embedding the Sustainable Development Goals within first year biosciences skills teaching". (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship conference in Edinburgh, July 2019: "Reviewing undergraduate skills teaching in natural and environmental sciences". (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Two presentations at the Enhancing Student Learning Through Innovative Scholarship conference in Bristol, July 2018: "Embedding vocational career development modules within undergraduate bioscience programmes" and "Game on! Does game-enhanced learning have potential to increase student engagement?". (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the 3Rivers conference in Newcastle, July 2018: "Perceptions and attitudes of undergraduate students to reading". (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Invited presentation at the Microbiology Society's Teaching Microbiology in Higher Education Symposium, a satellite meeting to the main Annual Conference, in Birmingham, April 2018: “Improving student engagement with the assessment process in undergraduate microbiology modules". (Alison Graham)
  • Poster at Newcastle University's Learning and Teaching Conference, March 2018: "Game-enhanced learning in natural sciences teaching". Prize for one of the most inspirational posters. (Alison Graham, Sara Marsham)
  • Workshop at the Enhancing Student Learning through Innovative Scholarship conference in Sheffield, July 2017: “The future of learning and teaching”. Read a blog post about the workshop. (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Workshop at the 17th Durham Blackboard Users' Conference in Durham, January 2017: “Can electronic marking help engage students?”. See blog post. (Alison Graham, Sara Marsham)
  • Presentation at the Symposium on Scholarship of Learning and Teaching in Banff, Canada, November 2016: “Using GradeMark to improve feedback and engage students in the marking process”. (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the Turnitin UK User Summit in Newcastle, October 2016: “Using GradeMark to improve feedback and engage students in the marking process”. (Alison Graham)
  • Presentation at the HEA STEM Annual Conference in Nottingham, January 2016: "Embedding vocational career development modules within undergraduate biosciences programmes". (Sara Marsham, Alison Graham)


Slideshare link.

Teaching

MB BS Teaching

  • Case 8 Lead (dermatology, antibiotics and antimicrobial stewardship)
  • Case 17 Co-lead (infectious disease and immunology)
  • Microbiology lectures and seminars.


Previous Teaching Responsibilities

  • Module leadership.
  • Undergraduate and postgraduate microbiology teaching.
  • Undergraduate academic and employability skills teaching.
  • Postgraduate medical education teaching.
  • Project supervisor (undergraduate and postgraduate).
  • Pastoral and academic tutor.


Publications