Fiona is the Director of Dental Education and Associate Professor at the University of Lincoln and the Lincolnshire LDN Dental Care Professionals Chair. She is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. Fiona is an education associate for the GDC and an overseas registration panel member, and the former academic lead for dental nursing and a lecturer (IPE Dental Hygiene) at Bangor University.  

She is in the final stage of her doctoral studies and holds a master’s degree in education, with an additional pathway of leadership and management. She holds a first-class honours degree in education and, in addition to her educational qualifications, postgraduate certificates in Human Factors and Ergonomics (patient safety sciences), Public Health, and Mentoring in Dentistry. She was the first dental care professional to receive a (Hon) Fellowship of the Faculty of General Dentistry (FGDP UK) and one of the early recipients of the Fellowship of the Dental Trainers Faculty (FDTF), RCS Edinburgh. She is also a Trustee and outgoing Vice Chair of Dentaid, and she supports the Mouth Cancer Foundation.   

Fiona remains the Executive Director of the Society of British Dental Nurses, one of the founders, and the Chair of the National Oral Health Promotion Group and the Mental Health Wellness in Dentistry group, providing a link to MindsetUK. She is the founder of Human Factors in Dentistry and a driving member of the Dental Professional Alliance. Fiona has been privileged to be one of the founders of the International Federation of Dental Assistants and Nurses and the Dental Nurse Historian group.   

Fiona’s current work is in driving the sexual misconduct at work agenda forward and mental health wellness in dentistry, inclusive of psychological safety and is committed to raising awareness of gender based violence in Higher Education settings. Her research interests lie in constructions of professional identity, equity and parity of opportunity and transformative potential.