Mr Hilal Bahia

Trustee

Mr Hilal Bahia graduated from RCSI in 1991. He trained in England and Scotland, gaining an MD degree, following which he was appointed Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in the Edinburgh unit, where he is the Lead Surgeon of the Wallace Burns Unit. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and is an Honorary Secretary of The William Rooney Plastic Surgery Research Trust Charity. He is currently Vice President of the Association of Medical and Dental Graduates of RCSI.

Mr Tom Browne

Trustee

Mr Tom Browne is a graduate of RCSI, Class of 1982. He trained in Ireland, Iraq, the UK and Australia. Following his fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in England he did his Masters in Surgery (NUI) on small diameter vascular grafts. His Endovascular interest took him to Perth where he is credited with inventing Fenestrated grafts. His long term interest in the developing world led him to found ‘Out to Africa’ a charity twinning the teaching Hospital in Lusaka with his own Mid Essex Hospital.

Dr Paula Cowan

Trustee

Having qualified in 1995 from RCSI, Dr Cowan practised in Internal Medicine, Critical Care, and Anaesthesia within Ireland. In 2001, she embarked on a career in Primary Care and completed General Practice training through the Mersey Deanery. Dr Cowan has been a GP partner at the Eastham Group Practice since 2003 and continues to work two days per week in General Practice.

As a clinical leader, Dr Cowan was involved in Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) activity in a number of leadership roles, and as Clinical Chair until the closure of the CCG in 2022. She led on key projects, encouraging integrated working across partner organisations aiming to facilitate transformational change in many areas including digital platforms and interoperability, addressing system health and care inequalities.

Dr Cowan has brought this aim and drive for transformational change to her role as NW Regional Medical Director for Primary Care, NHS, supporting areas such as Primary Care - Secondary Care interface, provider collaboration, women's health, prevention and digital solutions to improve patient care. Dr Cowan is eager to promote the wide range of clinical expertise and roles across all of Primary Care.

Mr Martin Holt

Trustee

Martin Holt, a 1983 graduate, is a retired Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in Shoulder and Elbow surgery. During his time at RCSI he undertook fellowships at Monze Mission Hospital in Zambia and Johnstone Willis Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, USA. As editor of the Surgeons TOES rag mag, he helped fund travel fellowships for students doing clinical electives in LMIC’s. Grateful to the Friends of RCSI for inviting him to join as a trustee, he values giving back. Now fully retired, he spends his time restoring a cottage in Northwest Scotland, using traditional techniques like hot lime plaster, keeping him connected to his past work experience.

Dr Rafael Gafoor

Trustee

Dr Rafael Gafoor is a graduate of RCSI, Class of 1998. Following post graduate training in Psychiatry in Ireland, he was appointed a clinical academic at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Maudsley and South London NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). He has an interest in the aetiology and treatment of early onset psychotic disorders and currently works as a Consultant Psychiatrist in SLaM and as a chartered statistician at a Clinical Trials Unit at University College London.

Dr Maurice Jackson

Trustee

Dr Maurice Jackson qualified from RCSI in 1972. In 1981 Dr Jackson was appointed as a Consultant General Physician at The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital. In 1985 he led a charity campaign for a renal unit which raised millions of pounds. The first eighteen of twenty three haemodialysis machines were bought with charity money. The renal unit is now very large with four satellite units. In 1986 Dr Jackson took over a failing intensive care unit, which was one of the first to win a Charter Mark Award. He retired from clinical medicine in 2012, and did consultancy work for three years.

Mr Owen Owens

Trustee

Mr Owen Owens graduated from RCSI in 1980. He trained initially in Dublin and moved to Leeds in 1984 and continued his training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He obtained his MRCOG in 1986 and in 1987 moved to Glasgow to continue his training. He did the equivalent of Subspeciality Training in Gynaecological Oncology at Stobhill Hospital and worked on Growth Factors in Ovarian Cancer - Biochemistry Department Glasgow University and as a result obtained his MD from UCD in 1991. He was appointed to Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust in 1994 and became part of the Gynaecological Oncology Surgical Service for South Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire carrying out Gynaecological Oncology Surgery at Watford General. He was a member of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society. He retired in 2022. He is an examiner for part 3 of the MRCOG exam.

Ms Aíne Gibbons

Trustee

Aíne Gibbons is Director of Development at RCSI. Before joining RCSI in 2015, Ms Gibbons was Vice-President for Development at University College Dublin (UCD) from 2007 coordinating the Campaign for UCD, Forming Global Minds. Prior to that she was Director of Development at Queen’s University, Belfast from 1999 where she spearheaded the Retribuamus Campaign; the most successful fundraising effort in the university’s history. She has served on the faculty of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) teaching Campaign Fundraising as well as serving on the boards of a number of non profits to guide on fundraising strategy.

Dr Nadeem Moghal

Trustee and Chairman

Dr Nadeem Moghal is a graduate of RCSI, Class of 1989. Following training in Scotland, England and Germany he was appointed Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Wanting to affect scale change in healthcare he spent the last ten years of his NHS career leading the transformation of services and health economy systems, working at Board level to influence change. He currently works as Chief Executive for DMC Healthcare, an independent healthcare provider of services to the NHS, and is a strategic advisor to a number of healthcare organisations.

Dr Marylyn Poynter

Trustee

Dr Marylyn (Mary Evelyn) Poynter is a graduate of RCSI, Class of 1976. She has practiced dentistry in Ireland and England where she resides with her family. Marylyn pursued postgraduate training in London and the USA. She dedicated her practicing career to The Anxious and Phobic Patient and served on the Board of Examiners at UCL in Medical and Dental Hypnosis. Her Msc in Gerodontics and post graduate qualifications in implantology gave her a very fulfilled career and she continues her keen interest in her profession remaining a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.