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Biography
Dr Gillian Scanlan is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education (Teaching and Research) at the Centre for Medical Education, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital, University of Dundee. She also serves as Lead for Medical and Health Professions Education Research.
Gillian is an academic applied psychologist whose research explores the relationships between identity, belonging and wellbeing across life transitions. Her work seeks to understand how people experience periods of personal, educational and professional change, and how social, organisational and cultural contexts shape opportunities for inclusion, support and wellbeing.
After completing a BA (Hons) in Psychology and an MSc in Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Strathclyde, Gillian was awarded a fully funded PhD studentship by the Scottish Medical Education Research Consortium (SMERC). She completed her PhD in Medical Education at the University of Aberdeen in 2019, exploring the factors that influence career decision-making among UK Foundation Doctors.
Research
Gillian has a strong track record of research that examines identity, belonging and wellbeing across life transitions. Her work has informed interventions (design, implementation and evaluation), educational practice and policy discussions aimed at creating healthier, more supportive environments for healthcare professionals and learners. She has secured and had senior deliver roles on large research grants from a range of national organisations, including the Chief Scientist Office, NHS Education for Scotland, the Scottish Medical Education Research Consortium and the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME).
Gillian is experienced in mixed method research but specialises in rigourous qualitative and longitudinal research and has expertise in participatory, co-design and narrative approaches. She is passionate about understanding participants stories and experiences and working collaboratively with stakeholders to develop meaningful and impactful decisions to complex challenges. While much of her work has been conducted within healthcare and health professions education, Gillian's research interests extend beyond disciplinary boundaries. She is particularly interested in how questions of identity, belonging, and wellbeing shape experiences across healthcare and society.
A strong advocate for knowledge exchange, Gillian is committed to ensuring research reaches beyond academic audiences. She works with public, patients, healthcare professionals, educators, organisations and policy makers to develop accessible and creative research outputs that support understanding, inform decision-making and translate evidence into meaningful change. Her work has included the development of narrative animations, infographics, conceptual models and stakeholder engagement activities designed to maximise the real-world impact of research. She advocates that education remains one of the most powerful tools for creating opportunity, tackling inequalities across society and changing lives.
Teaching
Teaching and research supervision
Gillian teaches across postgraduate Medical and Health Professions Education programmes and leads the Masters pathway for the online distance learning programme and on campus programme. She supervises doctoral and Masters students. Her students' work spans topics including professional identity development, wellbeing, resilience, simulation-based education and workforce development.