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Free
27 November 2025
Dr Mairiead is a multidisciplinary Biomedical Scientist qualifying originally in histopathology and cytology now specialising in Microbiology. She has over 40 years’ experience in laboratory medicine, with 23 years of that spent working in veterinary medicine. Her specialisms are education/training and quality management.
Mairiead is Chair of the IBMS Scotland Training Forum and also Vice Chair of the IBMS Scottish Quality Management Discussion Group. She is also a Technical Assessor for UKAS. Her passion is people development and has incorporated resilience training as part of her departmental approach to people management.
In her first role in veterinary medicine she was one of a team of 8 staff manning the veterinary laboratory in what is described on Highland Vet on the TV as the far northern outpost town of Thurso. Truly a department with a limited scope.
Debra is passionate about promoting and recognising excellence in all IBMS members. In her eight years as an IBMS Council member, she has advocated, listened, represented and addressed the issues that are most important to our membership at national, regional and local levels.
Debra started her career as a Medical Laboratory Assistant in Microbiology and has successfully worked her way through the career grades to her current role as Clinical Pathology Lead at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This means that she understands the many routes to achieve a senior management position within our profession, and how management decisions affect every member of the laboratory.
Her post encompasses provision of leadership and management with accountability for the delivery of cost effective, high quality, safe and sustainable services across the Northumbria health economy. These responsibilities give her a strategic insight to deliver operational priorities both for her own Trust and those of National programmes.