Professor Alison Machin PhD MSc PGCE BSc (hons) DPSN DPSHV RN RHV PFHEA Alison is Chair of the Council of Deans of Health. She is also a Professor of Nursing and Interprofessional Education and Head of the School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne. She is a Visiting Professor at Ulster University and a Principal Fellow of the HEA. Previous posts include Dean of the School of Health and Social Care at Edinburgh Napier University and Deputy Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University. She is a registered nurse and health visitor. Alison has also been the strategic lead for a high profile, international nurse education collaborative venture in Malta in partnership with Malta College of Arts Science and Technology. She has worked in higher education since 1999, is an active researcher, an experienced PhD supervisor and examiner. Her research interests include: interprofessional education; nursing and healthcare collaborative workforce development; professional identity; health visiting; and public health; using qualitative methodologies including grounded theory.