Alumni recognised in King’s Birthday Honours 2023
Professor Derek Alderson (MD Medicine, 1987)
Professor Derek Alderson has been made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Surgery.
Formerly the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2017-2020), Derek has had an immense impact on surgical research throughout his career with RCS England and as a Professor of Surgery at the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol. He also has had a long association with the British Journal of Surgery, having held the role of Editor-in-Chief in the past.
Derek was President of RCS England at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and passionately advocated for the safety of surgeons and other frontline staff. He was also involved in the creation of the P1-4 prioritisation schedule which allowed for the orderly prioritisation of patients during the height of the pandemic.
Caroline Hamilton (MEng Mechanical Engineering, 2003)
Caroline Hamilton has been awarded an MBE for services to Business and Engineering.
Caroline is Chief Executive of The Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed), the trade association that represents the UK independent engineering inspection and certification industry, which plays a key role in maintaining high standards of safety within the workplace. She joined SAFed in 2020 following a 15-year engineering career in Cumbria-based organisations.
In 2023, Caroline was named on Trade Association Forum’s Women in Trade Associations power list.
Professor Peter Kelly (PhD in Statistics, 1989)
Professor Peter Kelly has received a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to Public Health.
After completing his doctorate at Newcastle University, Peter started his career as a medical statistician and was a lecturer at Newcastle University Medical School until 1996. He went on to be a founding director of the Centre for Health and Medical Research at Teesside University and has since held a number of roles in the public health sector. Most recently, Peter is the Director of Public Health for the North East.
Professor Lynne McKenna (MEd Education, 1998)
Professor Lynne McKenna has been awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to Education.
Lynne is the Dean of Education and Society at the University of Sunderland, a role she has held since 2018. Before this, she was Director of Initial Teacher Education at Northumbria University.
Throughout her career, Lynne has played a key role in shaping the future of teacher training in the region and is a passionate advocate for raising the status of the teaching profession and the role universities play in teacher education provision both in the UK and internationally.
Catriona Marcia McLuckie (MLit History, 2011)
Catriona McLuckie (Marcia) received a Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to the Environment and to the community in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
A BEM recognises hands-on service to the community in a local geographical area. Marcia is the current Vice-chair and former Chair of Original Richmond Business and Tourism Association.
In 2018, she prepared the town’s submission for the Great British High Street Awards which led to Richmond being shortlisted in the champion high street category. She was a key figure in Richmond’s entry to the 2019 Yorkshire in Bloom Awards and was a leading figure in the town’s 950th anniversary celebrations.
Katy Merrington (BA Hons Fine Art, 2005)
Katy Merrington has been awarded a BEM for services to the Arts and to the community in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
As the Cultural Gardener at The Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, Katy was instrumental in creating and maintaining a much-needed urban oasis for the local community during the pandemic. Katy leads a dedicated team of volunteers and together, they have nurtured an unloved area of land into a free community garden where people can engage with the wonder of nature.
Katy has previously worked in some of the best gardens in the UK and USA including Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. She has conducted freelance projects for galleries across Newcastle, as well as leading a programme of family and engagement events in a wide range of gardens and art spaces.
Dr Lewis Potter (MBBS, 2012)
Dr Lewis Potter has been made a BEM for services to Higher Education and to Medicine.
Lewis is a GP Registrar in Newcastle and the founder of Geeky Medics, a free online medical education platform which he developed while still a student at Newcastle University (with support from the START UP team).
Geeky Medics provides free high-quality medical educational resources and tools, including clinical skills resources which are used by most UK medical schools.
The platform is accessed regularly by people from more than 150 countries and its content recently surpassed a quarter of a billion total views. The platform has been recognised in the student British Medical Journal for its contribution to the field of medical education.
Dr Rosemary Waddy (MBBS, 1970)
Dr Rosemary Waddy has been awarded a BEM for services to the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Rosemary is a retired doctor and has volunteered with St. John Ambulance for over 40 years, most recently as their District Logistics Officer. As a volunteer, Rosemary has provided medical support at multiple Wimbledon competitions, and most recently, at the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Image credit: Joe Toth/Aeltc
Claire Woods (BSc Agricultural and Environmental Science, 1987)
Claire Woods has been made an MBE for services to Horticulture and to the community in Northern Ireland on the Demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Claire is the Head Gardener at Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in Northern Ireland. The castle became the focal point of commemorations in the region to mark the death of the Queen in September.
Claire has worked in horticulture for over 30 years and is dedicated to inspiring future generations of horticulturists. Most of her career has been with the Department for Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DAERA), where she taught horticulture.
