Executive committee
The relationship with our faculty is at the heart of developing passionate healthcare professionals, and RCSI Bahrain is currently equipped with the best qualified academic and administration staff. In addition to the full-time staff, the University has a wealth of knowledge to call on from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, from whom we regularly receive teaching visits from top academics.
The international reputation of RCSI Bahrain rests primarily on the quality of the teaching and learning provided to the students and on the unique relationship which has developed on the campus between staff and students. Our faculty are the best of the best, with theoretical and practical experience, and are inspiring teachers to our student body, often forming relationships that last beyond completion of their academic studies.
The number of RCSI Bahrain staff is continuously growing as the University expands. The total number of staff has grown from ten in 2004 to more than more than 200 staff in 2022.
We believe that our people are the key to our success, with their collective intelligence, creativity, passion and skill providing a solid foundation for achievement. Our faculty members provide comprehensive academic support for every student with sincere contributions.
RCSI Bahrain executive biographies
Professor Otoom qualified in medicine in 1991. He then undertook an MS and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Houston in Texas-USA, and a Certificate in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics from the University of Glasgow in UK. He has a Certificate in Leadership from the Irish Management Institute-Ireland.
He joined the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain for a sabbatical before joining the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland – Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) in 2005. He commenced work in the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital as a consultant in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. He had several Fixed Term Consultancies with WHO projects in Syria, Jordan, Oman, UAE, Kenya, Iran and Sudan.
He is an advisor to several Education and Health Councils in the region and has wide experience in managing higher education and internationalisation. He serves on different strategic committees locally and internationally. He was a member of the Supreme Council of Health in Bahrain, Chairman of the Working Group on Stem Cells Clinical Trials Regulations at the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA), member of the Advisory Board of the National Qualification Framework at the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA), Chair of the Advisory Committee on Human Medicine, NHRA, a member of the Executive Council of the Association of Arab Universities, member of the Board of Directors of the Irish Charity Operation Childlife, member of the Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa Award for Bahraini Doctor Selection Committee and a consultant for the China-Arab States Technology and Culture Transfer Center.
Professor Otoom has held various senior academic and administrative roles, currently he is President of RCSI Bahrain. His main research interest lies in clinical and experimental epilepsy, the rational use of drugs and medical education. He received the award of Outstanding Education Leaders in the GCC from the Asian Confederation of Businesses and CMO Asia and is a recipient of the Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London where his name is inscribed on its Wall of Honour, marking his contribution in transnational medical education.
Mr Stephen Harrison-Mirfield serves as the Managing Director of RCSI Bahrain, a role he stepped into in 2022 after contributing as the Chief Operating Officer since 2013. In these positions, Stephen has quietly but effectively guided the University's evolution, merging innovative educational approaches with solid business strategies.
Before joining RCSI Bahrain, Stephen honed his operational efficiency and strategy implementation skills at KPMG Global consultancy. His time there was marked by a deep commitment to organisational improvement and team collaboration, delivering fit-for-purpose business improvement projects in both the private and government sectors.
Stephen's career started in the Human Resources field, becoming a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) in 2011. Around the same time, he diversified his career into a broader commercial management role. He continued his professional development with a post-graduate diploma in organisational leadership from the University of Oxford in 2018 and is currently studying for a doctorate in management focusing on international leadership and transnational education and recently completed a Professional Masters in Multicultural Leadership.
At RCSI Bahrain, Stephen's approach has always been team-oriented and inclusive. His leadership style fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, which has led to significant advancements in the University's operations and educational offerings. While he plays a key role in strategy development and execution, he credits the collective effort of his team for the University's successes.
Dedicated to the growth of the institution and its community, Stephen's influence extends beyond operational management. He is known for his thoughtful approach to leadership and his dedication to the betterment of the University and its stakeholders. Stephen's journey reflects a blend of quiet determination, collaborative spirit, and a consistent focus on sustainable growth and excellence.
Stephen was honoured to receive the prestigious Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa Medal for Medical Merit in 2023 in recognition of his work throughout the pandemic in ensuring that the university continued its operations and contributed to the national effort in Bahrain in combatting the disease. An award that Stephen dedicates and attiributes to all the fantastic staff at RCSI Medical University of Bahrain that worked tirelessly throughout.
In addition to his role at RCSI Medical University of Bahrain, he was a Governor for St Christophers School (Bahrain for two years) and is currently a Non-Executive Trustee and Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees for Birmingham City University Students Union.
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Professor Nicholson qualified in Dublin and began training in Paediatrics there with further postgraduate training in Manchester , United Kingdom and a three year fellowship in Paediatrics in the Royal Childrens Hospital , Melbourne , Australia.
Having returned to Ireland , Professor Nicholson held consultant positions in Mullingar and Drogheda prior to taking up the position of RCSI Professor of Paediatrics and Head of Department in 2008 . He has had many national and international leadership roles including executive member of the European Academy of Paediatrics (12 years ) , National Clinical Lead for Paediatrics and Neonatology Programme (9 years ) and co-dean for both basic and higher specialist training programmes in Paediatrics (18 years).
During this period of time , Professor Nicholson developed a national model of care for paediatrics and neonatology , a national undergraduate curriculum and a new outcome-based curriculum for postgraduate training in Paediatric .
He is author of over 90 peer-reviewed articles , a paediatric reference textbook on common conditions in Paediatrics and a parent information book ‘ when your child is sick – what you can do to help ‘ which has sold over 10,000 copies and has been translated into a number of languages.
His current role is as Head of School in RCSI Bahrain where he will oversee the introduction of a new transformative undergraduate curriculum in the medical school.
Professor Nicholson is married to Helen with 4 grown up children who are true global citizens living in Dublin , New York , London and Sydney.
Dr Kathryn Strachan is our current Director of Quality and Academic Development at RCSI Bahrain. Dr Strachan is a highly experienced educator and senior manager in higher education, specifically in the field of healthcare management. Dr Strachan initially qualified as a nurse, and she has held several senior clinical roles, specialising in intensive care nursing.
Dr Strachan graduated with a Doctoral Degree in Education from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom, in 2001. She has held senior positions within a number of universities and represented the UK at national level and international level through her role of Director of World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Nursing & Midwifery Development. Through the WHO, Dr Strachan led and contributed to many international nursing education consultancy projects in countries such as Sri Lanka and Kosovo.
Dr Strachan is highly experienced in Quality Assurance and Enhancement, having established quality enhancement departments and led national and international institutional and programmatic reviews. She developed the Academic Development Framework (ADF), adopted by RCSI Bahrain to support staff development at individual and institutional levels, to promote collective excellence.
Having previously published in the field of interprofessional education, her current research interests include evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of support for students in clinical practice and student readiness for practice. Dr Strachan also leads institutional research to augment quality enhancement in RCSI Bahrain.
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Stephen Atkin is Head of the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in Bahrain. Previously he was a Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and prior to that role he was Professor of Medicine and Head of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Hull York Medical School, UK.
He has an established international reputation in diabetes and obesity research, encompassing polycystic ovary syndrome and metabolic syndrome, and he is a regular speaker at international forums and participates in research panels for these conditions.
Professor Atkin has a specific interest in translational medicine, encompassing both clinical and laboratory work and he has authored or co-authored more than 350 articles. In addition to being a reviewer for many journals and grant-funding bodies, he is the academic editor for several journals including being a series advisor on ‘rational testing’ for the British Medical Journal.
Dr Nichola McLarnon is our current Head of Quality and Academic Development and has almost 30 years of experience in the higher education sector. Within her previous role as Associate Dean Learning Teaching and Quality within the School of Health and Life Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University, she worked in partnership with both staff and students to promote a culture of quality assurance and enhancement - from undergraduate and postgraduate provision to the ever-increasing focus on technology enhanced learning, interprofessional education and transnational delivery.
Dr McLarnon completed her undergraduate studies at the Queen’s University of Belfast, and her PhD in the field of Podiatry at Glasgow Caledonian University. Dr McLarnon has a passion for interprofessional education. She has successfully supervised a number of Doctoral students, has published and continues to collaborate with colleagues across the globe to further advance this important area. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow and also a Fellow of the Royal College of Podiatry.