Biography

Professor Andrea Nolan became the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University in July 2013.

Andrea graduated as a veterinary surgeon from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and, after a short time in veterinary practice, embarked on an academic career which took her to the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol and the Technical University of Munich, before joining the University of Glasgow in 1989 as Lecturer in Veterinary Pharmacology. Thereafter, Andrea established herself as a research leader in the field of animal pain, its recognition and management, and was appointed Professor of Veterinary Pharmacology in 1998. She also undertook advanced clinical training becoming a Diploma holder of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and gaining Diplomate status of the European College of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, and the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.

She has published widely and has received awards for her work including the Pfizer Academic Award for Animal Health Research, the Amoroso Award from the British Small Animal Veterinary Association and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare Companion Animal Award for contributions to animal welfare. She was a foundation member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Global Pain Council and is currently a Trustee of two animal charities.

In 1999, Andrea took up the post of Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the University of Glasgow. Five years later she was appointed to the position of Vice Principal for Learning & Teaching in the University of Glasgow, and in 2009 she was appointed Senior Vice-Principal & Deputy Vice Chancellor.

Between 2016 and 2020 Andrea served as Convenor of Universities Scotland, the voice of Scotland's higher education institutions, having previously chaired the Universities Scotland Research & Knowledge Exchange Committee; she is currently convenor of the international committee. She is a board member / trustee of the following: the Universities and Colleges Employers Association; Interface Strategic Board (chair); Moredun Foundation; Medical Research Scotland – Scottish Hospital Endowment Research Trust and chairs the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s animal welfare and ethics group.

Andrea is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and an honorary life member of the Association for Veterinary Teachers & Research Workers. She was awarded an honorary OBE in 2013 for services to veterinary science and higher education.