Professor Sir Graeme Robert Dawson Catto
24 April 1945
Graeme Catto is the son of an Aberdeen general practitioner. Educated at Robert Gordon’s College and the University of Aberdeen, he graduated MB ChB (1969), MD (Hons 1975) and later DSc (1988). He specialised in general medicine and nephrology, developing a research interest in transplant immunology, renal bone disease and establishing facilities for renal patients. He trained at Harvard and Brigham Women’s in 1975-6. His NHS career included appointment as medical director of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. A successful clinical academic, he became Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice Principal of the University of Aberdeen.
In 2000, he moved to London to become Vice-Principal at King's College London and Dean of Guy's, King's College and St Thomas' Hospitals' Medical & Dental School. He returned to Aberdeen in 2005 to spearhead fundraising for the Matthew Hay Centre, now the Suttie Centre.
Posts held:
Chief Scientist NHS Scotland (1996)
Member of Scottish Higher Education Funding Council
Chair of General Medical Council Education Committee
President of the General Medical Council where he dealt with the consequences of the Harold Shipman enquiry.
Chair of the Scottish Stem Cell Network (2007–11)
Chair of the Higher Education Better Regulation Group (2010–12)
President of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) (2009-13)
President of the College of Medicine (2010-15)
Chair Dignity in Dying
Honours:
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Knighted for services to medicine and medical education (2002)
Fellowship of King’s College London (2005)
Honorary Fellowships:
Royal College of General Practitioners (2000),
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2002),
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (2008)
Academy of Medical Educators (2012)
Honorary degrees:
LLD (University of Aberdeen 2002)
DSc (University of St Andrews 2003)
MD (University of Southampton 2004)
DSc (Robert Gordon University 2004)
DSc (Kent University 2007)
DSc (South Bank University 2008)
DSc (University of London 2009)
DSc (Brighton University 2010)
MD (Buckingham University 2015)
Biography prepared from the nomination made to the University of Aberdeen 525 Alumni project.