I am an academic dermatologist at the University of Edinburgh with my time split between clinical practice, research and teaching. I studied medicine at the University of London followed by four years of internal medicine training in England and then Australia. I then trained in dermatology at the Institute of Dermatology, at Saint John’s Hospital in London and then in Scotland. Following this I spent three years in full time research training in Edinburgh, Heinrich-Heine University, Dusseldorf (Kolb-Bachofen Lab) and then the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (Billiar Lab), before returning to take up my current post in Edinburgh. I have described the novel UV-skin-NO pathway which underlies my current interest in systemic benefits of sun exposure. Clinically I run the specialist eczema service in South East Scotland, and also have a research group studying this. I teach dermatology annually in Ethiopia.