Professor Norman will be responsible for driving the highest standards of academic excellence across the Faculty and overseeing the effective operation of the Medical, Veterinary and Dental Schools, the Centre for Applied Anatomy and the Centre for Health Sciences Education within the Faculty.

Alongside her role of Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health (MB ChB, MD, FRCOG, FMedSci, FRCP Edin, FRSE) at the University of Edinburgh, Professor Norman is currently Director of Edinburgh’s Tommys Centre, Deputy Director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Reproductive Health (MRC CRH) and Vice-Principal People and Culture. Professor Norman also sits on the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 sub-panel 1A: Clinical Medicine.

Professor Norman’s research focusses on the pregnancy “stressors” of obesity, maternal depression/stress, inflammation and hypoxia. These pregnancy stressors are largely responsible for the clinical conditions of gestational diabetes, preterm birth and stillbirth, all of which have devastating effects on pregnant women and their babies. Her research group aims to understand how these pregnancy stressors cause these clinical conditions and to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies. Her research uses a broad array of research strategies, from basic science, through animal models, to clinical trials and beyond to population-based research to address these clinical problems. She is the MRC CRH lead for “Developmental programming by steroid hormones and reproductive resilience”.

As Vice-Principal People and Culture at the University of Edinburgh, Professor Norman has also had responsibility for the University strategy and performance in the area of equality and diversity and has provided academic leadership and perspective on people strategies and organizational culture.  She has been on the Governing Board of the Equality Challenge Unit, 2014 onwards and the Shadow Board of the New Sector Agency, 2017 onwards. 

Professor Judith Squires, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University of Bristol, said: "I am delighted with Professor Norman's appointment to this important leadership role at Bristol. Professor Norman is an outstanding scholar with an exemplary record of personal academic achievement and significant leadership experience at the highest levels.  I look forward to working closely with her over the years ahead."

Professor Norman said: "The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Bristol has a great reputation for research, teaching and knowledge exchange, and I am honoured to have been appointed as Dean. I look forward to working with staff and students in the Faculty and to building on the excellent legacy of the outgoing Dean, Professor Jonathan Sandy”.

Professor Norman will take over the role of Dean from Professor Jonathan Sandy in August. Professor Sandy with return to his role as Professor in Orthodontics, where he will continue to work with his research group and the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit and supervise Doctorate students in Orthodontics.