Faculty
The Acumen Academy operates a three-tier faculty model: founder-led teaching, an editorial advisory board, and invited specialist clinicians per cohort. Every member of the teaching faculty is a current practising clinician or current academic in their named field.
The two founders
Both founders are professors in active practice; both contribute directly to teaching delivery.
Professor Rajesh Varma
Co-Founder · Clinical & Academic Director
Professor of Primary Care · NICE Guideline Committee member · Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge Department of Public Health and Primary Care · GP Partner and GP Trainer, Hertfordshire · MA (Cantab), PhD, MRCOG, MRCGP, MBBS, PGCert (Oxon).
Leads programme design, curriculum direction, and editorial standards across all three Diploma streams. Faculty contributor to live tutorials.
Professor Tham Nimal-Raj
Co-Founder · Institutional & International Academic Partner
Chancellor, New Vision University — UK Campus · Founder and Chair, Essex Medical Society · over four decades of UK NHS clinical and academic service · author of textbooks in anatomy and ultrasound · frequent international conference speaker.
Leads international academic relationships, examination and institutional accreditation pathways, and observership programme.
Three-clinician external review
The Editorial Advisory Board provides independent external review of curriculum content, accreditation alignment, and programme quality assurance. The Board is currently being convened. The composition is structured around the three Diploma streams to ensure each disease area is covered by a senior clinician currently active in that field.
Cardiology / Diabetology Advisor
Position currently being recruited.
Senior clinical lead in cardiometabolic medicine — to provide curriculum review for the DCRM Diploma. Identity announced on appointment.
Menopause / Andropause Advisor
Position currently being recruited.
Senior clinician in BMS or BSSM frameworks — to provide curriculum review for the Menopause and Andropause Diploma. Identity announced on appointment.
General Practice Academic Advisor
Position currently being recruited.
Senior academic GP — to provide curriculum review across all three Diploma streams from the primary care delivery perspective. Identity announced on appointment.
Editorial Advisory Board members are remunerated by honorarium per quarterly content sign-off. Editorial independence is contractually safeguarded. Members are not employed by MD Acumen.
Cohort-by-cohort specialist faculty
Each Diploma cohort is supported by two to three invited specialist clinicians who deliver focused content in their disease area. Specialist faculty are selected per cohort for current clinical and academic standing in the relevant area, and named publicly when each cohort opens.
Indicative specialist disciplines per Diploma:
- DCRM Diploma: consultant diabetologist, consultant cardiologist, consultant nephrologist, consultant hepatologist (MASLD module).
- Menopause and Andropause Diploma: menopause-specialist consultant, sexual-medicine consultant, endocrinologist, bone-health specialist.
How we maintain teaching standards
Active practitioner requirement
Every member of the teaching faculty is a current practising clinician or current academic in their named field. We do not engage faculty whose primary credential is historic or out of date.
Current-guideline alignment
Every taught session is mapped to the current version of the relevant clinical guideline (NICE, ESC, ADA-EASD, KDIGO, BMS, BSSM, BMJ Best Practice). Sessions are reviewed at 90-day intervals to maintain currency.
External editorial review
Module content is reviewed by the Editorial Advisory Board prior to publication. The Board has the right to request revision before content is delivered to delegates.
Delegate feedback at module level
Each module is reviewed at module end by the cohort. Aggregate feedback is reviewed quarterly and informs faculty selection for subsequent cohorts.
Conflict-of-interest declarations
All faculty declare relevant clinical, commercial, and pharmaceutical-industry interests. Declarations are visible to delegates within each module.
Faculty enquiries
Senior clinicians and academics interested in joining the Acumen Editorial Advisory Board or the invited specialist faculty for a forthcoming cohort are welcome to get in touch.
Legal & Disclaimer · enquiry@mdacumen.com