New FPM Dean and Vice-Dean
We are delighted to announce that Dr Ganesan Baranidharan has been elected as the new FPM Dean. We are further pleased to announce that Dr Victor Mendis has been elected as the new FPM Vice-Dean.
Terms of office will start in September 2025 when the current Dean, Dr Lorraine de Gray, will step down.
Dr G Baranidharan has been a Pain Medicine Consultant at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, United Kingdom, since 2006 and is the clinical lead for Pain Medicine. He holds an appointment as an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Leeds.
Dr Baranidharan completed his MBBS from Madras Medical College (1996), Madras, India. He pursued his anaesthesia and pain medicine training at the Yorkshire Deanery, UK and McMaster University, Canada (1999-2006).
Dr Baranidharan developed the Neuromodulation Centre in Leeds from a small service to one of the most significant units in Europe. He is active in research and teaching. Most of his research activities are on neuropathic pain and neuromodulation. He has a particular interest in managing the pain of visceral origin. He has significantly contributed to developing a National Neuromodulation Registry for the United Kingdom and currently chairs the Data Set Committee.
I am honoured to be given the responsibility of Dean for the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthesia. The GMC has recently recognised pain medicine as a specialist credential, and this would not have been possible without the hard work of Dr Lorraine De Gray. I plan to carry all the great work she initiated and see it through. I am delighted to have Dr Victor Mendis as a Vice Dean to support me through this interesting time for Pain Medicine, eventually encompassing other speciality areas such as Rheumatology, Neurology, and Rehabilitation into Pain Medicine. He has previously chaired the Training and Assessment committee and has had various roles within the Faculty. His experience and knowledge will help guide our future vision for Pain medicine.
Victor graduated from the Vinnitsa Medical Academy (Ukraine) and returned to Sri lanka and completed his MD (Anaesthesia) in 1999. He then pursued his Anaesthetic Training at Barts and the London School of Anaesthesia and obtained his CCT in 2005 and has been a consultant in Pain Medicine at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust since 2005 and also practising Anaesthesia until 2020. He was elected as the Regional Advisor (London North Thames) in 2010 and since then has held various positions in the Faculty to include Co-Lead Workforce project, Angoff Referee, College Assessor, Chair Regional Advisor’s, Vice Chair and Chair Training and Assessment Committee. He is also an Examiner for the FFPMRCA.
It is a great privilege to become the Faculty’s next Vice Dean. I am fully aware of the challenges facing our speciality and would like to continue working with your support and engagement in fostering multidisciplinary care and promoting evidence based practices. I am looking forward to working with the Faculty Board and the Faculty Team as well as our incoming Dean, Dr Ganesan Baranidharan who has been actively involved with the Faculty in various roles and has contributed significantly to the development of Pain Medicine in the UK.
