Duncan Pentland

Duncan Pentland serves as Head of the Occupational Therapy & Arts Therapies Division and Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Queen Margaret University. His leadership extends across academic and professional domains in occupational therapy education and practice development.

His research focuses on neurological conditions, particularly stroke rehabilitation and dementia care. Key areas include developing methods to improve outcomes of complex interventions, with specific emphasis on home and community-based approaches for people living with dementia through his strategic partnership work with Alzheimer Scotland. His methodological expertise spans intervention and economic evaluation, action research, and soft systems methodology.

Pentland's professional recognition includes the QMU Students' Union STaR Award for Teaching Excellence in 2016. He actively contributes to the field as Vice-Chair of the College of Occupational Therapists' Research and Development Board and as a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists.

His teaching encompasses all levels of occupational therapy education with special focus on critical clinical decision making, research methods, and evaluation techniques. He supervises doctoral students pursuing PhD and Professional Doctorate degrees in occupational therapy.

Professional background includes clinical experience in acute stroke and orthopaedic rehabilitation services before transitioning to knowledge transfer and exchange work. He completed his Professional Doctorate of Health and Social Sciences with the thesis 'Realising evidence based practice: a systemic investigation of core knowledge processes in mental health.'