Safiya Virji

Dr. Safiya Virji serves as Clinical Senior Lecturer in Community-Based Medical Education at Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, concurrently holding the position of Deputy Head of Year 3 for the medical school. She integrates academic responsibilities with active clinical practice as a General Practitioner (GP) in the NHS, while maintaining leadership roles including Postgraduate GP Training Programme Director, Out of Hours GP supervisor, and GP Appraiser.

Her educational background includes an MBBS and BSc in Healthcare Management from Imperial College London (2006), followed by an MA in Medical Education. Prior to joining Queen Mary in 2021, she held significant positions at Luton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) including Future GP Education Lead and Clinical Director.

Dr. Virji's research focuses on Medical Education within primary care systems, with particular emphasis on GP recruitment and retention challenges. Her work addresses critical issues of resource constraints and high patient demand in general practice through innovative training program design and healthcare management strategies. She actively develops solutions for sustainable primary care workforce development across NHS settings.

As an educator, she mentors postgraduate trainees through MEDPRO supervision and GP tutoring roles. Her leadership as Postgraduate GP Training Programme Director for Health Education East of England involved comprehensive curriculum development and trainee support, directly influencing regional GP training standards and professional development pathways.