The Brighton and Sussex Medical School has announced the academic leaders in each key discipline, which includes a large number of faculty from the University of Sussex.

The discipline leaders from Sussex are:

• Professor Charles Abraham (Health psychology & medical sociology)
• Jo Bridgeman (Law & ethics), who will lead a fourth year module on the subject
• Dr Dora Duka (Neuroscience), who is also a module leader for Neuroscience & Behaviour
• Dr John Kay (Cell biology, Immunology), who is an Associate Dean of BSMS and will lead modules on The Foundation of Health & Disease and Research Methods
• Professor Alan Lehmann (Genetics)
• Dr Corne Kros (Physiology)
• Dr Derek Robinson (Research methods/medical statistics)
• Dr Mike Titheradge (Biochemistry), who will lead the first year module on Nutrition, Metabolism & Excretion.

Other disciplines and modules will be led by colleagues from organisations including the University of Brighton and local NHS trusts.

Professor Jon Cohen, Dean of the Medical School, said: "One of the great strengths of BSMS - and indeed one of the reasons why the bid was successful - was the considerable expertise that already exists, both in the two universities and their partner NHS institutions."

He added: "Colleagues cannot simply take on what is sometimes a significant extra teaching load without giving up something in its place, and an important part of the development of BSMS is putting in place the arrangements to allow this to happen."

This involves assessing the amount of time that an individual spends in teaching BSMS students (including not just contact time but also associated activities such as marking, supervising and examining) and then reimbursing the host department so that new appointments can be made to 'take up the slack'.

A number of clinical appointments will be made to the BSMS itself over the coming months in preparation for the first intake of 128 students in autumn 2003. Eventually the initiative will create around 20 new consultant appointments as well as the equivalent of 20 full-time jobs in teaching.

• The BSMS Finance Officer is Julie Tyrrell, who has just moved from her post as a management account at Sussex to take up her appointment. Julie will establish the financial plan for the Medical School as well as financial procedures for its operation.