Our people
Dr Joseph Tay Wee Teck
DigitAS Project Lead and Senior Lecturer in General Practice, University of St Andrews
Joe Tay is Clinical Services Director for Forward Leeds, one of the largest addiction services in England. He is a primary care physician by training, an ISAM certificant, and is the DigitAS project lead at St Andrews University.
His areas of interest include the digitalisation of addiction services, systems science and complexity, harm reduction, quality improvement, participation of people who use drugs in decision making, telemedicine and digital health interventions and implementation science.
Prof Alexander Baldacchino
Chair in Medicine, University of St Andrews
Alex is Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Addictions at the University of St Andrews and recently retired as Consultant Psychiatrist with NHS Fife Addiction Services, Scotland, United Kingdom. He has been principal investigator in biological, neuropsychological, neuroimaging, clinical and policy related research portfolios when working with the Universities of London, Cambridge, Dundee and St Andrews for the last 27 years.
In the last 20 years he has been the UK principal investigator to several European Union funded projects. These include looking at barriers and challenges faced by individuals with substance misuse related problems accessing treatment (IATPAD Study), a cross-cultural multicentre study to determine the nature, extent and management of drug related mental health problems in Europe (Drugs and Psychosis and ISADORA Studies), internet and drug addiction (Psychonaut 2002) and Overdose Risk InfOrmatioN Project (ORION) amongst others.
Sophie Given
PhD Student
Sophie is a registered nurse with extensive experience in infection control, public health, quality improvement, and managerial roles. After completing her nursing training in London, she worked at the Royal London Hospital as a Trauma Nurse. Currently, she serves as Head of Programme for Workforce Education and Career Development in Acute Care at NHS Education Scotland.
Sophie is also pursuing a PhD in Telemedicine at the University of St Andrews, where her research explores how technology can support people who use drugs and alcohol, improving access to services and enhancing harm reduction strategies. A member of the Royal Navy Reserve since 2017, she continues to serve as a Lieutenant Trauma & Orthopaedic Nursing Officer. She has volunteered internationally, responding to natural disasters. Spending the majority of her career down south, Sophie has just returned back home to Scotland.
Dr Susannah Galea-Singer
Clinical Lead & Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Fife Addiction Services
Susanna is a specialist consultant psychiatrist, leading the NHS Fife Addiction Services. Galea-Singer has led a number of Addiction Services and Mental Health Services, both nationally and internationally, with her most recent position prior to joining NHS Fife being a strategic lead within the Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand. Galea-Singer holds expertise on Strategy and Innovation in healthcare.
Joe Schofield
Senior Research Fellow
Joe is a postgraduate reseracher at University of St Andrews, undertaking a PhD in Addiction Medicine, supervised by Professor Baldacchino, that aims to generate insights into the development of cardiovascular disease among people with chronic opioid exposure. He is a Senior Research Fellow on the DigitAS project with an interest in the role of digital technologies in expanding acess to patient-centred health and social care and support for people who use drugs.