David Whitaker appointed head of school

Professor David Whitaker has been appointed head of the School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University.

Professor Whitaker joined Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Vision Sciences as director of teaching and learning in July 2015. In March last year he became acting head of the School of Healthcare Sciences, following the retirement of Heather Waterman.

In the new position, Professor Whitaker will oversee a wide range of professional disciplines, including adult, child and mental health nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, diagnostic radiography, radiotherapy and oncology, operating department practice and occupational therapy.

Professor Whitaker completed his PhD at the University of Bradford in 1987 and went on to teach at Aston University for seven years, before returning to the University of Bradford in 1995. He was appointed as a professor at the university in 2000.

During his career, Professor Whitaker has published more than 100 papers, with particular interest in changes in vision with increasing age, visual illusions, peripheral vision, and the interaction between vision and other senses in the human perception of time.