Tom Dening qualified in Medicine at Newcastle University in 1980. After postgraduate training in Psychiatry in Cambridge and Oxford, he was appointed as Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry in Cambridge in 1991. He was Clinical Director for Older People's Mental Health Services from 1991-2001. From 1999-2002, he was seconded part time to the Department of Health as a Senior Professional Adviser, including work on the National Service Framework for Older People. Between 2002 and the end of 2011, he was Medical Director for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Partnership Trust (2002-08) and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (2008-11), whilst continuing in active clinical practice as a Consultant. He was the Executive Director responsible for Research & Development within CPFT, and led the Old Age theme within the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NIHR CLAHRC from 2008-2012. He was appointed to the Chair in Dementia Research from October 2012. His research interests include epidemiological studies of very old people, mental health services for older people, and mental health in care homes. He is one of the editors of the Oxford Textbook of Old Age Psychiatry, the leading international text on the subject.