In Jan 2022, she took a clinical sabbatical from the NHS, undertaking research and academic projects and left the Royal Surrey County Hospital in July 2023 to continue this work. In 2023 she joined the University of Surrey newly approved School of Medicine (SOM) and became a founding member and Professor of Surgery. In 2026 Professor Newlands demitted her roles as Lead for Clinical Skills and Deputy for Admissions, and she remain engaged with research and teaching at the SOM as Professor Emeritus.

Her clinical research focuses on the evidence base for the best outcomes for patients with skin cancer. Her other academic work looks at unprofessional behaviours by surgeons and how to both improve patient safety and staff well-being by improving the culture in healthcare teams. Around 80% of her clinical time is spent with patients with skin cancer.

Professor Newlands usually carry out over 400 skin cancer operations per year. I am a long-standing Core Member of the Regional Specialist Skin Cancer MDT (SSMDT), held the role of SSMDT Co-Chair 2018-2021 and was the Regional Skin Cancer Network Chair 2021-2023.

I use my skin surgery skills to remove unwanted benign (non-cancerous) skin lesions outside the NHS, but I do not offer other forms of cosmetic surgery.

I also provide help for those who have problems with the skin inside the mouth or of the salivary glands, and those who need surgery for benign mouth lumps or buried teeth. My time in private practice is limited and in demand. I focus on seeing patients in a timely manner to provide collaborative care which is highly personalised, expert, and caring.

Education, Awards and Prizes

I studied at Bristol University and Queens University in Belfast (QUB), gaining degrees in both Dentistry and Medicine. I was awarded several undergraduate Honours and Prizes. These included the Bristol University Oral Medicine Prize and at Medical School, Distinctions in Pathology, Medicine, and Surgery.

I was awarded the QUB Medical School Finals Medals in Medicine (The Sir William Thompson Medal), in Surgery (The Sinclair Medal) and in Psychiatry (the Victoria Coleman Medal).

My Higher Surgical Training was initially in Northern Ireland at the Regional Plastic and Maxillofacial unit. I then continued my training at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, rotating to Brighton and Guildford.

In 2012, I was awarded the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) Surgery Prize. This prize and medal, awarded annually, is awarded to a person or persons who are judged to have made a major contribution to Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the widest sense, and is a high honour.

I received NHS Clinical Excellence awards at local level in 2006, 2008, 2010 and nationally at Bronze level in 2012. National awards are awarded in recognition of sustained and dedicated contribution to the NHS, commitment to patient well-being and outstanding professional leadership. In 2021 I was awarded a Silver NHS Clinical Excellence award; this is achieved by usually fewer than 20 NHS surgeons across all specialities in England each year.

In 2020 I was nominated by the Regional OMFS Trainees in Kent Surrey and Sussex as The Trainer of the Year and went on to be awarded the BAOMS Trainer's Trainer of the Year- a national prize voted for by the UK OMFS Surgical Training Programme Directors.

Work on the disparities in the UK management of Dermal Sarcoma (a rare skin cancer) was presented at the BAOMS conference in 2021 and was awarded the President's Prize.

In 2021 I completed my training as a Medical Examiner.

In 2023 I was awarded the Colyer Gold Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons alongside my friend and colleague Miss Daljit Dhariwal, from the University of Oxford. This is awarded at irregular intervals for "contributions to the profession or wider society". The BAOMS recognised my work for the speciality with the 2023 Down Surgical Prize, received in July 2024.

In 2026 I was awarded the Fellowship of the Medical Women's Federation; an honour to “formally recognise and celebrate members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the mission and values of the MWF.”

National Roles

I have held and hold several national posts including:

• Editorial Advisor to Academic Journals: British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2006-2014, Head and Neck 2019- current British Medical Journal Case reports 2018-present.
• Examiner JCIE (Joint Committee on Intercollegiate Examinations) OMFS Board of Examiners for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), writing questions, examining, and standard setting for the specialty 2008 to 2024. This is the exam which senior surgical trainees must pass to become a consultant.
• Chair of the JCIE MCQ writing group for OMFS, 2013-2015, Chair of Section I of the JCIE FRCS examination for all the 10 surgical specialties in the UK and Ireland 2015-2019, JCIE Assessor of FRCS examinations, 2018-2024.
• Chair of the OMFS Examination Board for the UK and Ireland, 2019-2022.
• Lead for Skin Cancer Surgery for the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 2010 to 2016.
• Expert advisor to the NHS Choices website, with pages on mouth cancer and wisdom teeth, 2014-present.
• Lead Chapter author, Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) in the UK Consensus Guidelines in Head and Neck Cancer, published in 2011 and updated in 2016, and contributed to the 2021/22 update.
• Member National Cancer Research Institute, Skin Cancer NMSC subgroup 2017 until the 2023 closure due to central funding withdrawal.
• Specialist Advisory Committee in OMFS member (this committee is advisory to the Surgical Royal Colleges on higher training in OMFS) 2019-2023.
• British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) BCC and cSCC Guidelines Co-Author: as a member of the keratinocyte cancer group of the BAD, updating the evidence based, NICE accredited and internationally recognised guidelines on basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers (BCC and cSCC). These were published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2021.
• Member of the Royal College of Surgeons Invited Review Mechanism, which provides investigations and advice to health care organisations on surgical standards governance and performance, 2020-present.
• BAOMS Elected Council Member, 2021-2024.
• Co-Lead of the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery, 2022-present. This work can be seen at Home | Wpsms. This project is run by members of the Women in Surgery Group at The Royal College of Surgeons of England. This research has contributed to significant changes by stakeholders, including the introduction of the NHSE Sexual Safety Charter, and changes to the GMC's Good Medical Practice.
• In 2012, Professor Newlands discussed with Roger Moore why he can raise one eyebrow on The One Show: watch here.

Research Papers and Publications 

Professor Newlands has published extensively in the scientific literature. Patients can see the full list of her publications here.

She is co-author of the Oxford University Press Specialist Handbook in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, initially published in 2009, with second and third editions published in 2014 and 2020.

In 2014, Professor Newlands was an invited expert reviewer of the SIGN Guidelines on Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Recent Lectures 

Professor Newlands is an invited speaker on skin cancer and on sexual misconduct in surgery at a number of national and international conferences and events.

Recent lectures include:

• Royal Marsden Head and Neck Conference Nov 2013: Evidence based management of Merkel Cell Carcinoma
• British Dental Association Southern Counties Presidential meeting, March 2014: Facial skin lesions and the dental clinician's role
• British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Conference Edinburgh, July 2014: Keynote lecture - An update on cutaneous malignant melanoma
• British Association of Dermatology Conference Glasgow, July 2014: High risk Squamous Cell Carcinoma
• European Association of Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons, September 2014 Prague: Reconstruction of the eyelids after skin cancer surgery
• Royal Marsden Head and Neck Conference, November 2014, London: Marginal Control in Basal Cell Carcinoma
• Scottish Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Conference, November 2014, Crosshouse: Cutaneous malignant melanoma
• Welsh Skin Cancer Study Day, December 2014 Cardiff: The management of the regional nodes in skin cancer of the head and neck
• Face Course, July 2015, University of Southampton: International course on facial reconstruction for skin cancer
• Professor Newlands was co-organiser, with her colleague Cyrus Kerawala, of the Royal Marsden Head and Neck Cancer Conference on Skin Cancers of the Head and Neck in November 2015
• She was the invited organiser for the Dermatological Surgery symposium at the 2016 London Congress of the European Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery
• In 2019, at the national speciality association conference, she chaired the BAOMS Symposium on Controversies in Skin Cancer Management
• During the 2020 Covid pandemic, Professor Newlands delivered a series of online webinars to UK trainee surgeons, on the management of skin cancer.
• The Royal Society of Medicine, London.
• An Update on the management of skin cancer in the Covid era. Nov 2020
• ESTRO 2020/21 World Congress of Brachytherapy. The role of surgery in the management of lip cancers April 2021
• Facial melanoma surgery - how I do it.
• Invited speaker at the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery National Scientific Conference, October 2021
• Pleomorphic Dermal Sarcoma. BAOMS National Conference June 2022
• #timesup for Sexual Misconduct in OMFS. BAOMS National Conference June 2022
• Citation for Mr Cyrus Kerawala. BAOMS National Conference June 2022
• Sexual Misconduct in Surgery. Institute of Medical Ethics Birmingham July 2022 Sexual Misconduct in Surgery. WIMIN Conference Sept 2022
• What's new and what's coming in skin cancer? Guildford, Nov 2022
• Sexual Misconduct in Surgery, WinS at the RCS Future Surgery Conference Nov 2022
• Chair, Skin Cancer Symposium on High-risk cSCC. BAOMS National Conference 2023
• Keeping Abreast of Developments. BAOMS National Conference 2023
• Chair, Skin Cancer Symposium "The Patient's Voice" BAOMS National Conference 2024
• Lectures on Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare to national conferences of NHS Providers, The Society of British Neurosurgeons, The British Association of Urologists, and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland 2024.
• Sexual Misconduct & Solutions BMA Webinar (2024)
• Supporting & Reporting RCS Eng Conference (2024)
• Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare Kent Surrey Sussex Postgraduate Training Day (2025)
• Sexual Misconduct in Surgery in the UK- New Zealand Ladies Orthopaedic Association (2025) Update on WPSMS Progress RCS Women in Surgery Conference (2025)
• Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare Women in Medicine International Network (2026)

Professor Newlands is registered with the General Medical Council as Linda Caroline Newlands.

• British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 
• British Medical Association  
• Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh  
• General Medical Council