Dr Simon C. Cork

Dr Simon Cork is Admissions Lead and Phase 1 Lead for the MBChB Undergraduate Medicine degree. He is also co-lead for Widening Participation, lead for Scientific Foundations and lead for Physiology.

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Background

Dr Simon Cork is a physiologist and medical educator with a specialist interest in the regulation of appetite and body weight. His research focuses on the role of gut hormones—particularly glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)—and the mechanisms through which anti-obesity medications exert their effects. He is also actively engaged in widening access to medical education, advocating for greater equity in entry to the profession.

Dr Cork is Admissions Lead and Phase 1 Lead at the ARU School of Medicine, where he also serves as the Physiology Lead. Prior to this, he conducted postdoctoral research at University College London, investigating central GLP-1 signalling in appetite regulation. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Professor Sir Stephen Bloom at Imperial College London, where his work explored gut-brain communication via the vagus nerve.

In parallel with his scientific work, Dr Cork is deeply involved in widening participation initiatives within medical education. He has led the development of admissions policies designed to increase access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a focus on identifying and supporting potential rather than relying solely on traditional academic markers. At a national level, he is contributing to work that promotes the recognition of alternative qualifications—particularly T Levels—within medical admissions, aiming to open up pathways for a broader range of applicants. As a board member of the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT), he is also involved in shaping national guidelines to ensure the test supports fair access and does not present an undue barrier to entry for underrepresented groups.

In recognition of his contributions to educational equity, Dr Cork was awarded the 2026 Widening Participation in Physiology Prize Lecture by the Physiological Society. Dr Cork is an experienced and sought-after science communicator. He has appeared across a wide range of national and international media, including the BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, Channel 4, and in BBC documentaries. He has been a featured speaker at the Cheltenham Science Festival and the New Scientist Magazine Masterclass series, where he presents cutting-edge physiological research to public and professional audiences. While much of his commentary centres on anti-obesity medications, he also regularly engages with broader topics in human physiology.

He holds a PhD in neurophysiology from Durham University and has extensive board-level experience. He currently sits on the Board of UCAT, contributing to the strategic oversight of medical admissions processes across the UK.

Areas of expertise

• Obesity
• Widening access to medicine

Research interests

• Obesity physiology and treatment
• Widening participation

Areas of research supervision

• Inequalities in access to higher education
• Obesity pharmacotherapy
• Physiology of body weight regulation

Teaching

Medicine (MBChB)

Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science, University of Durham (2008)
• PhD, Neurophysiology, University of Durham (2013)
• PGCert, Clinical Education, King's College London (2020)

Memberships, editorial boards

• Physiological Society
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Medical Schools Council Selection Alliance
• UKCAT (Board member and Trustee)

Selected recent publications

S Cherid, K Souster, G Galvez, J Kumar, SC Cork. A systematic review of the effects of GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment in post-bariatric surgery patients. 32nd European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) [Malaga, Spain, May 11-14, 2025]

SC Cork & K Hopcroft. Evaluating ChatGPT for Converting Clinic Letters into Patient-Friendly Language. BJGP Open 31 March 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2024.0300

S Ahluwalia, T Fenton, C Roder, LF Spurling, SC Cork, G Winnett, E Ahsan, J Johnson & P Bishop. The Medical Doctor (Degree) Apprenticeship. Medical Teacher, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2024.2393784

SC Cork & E Yhnell. Reviving the Lecture: Using Visually Dynamic Approaches to Teach Physiological Concepts. Discov Educ 3, 20 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00099-6

T Doggett, H Warr, J Johnson & SC Cork. Response to: ChatGPT for assessment writing. Medical Teacher, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2024.2311269

AM Alonso, SC Cork, Y Ma, M Arnold, H Herzog, SR Bloom, KG Murphy & VS Salem. The vagus nerve and the hypothalamus mediate different aspects of the anorectic effects of PYY3-36. 2024, Molecular metabolism, 81, 101895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2024.101895

Cork, SC. (2023). A Model for Online Delivery of Multiple Mini Interviews. Journal of medical education and curricular development,10, 23821205231183875

Alonso, AM*, Cork, SC*, Ma, Y, Arnold, M, Herzog, H, Bloom, SR, Murphy, KG & Salem, VS, 2020. The vagus nerve mediates the physiological but not pharmacological effects of PYY3-36 on food intake. Biorxiv. doi:10.1101/2020.08.07.241851 *Joint first authors

Lubba, CH, Le Guen, Y, Jarvis, S, Jones, NS, Cork, SC, Eftekhar, A & Schultz, SR, 2019. PyPNS: Multiscale simulation of peripheral nerve in Python. Neuroinformatics. 17: 63-81.

Cork, SC, 2018. The role of the vagus nerve in appetite control: implications for obesity pathogenesis. J Neuroendocrinol. Sep 11:e12643.

Cork, SC, Eftekhar, A, Mirza, KB, Zuliani, C, Nikolic, K, Gardiner, JV, Bloom, SR & Toumazou, C, 2017. Extracellular pH monitoring for use in closed-loop vagal nerve stimulation. J Neural Eng. 15: 016001.

Mirza, KB, Wildner, K, Kulasekeram, N, Cork, SC, Bloom, SR, Nikolic, K & Toumazou, C, 2017. Platform for closed-loop neuromodulation based on dual mode biosignals. bioRxiv. 163329.

Cork, SC, Chazot. PL, & Pyner, S, 2016. Altered GABAA α5 subunit expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus of hypertensive and pregnant rats. Neurosci Lett. 620: 148-153.

Cork, SC, Richards, JE, Holt, MK, Gribble, FM, Reimann, F, & Trapp, S, 2015. Distribution and characterisation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor expressing cells in the mouse brain. Mol Metab. 4(10):718-731.

Trapp, S. & Cork, SC, 2015. PPG neurons of the lower brainstem and their role in brain GLP-1 receptor activation. Am J Physiol Reg Int & Comp Physiol. 309(8):R795-804.

Wells, JA, Christie, IN, Hosford, PS, Vihko, P, Cork, SC, Kasparov, S, Lythgoe, MF & Gourine, AV, 2015. A critical role for purinergic signalling in the mechanisms underlying generation of BOLD fMRI responses. J Neurosci. 35(13):5284-92.

Broichagen, J, Schonberger, M, Cork, SC, Frank, JA, Marchetii, P, Bugliani, M, Shapiro, AMJ, Trapp, S, Rutter, GA, Hodson, DJ & Trauner, D, 2014. Optical control of insulin release using a photoswitchable sulfonylurea. Nature Communications. 5:5116.

Richards, P, Parker, HE, Adriaenssens, AE, Hodgson, JM, Cork, SC, Trapp, S, Gribble, FM & Reimann, F, 2013. Identification and Characterization of GLP-1 Receptor–Expressing Cells Using a New Transgenic Mouse Model. Diabetes. 63(4):1224-1233.

Watkins, ND, Cork, SC & Pyner, S, 2009. An Immunohistochemical investigation of the relationship between neuronal nitric oxide synthase, GABA and presympathetic paraventricular neurons in the hypothalamus. Neuroscience. 159(3):1079-88.

Recent presentations and conferences

June 2025, Invited Panellist, Cheltenham Science Festival – Weight loss or Wonder Drug?

June 2025, Invited Panellist, SXSWLondon – Ozempic: Society’s Saviour or Saboteur

July 2023, Keynote Speaker, New Scientist Live Masterclass – New Obesity Drugs: What’s the evidence? London

February 2020, Invited Speaker, John Ray Society, St Catherine’s College, University of Cambridge.

December 2019, Keynote Speaker, Neuroscience of Energy Balance Symposium, Manchester.

January 2018, Invited Speaker, Association of Science Educators Conference, Liverpool.

Media experience

Dr Cork has extensive experience of communicating with journalists on a wide range of topics, most notably the use of GLP-1 analogues (e.g. semaglutide) for the treatment of obesity. He has appeared on major TV and Radio networks, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, LBC, Times Radio, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 and has been quoted in major UK and international newspapers, including The Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, New York Times, Reuters and New Scientist. For media enquiries please contact the media team on the link above.