James Richard Smith (known as Richard to friends and family) draws on a rich family tradition in both his life and writing. Coming from a lineage where the name “James” has been passed through generations of men, Richard shares his mother’s maiden name as his middle name, which has become the name he uses day-to-day. Born in Falkirk, Scotland, he was educated at Dollar Academy and later at Glasgow University, where he earned his medical degree in 1982 and went on to complete a thesis on the interaction of viruses and cervical cancer, earning an MD. 

A Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Richard has spent the past three decades living and working in London, aside from a brief sabbatical in New York. He currently serves as a Consultant Gynaecological Surgeon at Imperial College London, based at Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte’s, and Charing Cross Hospitals. His academic career includes a Visiting and then Adjunct Associate Professorship at New York University School of Medicine (1995-2020), and he continues his work as a Professor of Practice at Imperial College and as an Honorary Consultant in Transplantation Surgery at the University of Oxford. 

Through his writing, Richard shares the experiences of a lifelong commitment to medicine and family, offering readers a glimpse into both the personal and professional aspects of his fascinating journey.