John Francis Doran

John Francis Doran studied dentistry at the Royal Dental Hospital, London, achieving his bachelors degree in dental surgery in 1969. After six months in oral surgery he joined Voluntary Service Overseas in Malaysia and worked as a dental officer in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding jungle areas, providing dental services to indigenous people whose teeth had been blackened by the chewing of beetle nut.

He returned to Cardiff in 1970 to study medicine, initially with the idea of becoming an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. However, he took the chance to combine his medical degree with a bachelors degree in biochemistry, gaining first class honours in 1973. During this time, he worked part time as a dentist to fund his medical studies. After house jobs in Bridgend and Pontypridd …