Tomasz Pierscionek was born in Melbourne, Australia and moved to the UK aged 12. He completed secondary school in Bradford, Yorkshire, before studying at Durham and Newcastle Universities, obtaining both a Masters in Medical and Molecular biosciences and a medical degree from Newcastle Medical School. After graduation, Tom completed his training as a junior doctor before spending a year travelling and working as a locum. Tom is currently working as a Academic Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry in the North East of England.

Tom is joint Editor in Chief of the London Progressive Journal and for the past two years he has been on the board of Medact, a charity of health professionals that campaigns against health inequalities both domestic and global. As part of Tom's work in Medact, he co-authored a successful report examining the public health effects of armed drones.

The report, Drones: the physical and psychological implications of a global theatre of war, received media coverage in various newspapers and academic journals, including the BMJ, the Lancet and the Guardian. The report was officially released in October 2012 at a reception at Portcullis House, chaired by John McDonnell MP.

Tom’s interests include global health, journalism, politics, the history of the international labour movement, ancient history, classics, jogging, marxist theory, travelling, foreign languages, folk music. He is a fan of folk musicians Billy Bragg, Inti Illimani, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs and Attila the Stockbroker.

Tom’s articles have appeared in the London Progressive Journal, the Morning Star, Socialist Appeal, BMJ blogs, the Stop the War Campign website, Counterfire, Al-Thawra (Journal of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign), and various other smaller publications. He has also published in a range of academic journals, including the BMJ and the Student Lancet. He has also spoken at various public meetings on a variety of topics and was interviewed for a Lancet News podcast.

Tom has recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Research and in his spare time enjoys socialising with friends, exercise, sitting in cafes or reading a decent newspaper or good book.