Aisha Holloway

Aisha Holloway is a Scottish nurse and academic who was appointed Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Scotland in 2025. She is also chair of nursing studies at the University of Edinburgh, with a research focus on global public health, alcohol-related harm, and political leadership in nursing. Holloway is a fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Surgeons.

Education Holloway earned a BSc in nursing from Abertay University in 1992. In 2000, she completed a Ph.D. at Glasgow Caledonian University. Her dissertation was an evaluation of self-efficacy and minimal interventions for problem drinkers in a hospital setting. Her research program spans over three decades, and she has held advisory roles with Public Health England and served on the board of the Royal College of Nursing Publishing (RCNi). She was a recipient of a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Scotland Research Fellowship. In July 2025, the Scottish Government announced her appointment as the next Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland, with Health Secretary Neil Gray offering his congratulations. She succeeded the interim CNO, Anne Armstrong, who had held the position since Alex McMahon retired. Holloway is scheduled to begin her term in November 2025.