Speaker Gallery

Ellie Dring 

Institute Clinical Lead for Research and Innovation, Institute of Care Excellence, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Ellie is a registered adult nurse and nurse-researcher with a clinical background in dermatology. She works as a clinical lead within the research and Innovation stream of the Institute of Care Excellence at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. In 2012, Ellie was awarded an NIHR fellowship and completed a Masters in Research Method. She subsequently completed her PhD in Business and Management (Health) in 2022, which was funded by The Health Foundation, at the Nottingham University Business School. Ellie’s mixed-methods research explored the coproduction of care for service-users living with chronic oedema, within a context of socioeconomic deprivation. Ellie’s clinical role focusses on evidence-based practice, skin integrity and clinical academic career. Her research interests are qualitative research methods and sociological perspectives of health care, in particular chronic oedema and social deprivation. She is the Chair of the NUH Evidence-Based Practice council and leads the annual NUH Evidence in Nursing, Midwifery and ODP course. Ellie was recently awarded a place on the 70@70 NIHR Senior Nurse and Midwife Research Leader Programme, which aims to strengthen the research voice and influence of nurses and midwives in health and social care settings, and this commences in April 2023.

Alison Edgley

Alison Edgley is a qualitative sociological researcher interested in gender, embodiment and emotional labour as they apply to health care organisation and maternal wellbeing.
Alison is interested in a range of qualitative methods in sociological research, including interviews, critical discourse analysis and ethnography, as well as standpoint and critical realist epistemologies. She has also published extensively on the work of Noam Chomsky.
In her most recent research she has written on embodiment in pregnancy guides, maternal presenteeism and emotional labour in A&E.
She teaches and researches at the University of Nottingham (since 2002) and has supervised 15 PhD students to completion, with a further 7 underway.  Eight have had ESRC doctoral scholarships. Topics range from Oedema care pathways, mental health (recovery narratives, peer workers, spirituality, friendship), as well as courage and compassion in care, Alison is Director of an MA in Research Methods (Health) and her recent teaching is mostly research methods

Vaughan Keeley Prof, PhD, FRCP 

Vaughan Keeley Prof, PhD, FRCP is a Consultant Physician who specialises in lymphoedema.  He leads the lymphoedema service in Derby, Nottingham and Mansfield, in the East Midlands  of the UK. The service treats all types of lymphoedema / chronic oedema in adults and children. 
In 2020, the service was designated as a “Comprehensive Centre of Excellence for Lymphatic Diseases” by LE&RN (the Lymphatic Education and Research Network).
His research interests include the early detection and possible prevention of Lymphoedema in Breast Cancer and quality of life in Lymphoedema 
He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham Medical School. 

Professor Christine Moffatt CBE, FRCN PhD MA RGN DN

Professor Christine Moffatt CBE, FRCN PhD MA RGN DN is Professor of International Clinical Nursing at Nottingham Trent University, UK, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Nottingham, UK.
She is also a Nurse Consultant at Copenhagen Wound Healing Centre, Denmark.
She is also nurse consultant at the Royal Derby Foundation NHS Trust Lymphoedema service in which she leads a research team as well as undertaking a clinical consultancy role.
Christine is currently Chair person of the International Lymphoedema Framework. She has been involved in wound healing research and practice for 25 years and Lymphoedema for 10 years. She has undertaken extensive research in this field using mixed research methods including running national and international clinical trials.
Her areas of research include compression therapy; service development and evaluation; psychosocial impact of disease; chronic wounds and lymphoedema. She has presented and published internationally.
She was awarded a CBE in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List and made a life fellow of the Royal College of Nursing that same year. She has received several life time achievement awards in recognition of her work, the most recent being presented by the World Union of Wound Healing Societies in June 2008. In December 2008 she received a Nursing Times Diamond 20 Award as one of the 20 most influential nurses in the last 60 years.

Rhian Noble-Jones

Rhian is National Researcher for Lymphoedema Network Wales, Associate Lecturer for Swansea University, Wales and programme lead for postgraduate lymphoedema education University of Glasgow, Scotland.
Her PhD produced The Asset-Based Collaborative Working model from action research of lymphoedema specialists developing an information website for patients, carers and health professionals in the community.
Her recent research has focussed on education need evaluation and genital oedema. She developed the first genital oedema specific self-report tool for men (LGUCQ) and will be presenting results of an international study of the education need of lymphoedema professionals to manage genital oedema.

Cheryl Brunelle, PT, MS, CCS, CLT

Physical Therapy Clinical Specialist, Associate Director of the Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Cheryl Brunelle is the associate director of the Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema Research Program and a clinical specialist in physical therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Cheryl earned her physical therapy degrees at the University of Toronto, Canada. She completed her lymphedema certification with Drs Albert and Olivier Leduc in London, England, and with Klose Training, in Boston, USA.
Cheryl’s clinical focus is on oncology program and staff development within the MGH department of physical and occupational therapy, and the evaluation and treatment of patients during and after breast cancer treatment, for issues such as surveillance and early intervention for lymphedema, shoulder morbidity, and deconditioning resulting from breast cancer and its treatment.
Cheryl is a strong proponent of lymphedema screening as standard of care for patients treated for breast cancer. Since 2005, over 6,800 women have been screened for lymphedema after breast cancer treatment within the MGH lymphedema prospective screening program.
Cheryl joined the Lymphedema Research Program in 2014, since which time she has published over 25 papers. She has collaborated on multidisciplinary teams to update hospital policies, including recommendations for receiving the Covid vaccine after lymph node removal for breast cancer, as well as collaborating on a recent white paper establishing measurement guidelines for lower extremity lymphedema in research studies. She presents the team’s research works regularly at national and international conferences. Cheryl’s breast cancer-related lymphedema research interests include early intervention, measurement, effects of the Covid vaccine after lymph node removal, prospective surveillance, precautionary measures and breast edema.

Alphonse G. Taghian MD, PhD, FASTRO

Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School;
Chief, Breast Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital;
Director, Lymphedema Research Program

Dr Alphonse Taghian, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, earned his Medical Degree from Alexandria University in Egypt. He completed his residency in Radiation Oncology in France, after which he pursued clinical and research fellowships at Gustave-Roussy Institut, Paris.
After obtaining his PhD in Radiobiology from Paris XI University, Dr Taghian was appointed as staff in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is now the Director of Lymphedema Research Program and Co-Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
An internationally recognised leader in breast radiation oncology, in particular in the field of accelerated partial bBreast irradiation (APBI), Dr Taghian has published more than 180 peer reviewed articles, general reviews and chapters. He has edited two books, one of them on the multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of breast cancer. He was awarded several NIH grants totalling around $2.7 Million for research in breast cancer related lymphedema. His main interests include screening and early intervention for lymphedema, methods to minimise cardiac exposure to radiation, accelerated partial breast irradiation and indications for post-mastectomy radiation.

Dr SR Narahari

dermatologis and pro-bono director, Institute of Applied Dermatology (IAD), Kerala, India.

Dermatologist SR Narahari is the pro-bono director at the Institute of Applied Dermatology (IAD) in the resource-poor and challenging setting of Kasaragod in Kerala, India. The world’s lead experts collaborated with IAD for morbidity management and disability prevention of lymphatic filariasis and other lymphoedemas. He pioneered clinician-led bedside integrative medicine by combining the therapeutics of Ayurveda and Yoga with Biomedicine. IAD is among the world’s leading lymphoedema centres. Currently, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recognised it as the centre of excellence for lymphoedema. With the financial grant of the BMGF, he has expanded his services of lymphoedema treatment to four centres in the endemic regions of India. He has 90 publications. ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0495-0244.

Mrs Justine C Whitaker MSc, RN,

Senior Lecturer, University of Central Lancashire; Director and Nurse Consultant, Northern Lymphology Ltd.

Justine has 30 years’ experience working clinically, educationally and actively in research, within the field of lymphologyShe is currently studying for her PhD at the University of Central Lancashire, following the PhD by Portfolio route and thoroughly enjoying the journey. She is author to many publications in the nursing and medical press, both journals and book texts. In 2007, she won the Royal College of Nursing ‘Nurse of the Year’. This was for the invention; development and bringing to the international market of the ‘Whitaker Pouch’ a compression garment for scrotal oedema.
She was appointed senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston in December 2007. In January 2008, she established her own company and work as director and nurse consultant, Northern Lymphology Ltd. In both these roles she works clinically, is research active and lectures nationally and internationally.
Justine sits on the editorial boards of a number of journals, and is an active member of the scientific committee of the British Lymphology Society (BLS).

Dr Linda Gibson

Professor of Global Public Health at Nottingham Trent University in the School of Social Sciences and with the NTU Eastern Africa Centre

Linda has over twenty years of experience in health promotion and working with local communities in the UK and internationally. She has worked in East Africa since 2003 running workshops on qualitative research for the British Council in Tanzania, and leading a partnership with School of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda since 2012. Linda is currently involved in several research partnerships, networks and teaching projects in Europe, East Africa (Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia) and across Africa, including the NTU Africa Middle East Network, Pan-African Mental Health Network, and the East African PhD Hub. Her research focus is on health systems strengthening in low and middle income countries and the community health workforce in primary care in Uganda, non-communicable diseases (CVD, breast cancer, diabetes, mental health), antimicrobial stewardship, and patient safety. Linda manages several externally and internally funded international research projects with research outputs and activities that contribute to public health practice, policy and knowledge exchange. She also has a strong postgraduate supervision portfolio. Linda's research portfolio is mixed methods ranging from implementation science research to ethnography, although she considers herself a qualitative specialist. Her teaching focus is around developing international partnerships on the sociology of global health and development and early career research mentorship.

Professor Peter Mortimer

Professor of Dermatological Medicine, Molecular and Clinical Sciences Institute, St George’s Hospital and the University of London; Honorary Visiting Professor, King’s College London

Professor Mortimer has developed the emerging area of lymphovascular medicine and has over 300 publications cited on PubMed. His group has been instrumental in discovering causal genes for primary lymphoedema and his current £2.5 million Medical Research Council programme grant investigates known genotypes of primary lymphoedema to understand mechanisms of pathophysiology.
He sits on the medical advisory committee for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network (USA) and chairs their global oversight committee for the establishment of centres of excellence throughout the world. He is founder of, and chief medical officer to, the Lymphoedema Support Network, the UK patients' national charity. He is founder and patron of the national body for health care professionals, the British Lymphology Society.

Melanie Thomas

Clinical Director for Lymphoedema Sercies in Wales

Melanie is the Clinical Director for Lymphoedema Services in Wales and a physiotherapist by background. She was instrumental in developing equitable lymphoedema services in Wales and is responsible for the planning and strategic development of Lymphoedema Wales Clinical Network. The Network is embedded in value-based healthcare and aims to reduce waste, harm and variation as well as enhancing learning, thus improving patient outcomes, patient experience and quality.

Melanie completed her doctorate with Swansea University in 2018. She has presented and published widely in delivering innovations in lymphoedema care and been involved in many research studies.

In 2013, Melanie was awarded a MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and a Fellowship by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. She is also a Director in the International Lymphoedema Framework.
 

Pr.JP. Belgrado, PhD

Lymphology Research and Rehabilitation Unit

Jean-Paul Belgrado is a renowned professor, researcher and inventor in the field of lymphology and physiotherapy. He is also a longstanding member of the European Society of Lymphology, the International Society of Lymphology and the International Lymphoedema Framework.

To better observe physiology and physiopathology of the lymphatic network and help patients suffering from lymphoedema, he developed the use of ‘lymphofluoroscopy’ in Europe since 2010. This tool allows to give scientific evidence to the diagnosis and physiotherapy approach of lymphatic diseases. He is recognized worldwide as a reference in that field.
 

Anita Wallace MBE

Chair, Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN)

Anita lives with lymphoedema and joined the LSN in 1996, working initially as a volunteer and trustee before being elected as hair in 2000. She works at home full time in this voluntary position and is passionate about providing information for other people living with the condition. Anita was awarded an International Lymphoedema Framework Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of lymphoedema before going on to be named as Guardian Charity Trustee of the year in 2015. In 2018, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to lymphoedema awareness and patient support.

Marina Cestari

Medical director of Pianeta Linfedema study centre

Marina Cestari graduated in medicine and specialised in medical angiology. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Lymphology and scientific manager of the E.S.L. website.
She is a founding member and vice-president of the Executive Committee of the Italian Lymphoedema Framework, and a member of International Society of Lymphology.
Marina is medical director of Pianeta Linfedema study centre, where she carries out scientific research on lymphoedema and lipoedema.
She has participated as a lecturer at university masters, refresher courses and training in the field of lymphology and has a been speaker at national and international conferences and congresses.
She has published numerous papers in the lymphological field and mentored experimental university theses on lymphoedema.

Francesco Boccardo, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Surgery by the University of Genoa, Head of ‘Unit of Surgical Lymphology’ by the Department of Surgery of S.Martino Hospital, Genoa, Italy

Professor Boccardo is President of the ‘European Society of Lymphology’, Immediate Past President of the ‘International Society for Experimental Microsurgery’ and Past President of the ‘International Society of Lymphology’. He is Associate Professor of General Surgery by the University of Genoa, with national scientific qualification as Full Professor of Surgery. He is also Head of the ‘Surgical Lymphology Unit’ of the Department of Surgery, San Martino Hospital. His clinical activity is in surgical lymphology, reconstructive microsurgery and general surgery. His main clinical activities and fields of research are: diagnosis and surgical treatment of primary and secondary lymphoedemas and lymphatic malformations, surgical prevention of secondary lymphoedemas, prevention and treatment of lymphatic complications in oncological and cardiovascular surgery, diagnosis and treatment of primary and secondary thoracic, abdominal and peripheral chylous disorders, use of ICG Fluorescence in lymphatic surgery, reconstructive microsurgery, general and vascular surgery.
He designed and implemented an original microsurgical technique for the primary prevention of arm lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment called ‘LYMPHA technique’ (LYmphatic Microsurgical Preventive Healing Approach). The use of this preventive surgical technique has also been extended to other oncological fields (gynecological and urological tumors, cutaneous melanomas, etc.).
Professor Boccardo is author and co-author of over 250 scientific publications and chapters for 25 textbooks of general surgery, vascular and lymphatic surgery. He has been an invited speaker, president, chairman, member of the scientific committee in over 200 national and international congresses.

David H Keast BSc(Hon), MSc, DipEd, MD, CCFP, FCFP(LM)

Dr Keast is the Medical Director of the Chronic Wound and Lymphedema Consultation Clinic at the Parkwood Institute in London Canada. He is Clinical Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University (London). Dr Keast is an Associate Scientist, Lawson Health Research Institute, Parkwood Institute Research. He is Co-director of the Canadian Lymphedema Framework, Secretary Board of Directors of the International Lymphedema Framework and President of the World Alliance for Wound and Lymphedema Care.

Asma Abdullatif Alderaa, PT, MSc, Phd, CLT 

Asma Alderaa is assistant professor at King Saud University (KSU), Saudi Arabia. 
Neuro and lymphatic rehabilitation consultant at the outpatient clinic in the Collage of Applied Medical Science, KSU. 
She completed her PhD with Nottingham university in 2021 and has her master degree in Rehabilitation from St George's University in London in 2011.  
She is the founder and the president of Saudi Arabia Lymphoedema Framework (SALF) that has joined the International Lymphoedema Framework (ILF) in 2021. Head of SALF Subgroup in the Saudi Physical Therapy Association. (SPTA) 
Asma is a physiotherapist with 19 years clinical and academic experience 
She frequently speaks at national and international conferences and passionate researcher in the field of lymphoedema and related disorder. 
Project manger in the first national prevalence of disabled people with chronic oedema in Saudi Arabia (Saudi-LIMPRINT)