Nick is a Chartered Psychologist working at the University of Chester.   His teaching focuses on health psychology, the psychology of religion, and cognitive behavioural therapies.   Nick leads the Families, Health and Well-being Research Group in the Department of Psychology which has a growing number of psychosocial oncology PhD students.  Nick’s research focuses on four main themes in psychosocial oncology:  Understanding individual differences in psychological adjustment to cancer diagnosis; developing psychologically-based supportive care interventions in cancer, especially focussing on mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; understanding the impact of cancer diagnosis on the wider family, especially young children; and finally, caregiver stress in those working in oncology and palliative care.  In addition to this work with BPOS, Nick also sits on the Primary Care and Psychosocial Oncology Clinical Studies Groups within the national Cancer Research Institute.

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Tony is a registered nurse and a registered nurse tutor with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.  He is also a graduate member of the British Psychological Society and the Higher Education Academy.  Tony has a background of cancer and palliative care nursing and extensive research experience concerning advanced communication skills in oncology.  Currently employed by Swansea University in the College of Human and Health Sciences, Tony is kept busy mainly by teaching pre- and post-registration nurses on a variety of topics on modules run from level 0 to level 4 (Masters).

Anupam’s biography will be uploaded soon!

Fiona’s background is in health psychology and her research interests centre on applied health research that is beneficial to patients and health professionals, in particular exploring how patients can be best supported to adjust to their diagnosis, treatment, and the long-term impact that illness can have on their lives.  In 2009 Fiona completed a PhD, funded by Breast Cancer Campaign, which explored the psychosocial impact and perception of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a very early stage of breast cancer increasingly detected by routine mammogram screening.  This work identified the complexity and challenging nature  of DCIS for patients and health professionals, and suggested various areas for future research and improvements to the provision of care.  Fiona is currently working as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Health and Social Care Research at Sheffield Hallam University where she is involved in several NHS-based and health-related projects.

Laura’s biography will be uploaded soon!

Inigo is a clinical health psychologist in Cancer Care in Birmingham, where a small team of psychologists aims to work closely with local clinicians, cancer patients, and the Cancer Network to provide a tiered psychological support service following the National Peer Review Measures.  A key approach is to offer a strong, responsive clinical service to patients and their relatives, while cascading psychological thinking to front line staff, especially those at Level II of the Improving Outcomes Guidance.  To that effect, there is significant emphasis in Birmingham on offering psychosocial screening training, basic psychological support interventions, and ongoing clinical supervision.  Taking this further, CBT 1^st Aid as developed by Moorey, Mannix and Sage is also a main aim of the service.  Recently, Inigo has stepped down as Chair of SIGOPAC but stays on the Committee as the BPOS Rep, with the goal of maintaining and strengthening the historical and clinical links between these two key organisation for psychosocial oncology support and research in the UK.

Dawn graduated from the University of Nottingham medical School in 1995 and since 2009 has been a consultant in Medical Oncology and Clinician Scientist in Supportive Oncology at the University of Edinburgh.  Her clinical interest is mainly colorectal cancer and research interests include the evaluation and management of symptoms arising from cancer and its treatment.  Her research degree project, “Fatigue and Prostate Cancer” led to a 2007 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Foundation Merit Award and later in 20078, a doctorate (MD) from the University of Edinburgh.  More recently, Dawn’s work has focused on chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy and aromatase inhibitor related arthropathy.  Dawn is a member of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Colorectal Cancer Clinical Studies Group and chair of the Symptom Management Subgroup of the NCRI Complementary Therapies Clinical Studies Development Group.

Kathryn’s biography will be uploaded soon!

Chris has been working as a consultant liaison psychiatrist and honorary lecturer at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, since 2008 having previously completed his higher specialist training in Yorkshire.  In addition to providing liaison input for patients with a range of medical conditions at St James’s he also has a special interest in psycho-oncology and is funded for to days of his week to provide psychiatric consultations for the Leeds Specialist Palliative Care Team.  He is an integral member of the Leeds Psycho-oncology clinical service which assesses over three hundred patients annually in the region as well as providing training and supervision to clinicians in the oncology and palliative care system.   In addition to his role as psychiatric representative on BPOS, he is also Vic-Chair of the Yorkshire Cancer Network Psychological Support Group.