Programme

Prof. Julia Downing

Professor Julia Downing is the Chief Executive of the International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN). She is an experienced palliative care nurse, educationalist and researcher, with a PhD that evaluated palliative care training in rural Uganda. She has been working within palliative care for 25 years, with 15 of those working internationally in Uganda, Africa and Eastern Europe. She is an honorary professor at Makerere University, Kampala, and works as an International Palliative Care Consultant and was the team leader on a project funded by the European Union to develop palliative care in Serbia. She has extensive experience in developing palliative care services, policy, clinical care, education and research. She is an experienced presenter at conferences and writing for publication, and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Palliative Nursing (IJPN). Professor Downing was the recipient of the IJPN’s Development Award in 2006, the Robert Tiffany Lectureship from the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) in 2014, and the 2015 Oncology Nursing Society Foundation (ONS) Pearl Moore “Making a Difference” International Award for Contributions in Cancer Care. She serves on the boards of several international non-governmental organizations in Africa, and in the UK is on the executive committee of the Palliative Care Research Society. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the Cicely Saunders Institute Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, at King's College London, and a Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University, and the University of South Wales. Professor Downing is on the Board of the International Association of Hospice and Palliative CAre (IAHPC). When not working in palliative care, she is a musician and is involved in running a music school in Kampala, and various local choirs and orchestras. She is also the Director of Music at her local church.

Kelly du Plessis

Kelly du Plessis, wife and mother of 2 children (aged 7 and 6) and CEO & Founder of Rare Diseases South Africa, a registered NPO born out of necessity when her oldest child was diagnosed with Pompe disease at 11 months old. At the time, treatment for this rare condition was not available in South Africa, and so Kelly’s personal journey of patient advocacy started. Having dedicated her life and career to furthering the plight of those impacted by rare diseases in developing countries, Kelly serves on various boards and committees which focus on improving the quality of life for rare patients. In 5 years, Kelly has taken Rare Disease policy and patient advocacy to new heights in South Africa, and has presented at various national and international conferences to raise awareness and create a new narrative in terms of treatment and access for rare patients. Kelly was recently awarded the African Leadership Award for healthcare (Dec 2016 – Mauritius) with other recent achievements including the successful launch of RareX (the first Rare Disease conference in Africa), founding Africa-Rare.org (an African alliance for Rare Diseases), as well as the implementation of International Rare Disease Day in South Africa. Her current positions include CEO/Founder – Rare Diseases South Africa; Founding Member – Africa-Rare.org; Vice-Chair – Genetic Alliance South Africa (2016); Pulmonary Hypertension Association of South Africa– Board Member at Large, Portfolio Head – Policy and Government relations

Linda Ganca

Linda Leonora Ganca lectures and convenes the palliative care undergraduate programme at the University of Cape Town (UCT() Faculty of Health Sciences within the School of Public Health and Family Medicine. She has a background in Education and Social Work. She also teaches and co-facilitates in the palliative medicine postgraduate diploma course and supervises MPhil students. Linda has a keen interest in research with focus on qualitative methods. Attaining a Social Work degree in her mature age opened a door to palliative care when she joined St Luke’s hospice in Cape Town. It is there that she discovered Palliative Care, which she describes as a way of life. She therefore integrates teaching and social work to inspire both young and old on how to support individuals (and families) facing the challenge of being diagnosed with a life threatening illness. Linda is passionate about children and works closely with ICPCN, PatchSA and Paedspal.

Dr Satbir Jassal (MBE)

Dr Sat Jassal (MBE) is a full time senior partner general practitioner and medical director of Rainbows Children’s Hospice in Loughborough, Leicestershire heading a team of 4 doctors on a 14 bedded unit that deals with children and young adults. He has been a GP for 28 years and has worked in children’s palliative care for over 24 years. He has written and edited the Rainbows Children’s Hospice Symptom Control Manual, co-authored the Oxford Handbook of Paediatric Palliative Medicine, and is editor of the PANG guidelines. He is an editor of Synopsis an abstract journal. He is chair and editor of the APPM Master Formulary. He helped develop the NICE guidelines for PPC as well as the RCPCH education and training curriculum in PPC. Dr Jassal is a lecturer at Cardiff University in Paediatric Palliative Medicine. He has been awarded FRCGP, an honorary FRCPCH and in 2014, an MBE.

Dr Michelle Meiring

Dr Meiring is a Paediatrician with a special interest in Palliative Care and Chronic Pain Management. She is the Founding Director of Paedspal, an NGO that provides a paediatric palliative care service to public and private patients in Cape Town. Academically she convenes the Post-Graduate Diploma in Paediatric Palliative Medicine at UCT. An active advocate, Dr Meiring chairs PatchSA (the South African Children’s Palliative Care Network) and is engaged in policy making nationally.

Dr Regina Okhuysen-Cawley

Dr Regina Okhuysen-Cawley is a pediatrician in Houston, Texas and is affiliated with Texas Children's Hospital. She received her medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Having grown up in a resource-limited environment, and having witnessed much avoidable suffering and preventable deaths, she is passionate about health care delivery to the critically ill and early integration of palliative medicine for children with serious illnesses.

Prof. Danai Papadatou

Danai Papadatou is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the School of Health Sciences, Dept of Nursing, of the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens, Greece. Her clinical experience, research interests, and publications focus on issues related to pediatric palliative care, childhood and family bereavement, health care professionals’ responses to death and community trauma. Her most recent book in English is entitled: In the Face of Death: Professionals who Care for the Dying and the Bereaved. She is also the co-founder and president of “Merimna”, a Greek non-governmental association for the care of children and families facing illness and death. “Merimna” is the only association in Greece that provides pediatric palliative home care services and bereavement support for children, adolescents, families, schools and communities. She has received various international awards for her teaching, research, publication and professional service in the field of pediatric palliative care, and childhood bereavement support.