Suriya is an internationally qualified registered nurse and midwife who began her career in South Africa. With over three decades of nursing experience and a background in psychology, she has dedicated her professional life to enhancing patient outcomes across diverse clinical settings, including intensive care, acute medicine, stroke, and cancer care. 

Her extensive expertise in cancer care is particularly notable, encompassing roles such as Acute Oncology Specialist Nurse, Advanced Cancer Research Practitioner and Genomics Practitioner. Suriya led the delivery of cancer research for over 16 years at North Bristol Trust, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the cancer research portfolio to benefit patients and advance care delivery. She is currently pursuing a PhD in lung cancer, focusing on developing a digital self-management platform for individuals living with the disease. Her research bridges clinical expertise, leadership, and innovation to drive improvements in patient care and experiences.

Suriya’s commitment to leadership and innovation in nursing is exemplified by her recognition as a Florence Nightingale Foundation Established Leadership Scholar. She also holds influential leadership roles, nationally and internationally. Suriya serves as Chair of Lung Cancer Nursing UK’s Research Interest Group, is a core member of the UK Oncology Nursing Society’s Personalised Cancer Care Members Interest Group, sits on the advisory committee of the Global Power for Oncology Nursing Group and various research advisory committees. More recently, Suriya was accepted on the National Institute for Health and Care Senior Research Leaders Programme.

In her new role as Assistant Chief Nursing Officer for Research Development and Genomics, Suriya aligns her work with the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s strategic research priorities and NHS England’s vision for integrating genomics into healthcare. Equity, diversity, and inclusivity are at the heart of Suriya’s research and leadership approach. She is committed to empowering the nursing community by supporting the development of fundable research proposals and nurturing the ambitions of her colleagues.

Ali Hodge is a Nurse Consultant in Immunotherapy and Acute Oncology at University Hospitals Sussex. Her role was the first in Acute Oncology and Immunotherapy at University Hospitals Sussex. Her role was created to help develop the Immunotherapy and oncology toxicity service (OTIS) and support the acute oncology service, and ongoing development and clinical support if the SDEC acute oncology assessment pathway.  The role is varied including patient assessment and management (both inpatients and outpatients), supporting the assessment of Cancer patients in the ambulatory setting and Emergency departments. Supporting the SACT nurses on the telephone triage line and developing the nurses working in areas where cancer patients are managed.  

Ali qualified from Brighton University with a BSc (Hons) European Nursing Studies. It was during her studies that her passion and commitment to cancer care was developed. Ali has 25 years’ experience in cancer care and is an active member of both UKONS (Acute Oncology MIG vice-chair) and EONS.  Her career has included being a matron, lecturer-practitioner and advanced nurse practitioner.  

Ali has presented both nationally and internationally on a variety of subjects, including acute oncology, immunotherapy toxicity and career development within this emerging field of nursing. Ali has worked on a number of local and national documents to ensure equality in the provision of support for patient with side effects of their cancer treatment.

Ali’s main area of interest is medical and clinical oncology with a specific interest in the care of patient with side effects from cancer treatment. Ali is passionate about cancer nursing with a focus on advanced practice.

Gareth is an Exercise Physiologist and Director of Lifestyle Fitness & Physiotherapy. He has led the development of a number of health intervention processes, including iCan Cancer programmes supported by Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.

He has developed and managed NHS hospital and community based exercise for health centres for people with a range of clinical conditions (inc. cancer, cardiac, musculoskeletal, weight management) and has also worked in senior strategic roles as Health, Physical Activity, Cardiovascular Lead etc. with a number of large health organisations and Government Departments. 

With a focus on supporting behaviours for long term change, Gareth has directly led the design of individual exercise and rehabilitation programmes for several thousand people with a wide range of specific clinical, lifestyle, activity and health needs.  

In non-work time he is a voluntary Judo Coach of beginners to Olympians and has previously worked with the Great Britain team in Sport Science support roles for global event and Olympic Games’.

Gareth enjoys keeping active and likes to be outside, walking on the hills with his dog or riding his road bike (without his dog!).

Georgia is a Chartered Psychologist who has been involved in conducting sleep-related research for over a decade. Her work predominantly focuses around exploring, understanding and providing support around sleep problems and disorders, including management and treatment. Her research encompasses a range of populations, including clinical patient groups and their families, carers, healthcare professionals and clinical services. The majority of her research is conducted in multi-disciplinary teams with an emphasis on improving health and well-being outcomes. Georgia is an experienced mixed methods researcher who has intervention design, delivery, implementation and evaluation experience, including randomised control trials.

I am a Registered Nurse working clinically in the Community with a specialism in diabetes and long-term conditions. I also work at Sheffield Hallam University as a Physical Activity Clinical Champion (Sport England-funded project). This project aims to train healthcare professionals on the importance of physical activity, enhancing their ability to incorporate these discussions into everyday consultations. Additionally, I am a lifestyle practitioner with the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM). Currently, I am pursuing a master's degree in diabetes.