Beverley Bostock

PCCS President Elect, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Mann Cottage Surgery and Editor in Chief, Practice Nurse Journal

Beverley is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in general practice in Gloucestershire and an Editor in Chief of Practice Nurse journal.  She qualified as an RGN at St George’s Hospital London and gained a BSc in Professional Nursing Studies after completing 2 years of an advanced clinical practice MSc at Wolverhampton University.  She is an Independent Nurse Prescriber and holds an MSc in Respiratory Care and an MA in Medical Ethics and Law.

Beverley’s other qualifications include a Post Graduate Award in Diabetes Therapeutics from Warwick University. 

Beverley has extensive educational experience developing modules in diabetes and CVD for an Open University-affiliated organisation and is an Expert Witness for a clinical negligence company.  She has been a Queen’s Nurse since 2015, a title which is given to nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care and nursing practice.

Beverley is a council member for the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society and has worked on the Implementation Steering Group of Public Health England’s CVDPREVENT project and Oxford AHSN’s ‘Prevention of CVD during the pandemic’ guidance.  She has also been a Visiting Lecturer in behaviour change at Imperial College London for the MSc in Preventive Cardiology. 

Prof Raj Thakkar

PCCS President and CKD representative, Primary care cardiovascular society, GP Primary care cardiology lead, Oxford HIN Honorary Visiting Professor, Cardiff University Medical School, National EAGs for lipids and HF/HVD, NHSE National primary care workstream co-lead - cardiac transformation programme, NHSE UK Clinical Director, Healthy.io and Board observer, British Society of Heart Failure

Raj trained at University College London where he achieved a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and completed his medical degree in 1999. He went on to a GP training programme in the Oxford deanery during which time he completed postgraduate membership exams of both the Royal College of General Practitioners and Physicians. Raj went on to win the national GP enterprise award in his division. He also completed an enhanced GP registrar post in cardiology.  

Raj’s varied roles have included working as a GP partner since 2004, Clinical Commissioning Director in planned care, Cardiac Lead for Thames Valley Strategic Clinical Network, primary care cardiology lead for the Oxford Health Innovation Network (HIN) and atrial fibrillation champion for NHSIQ Thames Valley. He is also on the national expert advisory group for heart failure and valve disease and is currently the national primary care workstream co-lead for the cardiac transformation programme (NHSE). Raj sits on the editorial board for the British Journal of Cardiology.  

Raj has worked as a presenter on BBC Radio and is a medical writer, lecturer, speaker, and advisor. He has written and published over 200 articles and several books including the MIMS consultation guide which won the BMA book of the year award in the category of medicine in 2012. He has achieved two atrial fibrillation pioneer awards, was a national finalist for GP of the year in 2017 and a national HSJ finalist, 2019 for his work in atrial fibrillation. 

Dr Faheem Shakur

GP Partner and Research Lead at Stonyhill Medical Practice, Blackpool

Dr Shakur is a GP Partner, Trainer approved by the GMC and PLAB Examiner, and surgery research lead. Dr Shakur has a keen interest in medical education and local in-house guideline creation. Dr Shakur is also cofounder of The MEDtalkx Podcast.

Dr Jim Moore

Past President of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society, GP, GPSI Cardiology, Gloucestershire

Dr Moore is a GP in Gloucestershire with a special interest in Cardiovascular Medicine and Past President of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society, spearheading significant changes in this organisation. He lectures extensively across the UK.

He has been heavily involved in National CVD advisory groups, guidelines and working parties. He was a member of the NICE Chronic Heart Failure in Adults Guideline committee (2016-2018) and was a board member of British Society for Heart Failure.

Dr Moore has provided cardiovascular clinical support to local commissioning organisations for over two decades and more recently to Cardiac Networks in the South-West. He is currently Clinical Co-Lead (Primary Care) for the West of England Integrated Cardiac Clinical Network.

Dr Moore is the National Clinical Co- Lead (Primary Care) for the National Cardiac Transformation Programme which has included working closely on NHSE initiatives such as Managing Heart Failure @Home and more recently chaired a group that developed the National (NHSE) guidance for the Virtual Ward care for people with heart failure (in publication).

He has been involved in the establishment and subsequent development of the community-based Gloucestershire Heart Failure service since its inception in 2003 where he continues to work as a GPSI.

Dr Joe Martins

Consultant Interventional Cardiologist working at Russell’s Hall Hospital, Dudley and the Wolverhampton Heart and Lung Centre.

Dr Martins is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist working at Russell’s Hall Hospital, Dudley and the Wolverhampton Heart and Lung Centre.  He completed his undergraduate training at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and moved to the UK in 1996. He did a research fellowship at Imperial College London and was awarded his MD for his work on atrial fibrillation and the use of Rapid Access Arrhythmia Clinic in the management of new suspected arrhythmias. 

After completing his cardiology training in the West Midlands, he was appointed as a Consultant in 2008. He is the medical director of Action Heart and has additional interests in preventative cardiology, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and medical education, lecturing widely both locally and nationally.

Dr Matt Kearney

GP, Senior Advisor to UCLPartners, and former National Clinical Director for CVD Prevention

Matt is a senior advisor at UCLPartners Health Innovation Network supporting the spread of innovations to transform prevention of heart attacks and strokes. From 2016-2019, Matt was National Clinical Director for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in England and led development of the NHS Long Term Plan CVD Prevention Programme. He is the founder of several major innovations including CVDACTION (a smart data tool to enable a step change in CVD prevention in real world primary care), CVDprevent (the national primary care audit), Size of the Prize, and the award-winning Proactive Care Frameworks. Matt also practices as a GP. He has a master’s degree in public health and is a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Dr Ramesh Nadarajah

NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology and Health Data Research UK Fellow

My clinical interests are in prevention, early detection and screening for cardio-renal-metabolic disease. My research incorporates the use of primary care datasets to answer clinical questions and develop prediction models, particularly in the area of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and cardio-renal-metabolic disease. I am also now translating interventions based on risk prediction into clinical trials.

I was awarded the Young Investigator Award at the British Society of Heart Failure Annual Meeting in 2024, and was a finalist for the Young Investigator Award at the European Heart Rhythm Association Congress and for the President’s Prize in Cardiology at the Royal Society of Medicine in 2023. I was also a finalist for the Young Investigator Award at the ESC Preventative Cardiology Congress 2024 and won the Best of the Best award in Prevention at the British Society of Cardiology Annual Meeting 2024.

Dr Rama Vancheeswaran

Director of Research at West Herts NHS, Respiratory Consultant, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Dr. Rama Vancheeswaran, Director of Research at West Herts NHS, Respiratory Consultant and General Physician is a highly experienced Physician practicing at both NHS and private hospitals in London and the wider Hertfordshire area and is an Honorary Consultant, Royal Brompton Hospital. 

Dr. Vancheeswaran specializes in Respiratory Medicine with sub-specialties in Interstitial Lung Disease, Complex Airways Disease, and Ventilation. She led the COVID programme at West Herts with numerous publications on COVID triage, severity, ventilation, COVID monoclonal delivery and COVID treatment pathways. She had previously been a member of the BTS COPD SAG and remains a contributor to the National COPD and Asthma audits. She currently teaches medical students at Brunel University. 

Dr. Vancheeswaran earned her initial medical qualifications in 1989 in Nigeria and then again in 1995 from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and further enhanced her expertise with a Master’s and PhD focused on the Immunopathogenesis of Scleroderma, she has received numerous awards for her innovative work in lung cancer and community health services, such as the NHS Innovations Award, HSJ award, and the BMJ Award twice in Cancer and Comprehensive COVID services (Barnets and West Herts Hospitals NHS).

Her notable contributions include leading the Integrated COPD service in Barnet, North London, which had been recognized for its low admission and mortality rates. She has also been instrumental in developing the North London Interstitial Lung Disease Pathway and setting up sleep services across Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals (Nursing In Practice 365). She has set up the ILD services in Barnet and now West Herts NHS teaching Trust. She has published widely across respiratory medicine and medical pathways. She remain a patron of the St Francis Hospice where she previously was a Trustee. 

Dr. Vancheeswaran’s passions include continued service improvement, education, research, patient centred holistic care and is highly recommended by her peers for her thoroughness and excellent patient care. She is praised for being knowledgeable, pragmatic, and approachable, qualities that make her a preferred specialist in her field. 

Dr Subo Emanuel

GP Partner, The Longcroft Clinic, GP Trainer, Health Education England working across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. GP tutor, St Georges Hospital

Subo Emanuel is a GP at The Longcroft Clinic, Banstead in Surrey. She has been a GP for over 26 years. She has been involved in anticoagulation for over 20 years and was instrumental in bringing anticoagulation into primary care from secondary care in Surrey and has also helped some other CCGs in southwest London and Sussex.

She has been involved in teaching anticoagulation for primary care for 20 years, including for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. She has been involved in the implementation of the DOAC LCS as well as AF Projects in the Locality including anticoagulating untreated non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients.

Currently, she is in the final year of her postgraduate doctorate study at Surrey University. Her key research interests are in DOAC management in atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease. She was awarded a Fellowship from the RCGP for her work in anticoagulation as well as ophthalmology in 2018.

She has a passion for medical education and is also a GP trainer with Health Education England working across Kent. Surrey and Sussex; as well as a GP tutor with St Georges Hospital.

Dr Sundhya Raman

PCCS Lifestyle Medicine Representative, BSc (hons) MBBS DPhil (Oxon) Dipl IBLM/BSLM

Dr Sundhya Raman is a medical doctor (Guys, Kings and St Thomas’s, 2007) with a BSc in Pharmacology & Physiology, a PhD (DPhil) in Genetics/Epigenetics is qualified in Lifestyle Medicine with the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine and the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

She began her career as a clinical scientist, and aside from her DPhil at Oxford she worked in labs around the world including at Yale, University of Sydney and at the Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, London.

Dr Raman is the founder and director of a lifestyle medicine health consultancy (My Wellness Doctor) which provides advice and support to educate and empower individuals to prevent illness, reverse disease, and optimise mental and physical wellbeing using evidence-based lifestyle modalities.

She has created a programme using lifestyle change to lower cholesterol in a primary care setting, and is the lead for virtual group consultations for diabetes at Plant Based Health Online.

Dr Raman regularly presents talks and teaching on lifestyle medicine and healthy ageing to both medical professionals (GP registrars, medical students, MIMs Learning Live, PCN training events) as well as to the lay public, including a focus on specific risks and solutions for BAME groups. She authored the diet section for JBS4 and co-authored the section on physical activity. She contributes to media publications on lifestyle advice to prevent chronic disease.

Heather Probert

President, BACPR

Heather is a Consultant Physiotherapist and is the Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation Lead at Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals, Part of Guys’ and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust.

She has over 20 years’ experience within the field of cardiac rehabilitation and has a wide range of expertise rehabilitating patients with more commonly seen cardiac issues to those with more complex problems such as patients with heart failure, implantable devices, ventricular assist devices, adult congenital heart disease and cardiac transplants.

Heather is currently BACPR President and sits on the ACPICR council as Education Officer. She completed her MSc in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation in 2018 and is about to commence a non-medical prescribing course.  She is actively involved in both BACPR and ACPICR activities and tutors for BACPR on both the Part 2 and Heart Failure Courses.

Helen Williams

National Clinical Director for CVD Prevention, NHSE and Consultant Pharmacist for CVD, SE London ICB and UCL Partners

Helen is the National Clinical Director for CVD Prevention at NHS England and is working on delivery of the national CVD ambitions for AF, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol in the NHS Long Term Plan. Helen has worked as a CVD specialist for more than 25 years across all care settings. She was clinical adviser to the national AF programme and developed the pharmacist-led virtual clinic model to optimise uptake of anticoagulation in AF, which has now been spread nationally. Helen has recently been appointed as one of the long term conditions lead for South East London Integrated Care System and is also working at UCLPartners on the implementation of proactive care frameworks for long-term conditions to support primary care in the post COVID-19 environment.

Laura Boyd

Director of Implementation

Laura is Director of Implementation and currently works on our Cardiovascular Health Programme. This encompasses the Proactive Care Frameworks which support the search and stratification of patients in primary care to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time. She is also working across the partnership to develop an ambitious strategy to prevent heart attacks, strokes and other serious illnesses. 

Prior to this, Laura was Deputy Director for the award-winning NHS Innovation Accelerator which supports innovators to spread evidence-based, high impact innovations across the NHS. 

Laura started her career at Cancer Research UK on its graduate management scheme, holding a variety of roles in fundraising, policy and strategy. She then moved to NHS England working on a variety of projects including on early diagnosis of cancer and tobacco control for a pan-London cancer programme, encompassing the piloting of early awareness cancer ‘pop up shops’ as well as pathway redesign to enable earlier diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 

Laura is passionate about ensuring equitable access to care and treatment for all. 

Prof Ahmet Fuat

Honorary Professor of Primary Care Cardiology, Durham University, GP Appraiser and GPSI Cardiology, County Durham

Professor Ahmet Fuat has recently retired as a GP in Darlington, Co.Durham after 37 years in the same practice and 41 years as a qualified doctor. He will continue to work as a GPSI Cardiology running a genetic lipid service for County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, and take up a role as Medical Director for OBEROI Consulting.

He has been a GPSI Cardiology for 26 years having undertaken a Postgraduate Diploma in Cardiology at Bradford University graduating with distinction. He started the first one stop diagnostic and integrated heart failure clinic in the UK in 2002 with local colleagues.

He has a PhD in research in heart failure diagnosis and management, which includes work on natriuretic peptides and has generated several publications that influenced guidelines and led to his recognition as an Honorary Professor at Durham University.

He holds various roles in CVD and research including the past President and past Education & Research lead for the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) which he was instrumental in reforming and GP Research Engagement lead for NENC CRN.

He has a passion for medical education and remains an active lecturer, tutor and researcher. He is a peer reviewer for most high impact Cardiovascular journals, BMJ, BJGP and research bodies. His work in community cardiology has been recognised with Fellowships from the RCGP, RCP London and RCP Edinburgh and the PCCS.

Prof Bola Owolabi

Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England (NHSE)

Professor Bola Owolabi (MRCGP, MFPH Hon, FRSPH) is Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England (NHSE). She also works as a GP in the Midlands.

Bola has particular interest in reducing healthcare inequalities through integrated care models, service transformation, and using data insights for quality improvement. She has spearheaded NHSE’s Core20PLUS5 approach to narrowing healthcare inequalities. This approach focuses support on the most deprived ‘Core 20’ percent of the population, ‘plus’ other underserved groups identified through local population health data (such as communities with minority ethnicity), and targets ‘5’ key clinical areas for priority improvement. Versions of the Core20PLUS5 approach are in place for both adults and children & young people.

Internationally, Bola was a member of the Danish Ambassador’s Tour De Health – a ten nation healthcare policy leaders’ summit. Additionally, she was the UK representative on the Commonwealth Fund / Academy Health Tour 2023, exploring equity in national health policy across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

She was previously National Speciality Advisor for Older People and Integrated Person-Centred Care at NHSE, where she led the Anticipatory Care workstream of the National Ageing Well Programme. She collaborated with teams across NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Covid-19 pandemic response.

Bola is an alumna of Ashridge Executive Education / Hult International Business School and holds a Masters degree with distinction in Leadership (Quality Improvement). She also received an NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership for Clinicians.

Bola is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham. She is also a Vice President of the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH).

Prof Derek Connolly

Consultant Cardiologist and Director of R&D at Birmingham City Hospital

Derek is a Consultant Cardiologist at Birmingham City Hospital, Birmingham UK and holds a honorary academic positions at both the University of Birmingham Institute of cardiovascular sciences and at Aston University medical School. Derek trained in Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and San Diego where he was a Carnegie Scholar. Derek has a first class degree in Pharmacology from the University of Edinburgh where he was the Brunton medallist and Keasbey Bursary holder. Derek’s PhD in molecular cardiology is from the University of Cambridge. Derek is the Chief or Primary Investigator of multiple large trials in Cardiovascular medicine. Derek developed one of the UKs first primary angioplasty programmes, and one of the UKs largest cardiac CT programmes. He has been a council member of the PCCS since it's refoundation.

Prof Julia Newton

Medical Director, Health Innovation North East North Cumbria

Julia became Medical Director of the Health Innovation Network North East North Cumbria in 2017. She graduated from Newcastle University Medical School in 1990 and since then has worked in a range of roles in the North East of England. She became a Consultant Physician with an interest in Geriatric Medicine in 2000, and Clinical Professor of Ageing & Medicine at Newcastle University in 2008.  

In 2023, the Health Innovation Networks in collaboration with the AAC launched the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme (InHIP).  Each ICB in England had the opportunity to bid for funds to support programmes of work that aimed at harnessing evidence based innovations to address health inequity.  In NENC, the focus was on Cardiovascular Disease and working with Communities in Middlesbrough a programme of work was developed which aims to understand using behavioural insights the challenges faced by Afro-caribbean, South Asian and white disadvantaged communities engaging with annual CVD checks.  Using this data, potential solutions were co-designed and co-delivered with the communities.   

Prof Vijay Kunadian

Professor of Interventional Cardiology

Professor Kunadian is a Professor of Interventional Cardiology holding a Personal Chair at Newcastle University and Honorary Academic Consultant Interventional Cardiologist Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Professor Kunadian has an international reputation in interventional cardiology and cardiovascular research, making her a sought-after and respected speaker at prominent national and international meetings. She has championed diversity in her specialty as a role model; only 5% of interventional cardiologist are female in the UK, <1% are clinical academics/researchers and only female interventional cardiologist holding a University Personal Chair.

She is the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society Research and Development Working Group lead and Council Member. She is Board Member of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions Executive Committee. She is e-learning lead of the European Society of Cardiology Education Committee. She is recipient of numerous awards including: Winner of the UK Times and the Sunday Times We Are The City Rising Star Award (Top 5 Women in Healthcare Category) for 2018.

In 2022 she was nominated for the BHF Heart Hero Research Engagement Award. She was a finalist for the 2023 Northern Power Women Awards- Disruptor for Good Category. She was voted Inspirational Woman in Newcastle University in 2023. She is UK Chief Investigator/Country Lead/National Co-ordinating investigator in numerous multicentre clinical trials.

She has published >200 peer reviewed publications in major journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, Nature Reviews, European Heart Journal, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Heart BMJ, JAMA Cardiology.