Speaker biographies
Aneesa Patel
Aneesa Patel is a final year medical student at the University of Edinburgh. She carried out her intercalated degree in Health Sciences and has a keen interest in medical education improvement and inclusion.
Professor Joanne Harris
Professor Joanne Harris is a medical educator and sessional GP. She is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Buckingham. She is completing a professional Doctorate in Education (EdD) at the Institute of Education, UCL. Her research interests lie in professionalism and assessment, with her thesis exploring the effect of culture on professional identity formation of medical students.
Twitter handle: @jovicharris1
Dr Danial Naqvi
Dr Danial Naqvi is an academic FY2 doctor currently on his academic rotation at UCLH and Barts, London. He did my training at Imperial College London. As a son of South Asian immigrants, he was born in Ireland and has moved over 10 times in the UK, before finally settling in Essex. He hopes to go into internal medicine and cardiology and have a strong interest in breaking down barriers in healthcare.
Dr Timothy Venkatesan
Dr Timothy Venkatesan is an academic FY2 doctor currently working in A&E at ULCH, London, having trained in Cambridge. He is originally from Nottingham, and of mixed-race heritage (White Asian). He is interested in Infectious diseases, Paediatrics and Global health, fostered during my elective in rural Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
Linnet Mensuoh
Linnet Mensuoh BSc is a final year graduate entry medical student and the current Cardiff MedSoc President. She is passionate about curating a vision for accessible and equitable healthcare through education and innovation. She has a variety of interests including health economics, global health and policy making.
Dr Paul Brennan
Dr Paul Brennan SFHEA works at Cardiff University School of Medicine where he has a leadership role in equality, diversity and inclusion. Paul works with students and staff to build an inclusive environment for learning together. Paul has developed in-person and online training and assessments for EDI.
Twitter handle: @brennanpcardiff
Ayra Ahmad
Ayra Ahmad is a student at Dyce Academy in Scotland who hopes to pursue a career in medicine. Today, she will be presenting her poem “Of Colours and Cures,” which aligns with our theme of Promoting Anti-Racist Practice in Medicine.
Karina Chopra
Karina Chopra is a junior doctor in the west of Scotland and was previously a student at the university of Aberdeen. She has a strong interest in social justice and planetary health.
Michael Cole
Michael Cole is a Senior Lecturer, National Teaching Fellow and part-time PhD student researching Postcolonial Whiteness in Healthcare Education. Michael has previously worked in elite Sports Medicine teams, and remains a clinically active Sports & Exercise Therapist and Clinical Director in private practice. Michael’s special interests are anti-racist pedagogy, and exercise rehabilitation.
Twitter handle: @Cole_Therapy_Ed
Rema Khatun
As a qualified Coach and Mentor (CMI Level 7) Rema has a plethora of experience in providing student advice and guidance and is familiar with the challenges university students face. With over 5 years’ experience in the Higher Education sector, Rema has been dedicated to helping students overcome these challenges by implementing the relevant support measures.
Alyssia MacAlister
Alyssia MacAlister is a first year Midwifery student at the University of Brighton, with interests in breastfeeding and birth environment. Alyssia also has an MA Creative Writing from Durham University, focusing on traumatic experiences and poetry.
Twitter handle: @AlyssiaMacAlis1
Dr Maisha Reza
Dr Reza is a lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and the Race Equality Resource Officer at the College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter. In her academic leadership journey, she has garnered a well-rounded expertise in leading BAME networks, advising strategies and writing policies for academic programmes aligned with equality, diversity and inclusion to facilitate BAME student retention, progression and sense of belonging. Outside academia, she remains stalwart in her advocacy for youth rights and participation in decision-making.
Twitter handle:@maisha_reza
Zeynab Caba
Zeynab is currently studying a masters in Health Policy in London. She has developed a passion and a deep interest in public health and health data science over the course of her educational career. Her interests are in global health, health inequalities, environmental health and social justice.
Twitter handle: @itszeynab_
Marisha Wickremsinhe
Marisha Wickremsinhe (she/her) is a current doctoral student with the Ethox Centre and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities at the University of Oxford. Marisha’s research interests include mental health ethics and research ethics.
Dr Wajeeha Aziz
Wajeeha Aziz is lecturer in medical eductaion and course lead for Postgraduate certificate "Diabetes in Primary care". She has expertise in research and teaching across life sciences with special interest in medical education and pedagogy.She is inclusivity team representative for PGT courses working alongside colleagues to ensure BSMS is "Place for all."
Ceri Butler
Ceri Butler is a specialist in health services research and medical education. She has experitise in undertaking research into complex interventions and in the design and delivering of Masters level programmes in blended and distance learning envionments to UK and international health professionals. She is currently working alongside colleagues to make PGT courses more inclusive and accessible for all.
Twitter handle: @butlerceri
Dr Paul Wilkinson
Dr Paul Wilkinson has been Clinical Dean at the University of Cambridge since January 2021. Paul is passionate about teaching doctors the importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Paul is a reader and consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry and researches the epidemiology and treatment of self-harm and depression
Twitter handle:@PaulWilkinson52
Dr Mark Lillicrap
Dr Mark Lillicrap has been curriculum sub-dean at the University of Cambridge since 2004 and is a consultant rheumatologist. As sub-dean he chairs the School’s Racism in Medical Education Curriculum working group and has been working with all the theme and speciality leads to address racism across the curriculum.
Athena Ham
Athena Ham is a third year medical student, doing an intercalation in Law at the University of Cambridge. She is the President of the University of Cambridge Medical Society and the student lead for the Racism in Medical Education Working Group. Athena has a strong interest in genetics, medical law and provision of healthcare.
Twitter handle:@athenaham_