Saturday 21st June
Workshop Speakers and Chairs
Acupuncture in Integrative Oncology - European and Middle East Perspectives 9.30 - 10.30am, C1 workshop room
Dr. Konstantina Stylianou - Co-Chair
Dr. Konstantina Stylianou, DAOM, RNutr is a leading expert in integrative oncology and traditional Chinese medicine. She currently serves as the Director of the Integrative Medicine Department at the German Medical Institute in Limassol, Cyprus. Specialising in oncology-focused integrative and complementary therapies, she has extensive clinical, research, and academic experience. Dr. Stylianou has pioneered integrative approaches to cancer care, trained healthcare professionals, and contributed to global initiatives in the field. She is an active member of the Society for Integrative Oncology and a sought-after speaker on integrative medicine.
Dr Isabel Giralt Sampedro - Co-Chair
Born in 1956, Dr Isabel graduated with a medical degree from the University of Barcelona in 1981.
She began studying acupuncture in her third year of medical school, later continuing her studies in France and Great Britain, where she received certification with Dr. Radha Thambirajah in 1986. She also has certification in acupuncture by the Board of Physicians of Barcelona and a Master’s degree in Acupuncture from the University of Barcelona – Bosch I Gimpera Foundation.
In 1986 in Barcelona Dr Isabel founded the ENERGIMED acupuncture clinic, where she is currently the Medical Director with a team of five other acupuncture physicians. She has been the President of the Acupuncture Physicians Section of the Board of Physicians of Barcelona and is currently a member of the Board. Dr Isabel was a member of the Master’s Teaching Commission in Acupuncture for medical school graduates of the University of Barcelona–IL3 from 1996 to 2006.
From 2007 to 2009, she was President of the International Council of Medical Acupuncture, an association with over 15,000 acupuncture physicians worldwide. Dr Isabel was Past-President on the Council and Board Director of the Acupuncture Master’s Programme for medical school graduates and certified physiotherapists at the University of Lleida. She continues as editor of the “Revista Internacional de Acupuntura” for Elsevier Publishers.
Dr John Hughes - Speaker
Dr John Hughes is the Head of Research at the Royal London Hospital of Integrated Medicine, UCLH NHS Trust, and Associate Professor in Integrated Medicine with the University of West London. He is also the Head of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Integrative Medicine.
John leads an interdisciplinary programme of mixed methods research centred on patients’ experiences of chronic illness and the alleviation of symptoms using integrated medicine and self-management techniques. The programme of research has received over one million pounds in funding, and includes awards from the National Institute for Health Research and World Health Organization. The research has been disseminated in over 50 peer reviewed academic publications.
Dr Franco Cracolici - Speaker
Dr. Franco is a leading figure in the field of acupuncture and integrative medicine, holding multiple prestigious positions at national and international levels. He serves as the Vice-President of the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) and Vice-President of the Italian Federation of Acupuncture Societies (FISA).
He is the Director of the Integrative Oncology Medicine Department for Acupuncture Research in the Sud-Est Tuscany Region, where he also acts as the Guarantor of the Acupuncture Branch. Additionally, he is the Head of the Acupuncture Table at ARTOI (Foundation for Research in Integrative Therapies) and a Committee Member at ISPRO (Institute for the Study, Prevention, and Oncology Network).
Dr. Franco plays a key role in advancing research and education in acupuncture and traditional medicine. He is the President of the Italian Federation of Tuina and Qigong Schools (FISTQ) and the President of the Association of Acupuncturists of Tuscany (AMAT). He also directs the Traditional Acupuncture School of Florence and teaches in university master's programs across multiple institutions. As a responsible member of SIPNEI (Italian Society of Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunology) for Tuscany and a National Executive Member, Dr. Franco integrates a holistic approach to healthcare. With over 30 years of clinical experience, he has been actively practicing acupuncture in Florence, contributing to patient care, research, and education. He is also a prolific author, having published numerous articles and books on acupuncture and integrative medicine.
Dr. Yair Maimon - Speaker
Dr Yair Maimon, OMD, PhD, Ac, is an internationally renowned expert in Integrative and Chinese Medicine, with over 30 years of clinical, academic, and research experience in the United States, Europe, China, and Israel. He serves as the President of ETCMA the European TCM Association, representing TCM associations from 24 countries, and as the Vice President of WFAS the World Federation of Acupuncture .
Formerly, Dr Maimon directed the complementary medical unit at Tel Aviv Medical Center and founded an integrative oncology research center at Sheba Medical Center in Israel. He has published groundbreaking research in leading scientific journals, demonstrating promising results on the effects of herbal medicine in cancer care. He has been invited to present his findings at UNESCO and WHO meetings.
Dr Maimon is the founder and Dean of the TCM Academy of Integrative Medicine (TCM.AC) and has been a keynote speaker and instructor at numerous international conferences and post-graduate training seminars on Integrative and Chinese Medicine.
He recently co-authored the book TCM Oncology Insights with the late Giovanni Maciocia.
Practical Mistletoe Therapy in Solid Tumours - Learning from International Practice 11am - 12pm, C1 workshop room
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel - Chair and Speaker
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is an award winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. Dr Fuller-Shavel holds 4 Oxbridge degrees, including MB BChir (Medicine) and MA Hons Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and distinctions in MSc Precision Cancer Medicine and PG Dip Health Research from the University of Oxford. Dr Fuller-Shavel is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-chaired the BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology) over 2021-2023 and is the current Co-Chair of the BSIO Education Committee. Dr Fuller-Shavel is the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) Global Ambassador to the UK and the Co-Chair of the SIO Global Committee, actively contributing to several other SIO committees and special interest groups. Alongside her extensive scientific and medical training, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds multiple qualifications in nutrition, integrative medicine, health coaching, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yoga, mindfulness and other therapeutic approaches. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has also recently co-authored the book ‘Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care’ with Dr Penny Kechagioglou published by Springer in March 2024.
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is the founder and Director of Synthesis Clinic, an innovative multidisciplinary practice in Hampshire, specialising in women’s health, integrative pain care and integrative cancer care (integrative oncology) for children and adults. Alongside her clinical work, Dr Fuller-Shavel is a guest lecturer in integrative medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and delivers independent educational courses for medical and nutrition professionals, including her Systems Approach to Cancer Programme. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel participates in research in integrative oncology and precision health, is an expert integrative and supportive oncology abstract reviewer for international conferences and journals, and contributes to journal editorial boards (NMJ and IJIO) and guideline development panels nationally and internationally. Finally, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds two integrative oncology non-profit roles as the CEO of the UK NCIO (National Centre for Integrative Oncology) charity and the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, supporting access to services and best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology.
Dr Thomas Breitkreutz - Speaker
Dr Friedemann Schad - Speaker
Dr. Friedemann Schad is a distinguished specialist in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, dedicated to advancing cancer care. Since 2010, he has served as the Head of the Oncology Center at Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe in Berlin, Germany, where he has played a pivotal role in integrating innovative treatment approaches.
In addition to his leadership at the Oncology Center, Dr. Schad is actively involved in the management of the Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe and the Research Institute Havelhöhe, contributing to cutting-edge research initiatives. He is a member of Netzwerk Onkologie, where he collaborates to enhance oncology practices.
Furthermore, Dr. Schad participates in the Tumorzentrum Berlin and the Tumorzentrum gemeinnütziger & konfessioneller Krankenhäuser in Berlin e.V., promoting collaboration among healthcare professionals and implementing best practices in oncology. Committed to patient-centered care, he strives to provide the highest standard of treatment while contributing to the ongoing dialogue in cancer research.
Psycho-Spiritual Care from the Cross-Cultural Perspective 12pm - 1pm, C1 workshop room
Aga Kehinde - Chair and Speaker
Aga Kehinde is a Trauma Consultant, Cancer Nurse Specialist, and Health Empowerment Coach with over 23 years of experience in oncology, cancer education and research, trauma-informed care, and emotional well-being. She has developed transformative support models integrating trauma expertise, cancer care, psychology, and public health to address the holistic needs of individuals facing significant life challenges.
As Co-Chair of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, Aga is dedicated to advancing integrative cancer care, bridging conventional and holistic approaches to improve patient outcomes. In her role as Cancer Engagement Lead at the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, she works to enhance patient support services, ensuring that individuals receive comprehensive, person-centred care. Additionally, as a Health Coach at Synthesis Clinic, she supports patients and healthcare professionals in developing resilience, stress management strategies, and emotional recovery pathways.
Aga is deeply committed to empowering individuals through cancer coaching, trauma-informed interventions, and emotional well-being strategies. Her expertise in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming and integrative coaching enables her to provide personalised support for patients and professionals alike. She collaborates with organisations to implement trauma-informed, well-being-focused practices, fostering healthier workplaces and communities.
Passionate about systemic change, Aga advocates for integrative, community-driven approaches that enhance overall health and well-being. Her work continues to transform lives by bridging the gap between medical, emotional, and holistic care, ensuring that individuals facing cancer and other health challenges receive the support they need to thrive.
Dr Eran Ben-Arye - Speaker
Prof. Eran Ben-Arye has an MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Prof. Ben-Arye is on the faculty of the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, and since 2022 serves as the Chairman, Department of family Medicine, in the Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Ben-Arye is the founder and director of the Integrative Oncology Program at Lin, Carmel, and Zebulun Medical Centers, Haifa, Israel. He has been the chairperson of the Israel Society for Complementary Medicine of the Israel Medical Association. He is the Primary Researcher of the Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO) within the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and is an elected member of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Board of Trustees and serves as the SIO Regional Ambassador to Europe and the Middle-East.
His research interests include integrative and complementary medicine, family medicine, integrative oncology, medical education, doctor-patient communication, evidence-based medicine and research, and traditional and cross-cultural medicine. He has authored and co-authored 205 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals published in Pubmed/Medline and 9 chapters in oncology textbooks concerning integrative oncology, doctor-patient communication, sociology and nutrition.
Prof. Ben-Arye has constructed and co-conducted more than 20 clinical studies in the area of complementary and integrative medicine, including five randomised controlled studies. He is assigned as Associate Editor for Integrative Oncology in the BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care and as an Integrative Medicine section editor in Current Psychiatry Reports.
Dr Maryam Rassouli - Speaker
Dr Maryam Rassouli is a Full Professor at the School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman, and a former professor at the Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
She has supervised or co-advised over 150 PhD and Master’s theses since 2012. Her research contributions include being the corresponding author and co-author of more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journal. Most of these publications are in the field of palliative care, including psychological and spiritual aspects of cancer care, and development models and service packages for the provision of such services at national and regional levels.
Additionally, she serves as an associate editor for Seminars in Oncology Nursing and the International Journal of Cancer Management, and she is an editorial board member of several journals, including the Asia Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing.
Her administrative experience includes roles such as Director General of Nursing Services at the Iranian Ministry of Health & Medical Education (MoHME) and member of the National Nursing Educational Board. Since 2019, she has also been a temporary advisor in palliative care for EMRO WHO.
Supporting Resilience in Healthcare Professionals 2.30pm - 3.30pm, C1 workshop room
Dr Catherine Zollman - Chair
Dr. Catherine Zollman is Medical Lead at Penny Brohn UK, a charity which provides Integrative Support and Self-Management Education for people affected by cancer. She has facilitated many Penny Brohn retreats and group sessions for people affected by cancer. She is also an NHS GP, and has been an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Bristol, and Clinical Lead for Personalised Cancer Care and Support for the Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire NHS Cancer Alliance. She studied medical oncology before specialising in General Practice and completing a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine (University of Arizona). In 1999 she co-authored the British Medical Journal’s “ABC of Complementary Medicine” series.
She has been involved in teaching medical postgraduates and undergraduates since 2000, as a GP Training Course Organiser with the Severn Deanery, through supervising student placements in Integrative Oncology and has helped to develop and tutor on University of Bristol Medical School’s pioneering and award-winning Whole Person Care and Effective Consulting Courses.
She is a Council Member of the College of Medicine, is on the Executive Committee of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, and is Global Ambassador for the UK for the international Society of Integrative Oncology. She has helped to organise and chair several conferences including the College of Medicine’s Conference on Food: the Forgotten Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine; Your Life and Cancer 2020 and 2022; and the annual Integrative Oncology UK Conference which started in 2021.
She has been interested in psychospiritual care as part of whole person healthcare since her medical student days and this interest led to her joining the original Psychedelic Health Professionals Network retreat facilitation training cohort when it was set up in 2019. She has a particular interest in the way psychedelics can help our relationship with death and dying.
Dr Eran Ben-Arye - Speaker
Prof. Eran Ben-Arye has an MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Prof. Ben-Arye is on the faculty of the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, and since 2022 serves as the Chairman, Department of family Medicine, in the Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Ben-Arye is the founder and director of the Integrative Oncology Program at Lin, Carmel, and Zebulun Medical Centers, Haifa, Israel. He has been the chairperson of the Israel Society for Complementary Medicine of the Israel Medical Association. He is the Primary Researcher of the Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO) within the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and is an elected member of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Board of Trustees and serves as the SIO Regional Ambassador to Europe and the Middle-East.
His research interests include integrative and complementary medicine, family medicine, integrative oncology, medical education, doctor-patient communication, evidence-based medicine and research, and traditional and cross-cultural medicine. He has authored and co-authored 205 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals published in Pubmed/Medline and 9 chapters in oncology textbooks concerning integrative oncology, doctor-patient communication, sociology and nutrition.
Prof. Ben-Arye has constructed and co-conducted more than 20 clinical studies in the area of complementary and integrative medicine, including five randomised controlled studies. He is assigned as Associate Editor for Integrative Oncology in the BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care and as an Integrative Medicine section editor in Current Psychiatry Reports.
Dr Sameer Kassem - Speaker
Dr. Sameer Kassem is the head of the department of medicine, and consultant of endocrinology at Carmel Hospital, Haifa, Israel. Dr. Kassem obtained his MD/PhD degree from the Hadassah-Hebrew University in Jerusalem and completed internship and specialty training in Internal medicine and Endocrinology at Hadassah Medical Center. He also completed a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard University, USA.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Kassem co-led the hospital’s designated units introducing integrative medicine therapies for patients and hospital personnel with considerable success. Dr. Kassem’s main research interests include diabetes therapies and complications, the application of integrative medicine therapies for diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and the utilisation of integrative and complementary medicine in crises among patients and healthcare workers.
Dr. Kassem is a senior clinical lecturer and is actively engaged in training the next generation of physicians within Technion Israel Institute of Technology. His previous positions include medical director at Maccabi Health Services, the director of endocrinology laboratory in Hadassah hospital and Medical Director of Bait Balev Geriatric and Rehabilitation Medical Center.
Dr Jan Vagedes - Speaker
Dr Jan Vagedes is head of the department of Pediatrics at the Filderklinik. He is director ofthe ARCIM Institute (Academic Research in Complementary and Integrative Medicine), and is affiliated to the University of Tübingen. Dr. Jan Vagedes studied in Munich with study visits to Boston (USA), Johannesburg (South Africa) and Alicante (Spain). He received his MD degree from the Medical Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Medical School (Munich) and his MA degree (Magister Artium) in Philosophy from the High school for Philosophy (Munich).
He is a board member of the Medical Seminar Bad Bollquot and lectures worldwide on Integrative Medicine. One of his research interests is in the psycho-physiological effects of integrative therapies..
Connecting (T)issues - from Exercise Oncology to Scar Massage 2.30pm - 3.30pm, C2 workshop room
Beverley de Valois - Chair
Beverley de Valois PhD LicAc FBAcC MBLS is a practising acupuncturist in the UK and a distinguished researcher of acupuncture for the supportive care of people living with and beyond cancer. For over 25 years she has been a Researcher in Integrative Medicine in the Supportive Oncology Research Team (SORT) in the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust incorporating Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. She has conducted several pioneering studies into using acupuncture to manage the consequences of cancer treatments.
Beverley is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol; a Fellow of the British Acupuncture Council; a Council Member of the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO); and Past Chair of the British Lymphology Society (BLS) Scientific Committee.
She has many publications in scientific journals and is the lead author on “Acupuncture in Cancer Care: Recommendations for Safe Practice (peer-reviewed expert opinion)”. Beverley lectures internationally and is the author of “Acupuncture and Cancer Survivorship: Recovery, Renewal and Transformation” published by Singing Dragon. She has opened the first clinics in the UK to focus specifically on helping people to recover after cancer treatment.
Emma Holly - Speaker
Emma Holly is a leading specialist in Scar Therapy, providing education around the world for health and wellbeing professionals with a growing teaching team in the UK and internationally. Emma has been a speaker on scar therapy at UK and international conferences and symposiums including the international Scars2023 in Germany, Finnish Lymphoedema Association conference 2025, the Australasian Lymphology Symposium, New Zealand 2023 and Australia 2025, and presented on scar massage at the Association of Breast Surgery Conference 2024, UK. She has a clinical practice in Harley Street, London where she offers non-invasive scar therapy treatment for clients after injury, surgery and radiotherapy. Oncology scar treatments have always been at the heart of the Restore program, as this patient cohort often experience considerable issues linked to treatment, with symptoms that can be minimised with the Restore scar therapy approach.
Prof Stephanie Otto
Prof. Dr. biol. hum. Stephanie Otto is a Sports Scientist (M.Sc.) and Exercise Oncology Physiologist from the very beginning of exercise oncology in the early 1990s. After leading an exercise oncology group at a rehabilitation clinic, she was the head of an Exercise Oncology service at the Cancer Center North (UKSH). As a Senior Sports Scientist at the Department of Sports Medicine at Ulm University Hospital, she completed her PhD in Human Biology in 2015. She is currently Senior Scientist of the Department of Exercise Oncology at the Comprehensive Cancer Center Ulm (CCCU) at Ulm University Hospital and owns a visiting professorship at Universidad Fundación H.A. Barceló in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For more than 23 years she trains sports scientists in the field of exercise oncology at both national and international level. Dr. Otto has been researching the positive effects of sport and exercise in the context of cancer for more than 35 years and in prehabilitation for more than 13 years. She has published numerous nationally and internationally renowned scientific papers in this context. Her research strategy is quite different from the usual one, more precisely, she calls it bottom-up research rather than top down. This means that she transfers her therapeutic methods, which have proven successful in daily clinical work, into study concepts and then investigates them in larger scientific studies. For example a pilot study investigates the feasibility of a prehabilitation integrative day clinic for patients during neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery. Her actual research focuses on the link between fascia and cancer, especially on myofascial release and scar remodeling in bilateral mastectomised patients and also on the effects of fascial treatment on patients suffering from corticosteroid induced myopathy due to graft versus host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With the chapter “The Role of Fascia in Oncology” she contributed to the second edition of the book “Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body: The science and clinical applications in manual and movement therapy” (Editors: Schleip R, Stecco C, Driscoll M, Huijing P.A., Elsevier). She perceives great potential both in the pathophysiological mechanisms of tumor development and in the therapeutic potential of fascia treatments in relation to the side effects of tumor therapy.
Learning from Established Integrative Oncology Models Across Europe and the Middle East 4pm - 5.15pm, C1 workshop room
Dr John Hughes - Chair
Dr John Hughes is the Head of Research at the Royal London Hospital of Integrated Medicine, UCLH NHS Trust, and Associate Professor in Integrated Medicine with the University of West London. He is also the Head of the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Integrative Medicine.
John leads an interdisciplinary programme of mixed methods research centred on patients’ experiences of chronic illness and the alleviation of symptoms using integrated medicine and self-management techniques. The programme of research has received over one million pounds in funding, and includes awards from the National Institute for Health Research and World Health Organization. The research has been disseminated in over 50 peer reviewed academic publications.
Dr Eran Ben-Arye - Speaker
Prof. Eran Ben-Arye has an MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Prof. Ben-Arye is on the faculty of the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, and since 2022 serves as the Chairman, Department of family Medicine, in the Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Ben-Arye is the founder and director of the Integrative Oncology Program at Lin, Carmel, and Zebulun Medical Centers, Haifa, Israel. He has been the chairperson of the Israel Society for Complementary Medicine of the Israel Medical Association. He is the Primary Researcher of the Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO) within the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and is an elected member of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Board of Trustees and serves as the SIO Regional Ambassador to Europe and the Middle-East.
His research interests include integrative and complementary medicine, family medicine, integrative oncology, medical education, doctor-patient communication, evidence-based medicine and research, and traditional and cross-cultural medicine. He has authored and co-authored 205 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals published in Pubmed/Medline and 9 chapters in oncology textbooks concerning integrative oncology, doctor-patient communication, sociology and nutrition.
Prof. Ben-Arye has constructed and co-conducted more than 20 clinical studies in the area of complementary and integrative medicine, including five randomised controlled studies. He is assigned as Associate Editor for Integrative Oncology in the BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care and as an Integrative Medicine section editor in Current Psychiatry Reports.
Dr Thomas Breitkreutz - Speaker
Dr Elio Rossi - Speaker
Born in Alessandria, Italy, in 1954, Dr Rossi graduated in Medicine from the University of Milan in 1979 and specialised in Infectious Diseases in 1982. A pioneer in complementary and integrative medicine, he co-founded the Lycopodium group of Homeopathia Europea in 1979 and has been a Member of the Faculty of Homeopathy (MFHom) since 1991, receiving FFHom (Hon) recognition in 2018.
He has played a crucial role in advancing integrative medicine policies in Italy, serving on national commissions for non-conventional medicine and advising on legislation. Since 1998, he has led the Homeopathic Clinic in Tuscany and, since 2023, has been the Director of the Regional Centre for Integrative Medicine, overseeing 77 public complementary medicine clinics, including 19 offering integrative oncology services.
A respected academic and author, Elio has contributed extensively to international journals and co-authored several books on integrative oncology and complementary medicine. He has held leadership roles in major congresses, including the European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) and the World Congress of Integrative Medicine and Health. His expertise extends to international cooperation, advising UNOPS and the European Commission on complementary medicine in cancer care.
Elio continues to advance the integration of complementary therapies into mainstream healthcare, shaping policies and clinical practices that enhance patient-centered care.
Professor Alain Toledano - Speaker
Professor Alain Toledano, is a radiation oncologist and chairs the French Society of Integrative Oncology. President of the Rafaël Institute, Director of the Chair of Integrative Health at the CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers of Paris) and Medical Director of the Hartmann Cancer Institute, Former Head of the Paris Hospitals.
He chaired the French Society of Young Radiotherapy Oncologists.
Alain Toledano has developed high precision technologies in modern radiotherapy, helping to raise the Hartmann Center to be the world leader in radiosurgery. Co-founder of the clinical research unit and oncogenetics consultation, he is a teacher in many university degrees. Knight of the National Order of Merit, he is a involved in civil life as in associations, and has founded multiple associations such as the Association Esthetic & Cancer, Sport against Cancer, or the Franco- African Association of Oncology.
Dr Alain Toledano chairs the Rafaël Institute for Integrative health, which opened in December 2018, and rethinks rehabilitation against fragility and psychosocial disruption induced by cancer and chronic diseases.
Integrative Oncology - The Best of SIO Europe 2025 Submissions 4pm - 5.15pm - C2 workshop room
Dr Elizabeth Thompson - Co-Chair
Dr Elizabeth Thompson trained in Medicine at the University of Oxford and completed her training at Guy’s Hospital in London. Whilst training in Palliative Medicine to Consultant level, she also studied a range of integrative approaches including Medical Homeopathy. In 2000 she was appointed as an NHS Consultant and Homeopathic Physician and set up an Integrative Cancer Care service at the University Hospital Bristol, and then went on to be Lead Clinician for the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital. In 2014 she set up the National Centre for Integrative Medicine (NCIM) and stepped away from the NHS in 2019 to run NCIM full time.
Dr Elizabeth is a Council Member for the College of Medicine, British Society of Integrative Oncology, and the Faculty of Homeopathy. She has been past President for the European Congress for Integrative Medicine and the Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress.
Along with her Membership of the Royal College of Physicians, she also has a Doctor of Medicine Thesis from the University of Oxford, focusing on complex trial design and understanding placebo responses when investigating complementary approaches.
Dr Jan Vagedes - Co-Chair
Dr Jan Vagedes is head of the department of Pediatrics at the Filderklinik. He is director ofthe ARCIM Institute (Academic Research in Complementary and Integrative Medicine), and is affiliated to the University of Tübingen. Dr. Jan Vagedes studied in Munich with study visits to Boston (USA), Johannesburg (South Africa) and Alicante (Spain). He received his MD degree from the Medical Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Medical School (Munich) and his MA degree (Magister Artium) in Philosophy from the High school for Philosophy (Munich).
He is a board member of the & Medical Seminar Bad Bollquot and lectures worldwide on Integrative Medicine. One of his research interests is in the psycho-physiological effects of integrative therapies.
Sunday 22nd June
Workshop Speakers and Chairs
Paediatric Oncology and Integrative Care - Lived Experience Perspective 9am - 9.30am, C1 workshop room
Dr Amy Mitchell - Chair
Dr Amy Mitchell is a consultant paediatric and adolescent oncologist at Oxford Children’s Hospital and a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Oxford. She has extensive expertise in paediatric aftercare, survivorship, and holistic cancer care, leading integrative approaches to improve long-term outcomes for children and young people.
With over eight years of NHS consultant experience, Dr.Mitchell plays a key role in paediatric oncology across Thames Valley, leading on quality improvement, patient safety, and the development of personalised aftercare services. She is committed to embedding integrative approaches within paediatric oncology, encompassing exercise oncology, psycho-oncology, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine.
Dr. Mitchell recently completed a 2 year term as training advisor for the RCPCH Paediatric Oncology CSAC, where she contributed to national training strategy and mentorship for paediatric oncology trainees. She remains an active educator, leading postgraduate training and serving as an educational supervisor for paediatric oncology trainees. She holds a postgraduate diploma in clinical education and is passionate about developing future paediatric oncologists through high-quality training and mentorship.
A principal investigator for multiple paediatric oncology clinical trials across the range of solid tumours of childhood, including Neuroblastoma, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), Renal Tumours, and Rhabdomyosarcomas, Dr.Mitchell has a strong research background, holding a master’s in cancer cell biology. She is dedicated to advancing precision and integrative oncology through evidence-based practice and multidisciplinary collaboration.
She is a member of CCLG, SIOP Europe, Pancare, Q and the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO) as well as a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health. Passionate about improving quality of life for paediatric cancer survivors, she is currently focused on developing multidisciplinary, personalised aftercare models that integrate conventional and complementary approaches to support children beyond treatment.
Hayley Marriot - Speaker
Hayley is a Postgraduate Researcher from Oxford Brookes University working on the EU Horizon 2020 funded ‘FORTEe’ project. The goal of the research is to develop and investigate the effects of a personalised exercise programme, and digital health technologies for children and young people undergoing intensive cancer treatment. Alongside the research, Hayley is an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University teaching across various BSc modules, with a specific focus on adult and paediatric cancer rehabilitation.
Hayley has a strong passion for improving the lives of people affected by cancer through movement and strives to see exercise support better integrated within cancer care.
Paediatric Integrative Cancer Care Models - Evolution and Progress Across Europe 9.30am - 10.30am, C1 workshop room
Dr Georg Seifert - Chair and Speaker
Professor Dr. med. Georg Seifert is a distinguished senior physician specialising in paediatrics. He holds the prestigious position of Europe’s first professorship in integrative medicine in paediatrics at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
At Charité, Professor Seifert leads a groundbreaking project aimed at establishing a center dedicated to translating experiential traditional and integrative medicine (TCIM) into evidence-based practices supported by scientific data. This initiative seeks to broaden opportunities for individual health promotion, prevention, and therapy within society, with a particular emphasis on children and adolescents. His research interests span across various areas, including mind-body medicine, nutrition, and whole medical systems.
Professor Seifert’s work is driven by a deep commitment to exploring the intersection of TCIM with modern healthcare systems. He is passionate about harnessing the potential of TCIM to drive innovation and sustainability in healthcare delivery, aligning with the global strategy outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), where he serves as a TCIM expert.
Dr Amy Mitchell - Speaker
Dr Amy Mitchell is a consultant paediatric and adolescent oncologist at Oxford Children’s Hospital and a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Oxford. She has extensive expertise in paediatric aftercare, survivorship, and holistic cancer care, leading integrative approaches to improve long-term outcomes for children and young people.
With over eight years of NHS consultant experience, Dr.Mitchell plays a key role in paediatric oncology across Thames Valley, leading on quality improvement, patient safety, and the development of personalised aftercare services. She is committed to embedding integrative approaches within paediatric oncology, encompassing exercise oncology, psycho-oncology, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine.
Dr. Mitchell recently completed a 2 year term as training advisor for the RCPCH Paediatric Oncology CSAC, where she contributed to national training strategy and mentorship for paediatric oncology trainees. She remains an active educator, leading postgraduate training and serving as an educational supervisor for paediatric oncology trainees. She holds a postgraduate diploma in clinical education and is passionate about developing future paediatric oncologists through high-quality training and mentorship.
A principal investigator for multiple paediatric oncology clinical trials across the range of solid tumours of childhood, including Neuroblastoma, Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), Renal Tumours, and Rhabdomyosarcomas, Dr.Mitchell has a strong research background, holding a master’s in cancer cell biology. She is dedicated to advancing precision and integrative oncology through evidence-based practice and multidisciplinary collaboration.
She is a member of CCLG, SIOP Europe, Pancare, Q and the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO) as well as a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health. Passionate about improving quality of life for paediatric cancer survivors, she is currently focused on developing multidisciplinary, personalised aftercare models that integrate conventional and complementary approaches to support children beyond treatment.
Dr Ines von Rosenstiel - Speaker
Dr Ines is consultant in Paediatrics, Lifestyle Medicine and Integrative Medicine, at the Clinic of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and adult oncology Center, Rijnstate Teaching Hospital, Arnhem, in the Netherlands. She is a medical doctor at the University of Leiden Medical School , specialising in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Intensive Care at the University Academic Hospital in Amsterdam, and obtained additional degrees in Integrative Medicine and Integrative Oncology. Her primary fields of interest are childhood obesity, lifestyle medicine in paediatrics , CFS/ME and Post-Acute Inflammatory Syndrome (PAIS) and the broad field of Integrative Oncology.
Since 2018, she is one of the instigators and active members of the Dutch Integrative Medicine and Health consortium (www.CIZG.nl). During recent years, her predominant interest has been in the nationwide implementation and advocacy of Integrative Paediatrics and Integrative Oncology. Dr Ines teaches integrative medicine and lifestyle medicine in the undergraduate medical curriculum to students of other health care professions. She is engaged in dissemination activities, and a regular contributor to public debates and a podcaster and global keynote speaker whose mission is to empower patients to step into their strengths.
As a consultant in Integrative Oncology for the last eight years Dr Ines works with patients to develop personalised treatment plans, addressing not just the disease but also the emotional, physical, and nutritional well-being of the individual. By integrating evidence-based therapies such as nutrition, stress management, and supportive healing practices, she aims to enhance treatment outcomes and minimise side effects, empowering patients through their cancer journey.
The Power of Health Coaching in Supporting the Complexity of the Cancer Experience 9.30am - 10.30am, C2 workshop room
Aga Kehinde - Chair
Aga Kehinde is a Trauma Consultant, Cancer Nurse Specialist, and Health Empowerment Coach with over 23 years of experience in oncology, cancer education and research, trauma-informed care, and emotional well-being. She has developed transformative support models integrating trauma expertise, cancer care, psychology, and public health to address the holistic needs of individuals facing significant life challenges.
As Co-Chair of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, Aga is dedicated to advancing integrative cancer care, bridging conventional and holistic approaches to improve patient outcomes. In her role as Cancer Engagement Lead at the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, she works to enhance patient support services, ensuring that individuals receive comprehensive, person-centred care. Additionally, as a Health Coach at Synthesis Clinic, she supports patients and healthcare professionals in developing resilience, stress management strategies, and emotional recovery pathways.
Aga is deeply committed to empowering individuals through cancer coaching, trauma-informed interventions, and emotional well-being strategies. Her expertise in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming and integrative coaching enables her to provide personalised support for patients and professionals alike. She collaborates with organisations to implement trauma-informed, well-being-focused practices, fostering healthier workplaces and communities.
Passionate about systemic change, Aga advocates for integrative, community-driven approaches that enhance overall health and well-being. Her work continues to transform lives by bridging the gap between medical, emotional, and holistic care, ensuring that individuals facing cancer and other health challenges receive the support they need to thrive.
Julie Bach - Speaker
Dr Rosy Daniel - Speaker
Dr Rosy Daniel is an Integrative Medicine Consultant who has pioneered health coaching for people with cancer since 2003. As former Medical Director of the Bristol Cancer Help Centre (now Penny Brohn Cancer Care) until 2000, she researched the needs of people with cancer for support and self-management. One of the conclusions of the study was that people with cancer needed a Coach/Mentor to guide them through their illness and wellness journeys. In 2003 Rosy set up the Health Creation Academy, teaching motivational holistic health mentorship and consultancy. and has now gained UKIHCA approval for her Coaching Diploma course and also the CPD course that she runs to train coaches in specialist cancer coaching, and she offers a spiritual development programme for those working with the life-threatened and dying. Rosy has authored six books on cancer and its prevention, as well as the Cancer Lifeline Kit, a self-help pack for people with cancer. Dr Daniel sees people one to one in her own clinic. Her approach combines sensitive, compassionate warmth with highly personalised holistic medicine.
Izabella Natrins - Speaker
As a UKIHCA-Registered Health Coach, Izabella leads the UK & International Health Coaching Association (UKIHCA) with an integrative and whole-health perspective on the bio-psycho-emotional-social-spiritual-environmental influences that make up an individual’s unique lived experience. Formerly the Director of Professional Standards and Development at UKIHCA, Izabella was a founder member of the Wellness Coaching Initiative (part of the Global Wellness Institute), is a member of the British Society for Integrative Oncology (BSIO) and a founder member of the BISO’s Health Coaching Special Interest Group (SIG).
Bringing a portfolio of professional health knowledge and skills, together with strategic management, marketing and communications experience to the UKIHCA, Izabella drives its continued growth and development as the gold-standard, pioneering first and leading international professional body, advocating and campaigning for health coaching and championing professional health coaches across all sectors with an interest in improving out populations’ health.
With over 35 years’ experience in the health, wellness and executive management space, her roles have included: MRC Health Research Psychologist in Public Health Medicine at the University of Birmingham Medical School, NHS England & Department of Health Programmes Manager and Managing Director of a non-profit Management & Organisational Development Consultancy. Izabella is also a passionate champion for real food and is the author of THE REAL FOOD SOLUTION, a professionally qualified chef and proud graduate from the renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland.
Sara Spinks- Speaker
Sara, is a FMCA Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach (FMCHC), UKIHCA Registered Health Coach & BSIO Full Member, who is passionate about the power that lies within a personalised, integrative, lifestyle & behavioural approach to the cancer experience for optimal quality of life and outcomes. With 25 years international corporate marketing experience behind her, Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2018. Sara used an integrative approach (including Health Coaching) through her own treatment and for her own recovery, optimal health and future prevention. She then built on her lifelong holistic health experience in her own health management, to re-train in Holistic, Integrative & Functional Medicine Coaching & Mentoring and set-up her own company to deliver much needed support.
Following a Diploma in Health Creation Coaching & Mentorship with Dr. Rosy Daniel, Sara trained with the US-based FMCA as a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, and subsequently joined the UKIHCA to support the movement for Health Coaching as an adjuvant to standard of care, especially for cancer. Sara is a powerful advocate for patient autonomy and self-empowerment to find optimal possibility from the cancer experience via physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
International Grand Round in Paediatric Integrative Oncology - Case Presentation and Multidisciplinary Discussion 11am - 12pm, C1 workshop room
Dr Ines von Rosenstiel - Chair
Dr Ines is consultant in Paediatrics, Lifestyle Medicine and Integrative Medicine , Clinic of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and adult oncology Center, Rijnstate Teaching Hospital, Arnhem, the Netherlands. I am educated Medical Doctor at the University of Leiden Medical School , specialising in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Intensive Care at the University Academic Hospital in Amsterdam, and obtained additional degrees in Integrative medicine and Integrative oncology. Her primary fields of interest are childhood obesity, lifestyle medicine in paediatrics , CFS/ME and Post-Acute Inflammatory Syndrome (PAIS) and the broad field of integrative oncology.
Since 2018, she is one of the instigators and active member of the Dutch Integrative Medicine and Health consortium (www.CIZG.nl) During recent years, her predominant interest has been in the nationwide implementation and advocacy of Integrative Paediatrics and Integrative Oncology .Dr Ines teaches integrative medicine and lifestyle medicine in the undergraduate medical curriculum and students of other health care professions. She is engaged in dissemination activities, and a regular contributor to public debates and a podcaster and global keynote speaker whose mission is to empower patients to step into their strengths.
As a consultant in integrative oncology for the last eight years Dr Ines works with patients to develop personalised treatment plans, addressing not just the disease but also the emotional, physical, and nutritional well-being of the individual. By integrating evidence-based therapies such as nutrition, stress management, and supportive healing practices, she aims to enhance treatment outcomes and minimise side effects, empowering patients through their cancer journey.
Becki Drewett - Speaker
Becki graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2006 with a BSc (Hons) degree in Physiotherapy and later completed an MSc. She is registered with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, an HCPC member, and a member of ACPOP, APCP, BSIO and BNOS. She has trained at the prestigious Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in the USA on their paediatric programme. Becki is a highly experienced, skilled, and qualified physiotherapist, specialising in complex care, movement difficulties, and restorative therapeutic exercise across both paediatric and adult services.
She utilises a diverse range of evidence-informed therapeutic practices, focusing on whole-body rehabilitation, pain management, and physiotheraputic movement. Her approach empowers children, their families, young people, and adults to achieve their personal and specific physical goals. Her mission is to enable every individual she works with to manage the physical symptoms of living with cancer and those that persist into survivorship regain control of their health through movement that brings joy and allows them to strive for their best selves.
Lorna Giézot - Speaker
Lorna is an HCPC-registered art psychotherapist, artist, educator, researcher, and recipient of a Corinne Burton Memorial Trust scholarship. Alongside her work and research at Synthesis Clinic, UK, Lorna is the Corinne Burton Art Memorial Trust art therapist, and a researcher at the Oxford Children’s Hospital.
Lorna has worked in varied therapeutic roles for the last 20 years, helping people with emotional, psychological, physical, cultural, and spiritual difficulties through art, talking, creativity, and play. Engaging in a relationship with creativity can develop authentic self-awareness, understanding, and support transformation. This, along with a particular interest in ethics and art’s capacities to help both hold and help expression underpin the therapeutic processes Lorna works with.
Hayley Marriot - Speaker
Hayley is a Postgraduate Researcher from Oxford Brookes University working on the EU Horizon 2020 funded ‘FORTEe’ project. The goal of the research is to develop and investigate the effects of a personalised exercise programme, and digital health technologies for children and young people undergoing intensive cancer treatment. Alongside the research, Haley is an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University teaching across various BSc modules, with a specific focus on adult and paediatric cancer rehabilitation.
Hayley has a strong passion for improving the lives of people affected by cancer through movement and strive to see exercise support better integrated within cancer care.
Dr Georg Seifert - Speaker
Professor Dr. med. Georg Seifert is a distinguished senior physician specializing in paediatrics. He holds the prestigious position of Europe’s first professorship in integrative medicine in paediatrics at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, and serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
At Charité, Professor Seifert leads a groundbreaking project aimed at establishing a center dedicated to translating experiential traditional and integrative medicine (TCIM) into evidence-based practices supported by scientific data. This initiative seeks to broaden opportunities for individual health promotion, prevention, and therapy within society, with a particular emphasis on children and adolescents. His research interests span across various areas, including mind-body medicine, nutrition, and whole medical systems.
Professor Seifert’s work is driven by a deep commitment to exploring the intersection of TCIM with modern healthcare systems. He is passionate about harnessing the potential of TCIM to drive innovation and sustainability in healthcare delivery, aligning with the global strategy outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), where he serves as a TCIM expert.
Developing an Integrative Oncology Nursing Curriculum. Closed workshop (by invitation only) 11am - 12pm, C2 workshop room
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel - Co-Chair
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is an award winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. Dr Fuller-Shavel holds 4 Oxbridge degrees, including MB BChir (Medicine) and MA Hons Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and distinctions in MSc Precision Cancer Medicine and PG Dip Health Research from the University of Oxford. Dr Fuller-Shavel is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-chaired the BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology) over 2021-2023 and is the current Co-Chair of the BSIO Education Committee. Dr Fuller-Shavel is the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) Global Ambassador to the UK and the Co-Chair of the SIO Global Committee, actively contributing to several other SIO committees and special interest groups. Alongside her extensive scientific and medical training, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds multiple qualifications in nutrition, integrative medicine, health coaching, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yoga, mindfulness and other therapeutic approaches. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has also recently co-authored the book ‘Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care’ with Dr Penny Kechagioglou published by Springer in March 2024.
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is the founder and Director of Synthesis Clinic, an innovative multidisciplinary practice in Hampshire, specialising in women’s health, integrative pain care and integrative cancer care (integrative oncology) for children and adults. Alongside her clinical work, Dr Fuller-Shavel is a guest lecturer in integrative medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and delivers independent educational courses for medical and nutrition professionals, including her Systems Approach to Cancer Programme. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel participates in research in integrative oncology and precision health, is an expert integrative and supportive oncology abstract reviewer for international conferences and journals, and contributes to journal editorial boards (NMJ and IJIO) and guideline development panels nationally and internationally. Finally, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds two integrative oncology non-profit roles as the CEO of the UK NCIO (National Centre for Integrative Oncology) charity and the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, supporting access to services and best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology.
Aga Kehinde - Co-Chair
Aga Kehinde is a Trauma Consultant, Cancer Nurse Specialist, and Health Empowerment Coach with over 23 years of experience in oncology, cancer education and research, trauma-informed care, and emotional well-being. She has developed transformative support models integrating trauma expertise, cancer care, psychology, and public health to address the holistic needs of individuals facing significant life challenges.
As Co-Chair of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, Aga is dedicated to advancing integrative cancer care, bridging conventional and holistic approaches to improve patient outcomes. In her role as Cancer Engagement Lead at the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, she works to enhance patient support services, ensuring that individuals receive comprehensive, person-centred care. Additionally, as a Health Coach at Synthesis Clinic, she supports patients and healthcare professionals in developing resilience, stress management strategies, and emotional recovery pathways.
Aga is deeply committed to empowering individuals through cancer coaching, trauma-informed interventions, and emotional well-being strategies. Her expertise in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming and integrative coaching enables her to provide personalised support for patients and professionals alike. She collaborates with organisations to implement trauma-informed, well-being-focused practices, fostering healthier workplaces and communities.
Passionate about systemic change, Aga advocates for integrative, community-driven approaches that enhance overall health and well-being. Her work continues to transform lives by bridging the gap between medical, emotional, and holistic care, ensuring that individuals facing cancer and other health challenges receive the support they need to thrive.
Dr Maryam Rassouli - Co-Chair
Dr Maryam Rassouli is a Full Professor at the School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman, and a former professor at Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
She has supervised or co-advised over 150 PhD and Master’s theses since 2012. Her research contributions include being the corresponding author and co-author of more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journal. Most of these publications are in the field of palliative care, including psychological and spiritual aspects of cancer care, and development models and service packages for the provision of such services at national and regional levels.
Additionally, she serves as an associate editor for Seminars in Oncology Nursing and the International Journal of Cancer Management, and she is an editorial board member of several journals, including the Asia Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing.
Her administrative experience includes roles such as Director General of Nursing Services at the Iranian Ministry of Health & Medical Education (MoHME) and member of the National Nursing Educational Board. Since 2019, she has also been a temporary advisor in palliative care for EMRO WHO.
Orly Yom-Tov Golan - Speaker
Orly Yom Tov-Golan is an experienced nurse leader and health systems executive specialising in integrative and palliative care. She currently heads Israel’s largest hospice at Sheba Medical Center, where she leads a multidisciplinary team and has championed the integration of complementary therapies into end-of-life care.
With over 18 years of leadership in clinical, community, and home care settings, Orly has held key roles including Head of the Tal Center for Integrative Oncology and senior management positions at Maccabi Health Services. She is a certified practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture and anthroposophical rhythmic massage, blending evidence-based approaches with holistic care.
Orly holds a Master’s in Health Systems Management from Ben Gurion University and a BA in Nursing with honours from Tel Aviv University. She is a passionate advocate for person-centered care and regularly presents her work at national and international conferences.
Supporting Carers and Families in Adult and Paediatric Integrative Oncology 12pm - 1pm, C1 workshop room
Dr Miranda Dierselhuis - Chair and speaker
Lea Glade - Speaker
Lea is a registered paediatric nurse with a specialisation in children's haematology and oncology. Since her graduation, she has been dedicated to supporting young patients and their families with her passion and expertise, and have more recently focused my work on survivorship. Lea’s years of experience in caring for young patients have provided her with a compassionate understanding of the emotional, physical and social complexities of a cancer diagnosis and its treatment, through to life after cancer.
Lea deeply values the importance of holistic and individualised care. Driven by personal circumstances, she developed a strong interest for an integrative approach and truly believes that effective care has to address the various elements that impact our wellbeing.
Dr Ines von Rosenstiel - Speaker
Dr Ines is consultant in Paediatrics, Lifestyle medicine and Integrative Medicine , Clinic of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and adult oncology Center, Rijnstate Teaching Hospital, Arnhem, the Netherlands. I am educated Medical Doctor at the University of Leiden Medical School , specializing in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Intensive Care at the University Academic Hospital in Amsterdam, and obtained additional degrees in Integrative medicine and Integrative oncology. Her primary fields of interest are childhood obesity, lifestyle medicine in pediatrics , CFS/ME and Post-Acute Inflammatory Syndrome (PAIS) and the broad field of integrative oncology.
Since 2018, she is one of the instigators and active member of the Dutch Integrative Medicine and Health consortium (www.CIZG.nl) During recent years, her predominant interest has been in the nationwide implementation and advocacy of integrative pediatrics and integrative oncology .Dr Ines teaches integrative medicine and lifestyle medicine in the undergraduate medical curriculum and students of other health care professions. She is engaged in dissemination activities, and a regular contributor to public debates and a podcaster and global keynote speaker whose mission is to empower patients to step into their strengths.
As a consultant in integrative oncology for the last eight years Dr Ines works with patients to develop personalized treatment plans, addressing not just the disease but also the emotional, physical, and nutritional well-being of the individual. By integrating evidence-based therapies such as nutrition, stress management, and supportive healing practices, she aims to enhance treatment outcomes and minimize side effects, empowering patients through their cancer journey.
Dr. Catherine Zollman - Speaker
Dr. Catherine Zollman is Medical Lead at Penny Brohn UK, a charity which in provides Integrative Support and Self-Management Education for people affected by cancer. She has facilitated many Penny Brohn retreats and group sessions for people affected by cancer. She is also an NHS GP, and has been an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Bristol, and Clinical Lead for Personalised Cancer Care and Support for the Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire NHS Cancer Alliance. She studied medical oncology before specialising in General Practice and completing a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine (University of Arizona). In 1999 she co-authored the British Medical Journal’s “ABC of Complementary Medicine” series.
She has been involved in teaching medical postgraduates and undergraduates since 2000, as a GP Training Course Organiser with the Severn Deanery, through supervising student placements in Integrative Oncology and has helped to develop and tutor on University of Bristol Medical School’s pioneering and award-winning Whole Person Care and Effective Consulting Courses.
She is a Council Member of the College of Medicine, is on the Executive Committee of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, and is Global Ambassador for the UK for the international Society of Integrative Oncology. She has helped to organise and chair several conferences including the College of Medicine’s Conference on Food: the Forgotten Medicine at the Royal Society of Medicine; Your Life and Cancer 2020 and 2022; and the annual Integrative Oncology UK Conference which started in 2021.
She has been interested in psychospiritual care as part of whole person healthcare since her medical student days and this interest led to her joining the original Psychedelic Health Professionals Network retreat facilitation training cohort when it was set up in 2019. She has a particular interest in the way psychedelics can help our relationship with death and dying.
Orly Yom-Tov Golan - Speaker
Orly Yom Tov-Golan is an experienced nurse leader and health systems executive specializing in integrative and palliative care. She currently heads Israel’s largest hospice at Sheba Medical Center, where she leads a multidisciplinary team and has championed the integration of complementary therapies into end-of-life care.
With over 18 years of leadership in clinical, community, and home care settings, Orly has held key roles including Head of the Tal Center for Integrative Oncology and senior management positions at Maccabi Health Services. She is a certified practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture and anthroposophical rhythmic massage, blending evidence-based approaches with holistic care.
Orly holds a Master’s in Health Systems Management from Ben Gurion University and a BA in Nursing with honours from Tel Aviv University. She is a passionate advocate for person-centered care and regularly presents her work at national and international conferences.
Developing and Implementing Postgraduate IO Education for Multidisciplinary Teams in Europe 12pm - 1pm, C2 workshop room
Dr Eran Ben-Arye - Co-Chair
Prof. Eran Ben-Arye has an MD degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Prof. Ben-Arye is on the faculty of the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, The Technion, and since 2022 serves as the Chairman, Department of family Medicine, in the Faculty of Medicine.
Prof. Ben-Arye is the founder and director of the Integrative Oncology Program at Lin, Carmel, and Zebulun Medical Centers, Haifa, Israel. He has been the chairperson of the Israel Society for Complementary Medicine of the Israel Medical Association. He is the Primary Researcher of the Middle East Research Group in Integrative Oncology (MERGIO) within the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC) and is an elected member of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Board of Trustees and serves as the SIO Regional Ambassador to Europe and the Middle-East.
His research interests include integrative and complementary medicine, family medicine, integrative oncology, medical education, doctor-patient communication, evidence-based medicine and research, and traditional and cross-cultural medicine. He has authored and co-authored 205 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals published in Pubmed/Medline and 9 chapters in oncology textbooks concerning integrative oncology, doctor-patient communication, sociology and nutrition.
Prof. Ben-Arye has constructed and co-conducted more than 20 clinical studies in the area of complementary and integrative medicine, including five randomized controlled studies. He is assigned as Associate Editor for Integrative Oncology in the BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care and as an Integrative Medicine section editor in Current Psychiatry Reports.
Dr Massimo Bonucci - Co-Chair
Dr Massimo Bonucci, has M.D. degree from University of Pisa. He is oncologist and surgical pathologist in Italy. He introduced and developed integrative medicine in cancer care in Italy. Medical Oncologist works as Director Integrative Oncologist at Villa Benedetta, Nuova Villa Claudia, and Villa Anna Maria Hospitals inRome. Director to project “Integrative Oncology” at S. Andrea University Hospital in Rome. Founder and President of Foundation ARTOI (Association Research Integrative Oncology Therapy), a non-profit organization, the first in Italy to explain and develop Integrative medicine in cancer. He is the Director of Oncological Sciences Department Humanitas Consortium University in Rome. Director for the Master in Integrative Oncology of postgraduate program. Co-Director Master in Integrative Oncology at Sapienza University. Member of the International Exchange Commission Order of Physicians of Rome. Member of International Clinical Hyperthermia Society – Italian Network and Committee of SIIO (Italian Society Oncological Hyperthermia.
He is Visiting Professor at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in Hongzhou, China. Member of SIO, Past- Co-chair of SIO Global Committee and now Ambassador in Italy. Member of Surgical Pathology ORCHIDEA Lab. in Rome. He is a member of IAP (International Academy of Pathology- Italian Division) and focused his work on breast cancer, brain cancer and pancreatic cancer.
BSIO WORKSHOP 2pm - 5pm, C1 workshop room
Aga Kehinde - Chair
Aga Kehinde is a Trauma Consultant, Cancer Nurse Specialist, and Health Empowerment Coach with over 23 years of experience in oncology, cancer education and research, trauma-informed care, and emotional well-being. She has developed transformative support models integrating trauma expertise, cancer care, psychology, and public health to address the holistic needs of individuals facing significant life challenges.
As Co-Chair of the British Society of Integrative Oncology, Aga is dedicated to advancing integrative cancer care, bridging conventional and holistic approaches to improve patient outcomes. In her role as Cancer Engagement Lead at the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre, she works to enhance patient support services, ensuring that individuals receive comprehensive, person-centred care. Additionally, as a Health Coach at Synthesis Clinic, she supports patients and healthcare professionals in developing resilience, stress management strategies, and emotional recovery pathways.
Aga is deeply committed to empowering individuals through cancer coaching, trauma-informed interventions, and emotional well-being strategies. Her expertise in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming and integrative coaching enables her to provide personalised support for patients and professionals alike. She collaborates with organisations to implement trauma-informed, well-being-focused practices, fostering healthier workplaces and communities.
Passionate about systemic change, Aga advocates for integrative, community-driven approaches that enhance overall health and well-being. Her work continues to transform lives by bridging the gap between medical, emotional, and holistic care, ensuring that individuals facing cancer and other health challenges receive the support they need to thrive.
Integrative Oncology in Perioperative and Neoadjuvant Therapy Optimisation 2pm - 3.30pm, C2 workshop room
Dr Tasha Gandamihardja - Chair
Dr. Tasha Gandamihardja is a consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon and a passionate health educator. She graduated medicine at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (University College London). Subsequently, she underwent rigorous surgical training at prominent London teaching hospitals, including the Royal London Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital, and St Mary’s Hospital, where she honed her skills.
Driven by a commitment to excellence, Dr. Gandamihardja pursued specialist training, including a highly competitive Oncoplastic Fellowship in Glasgow, which provided her with expertise in oncoplastic and reconstructive surgical techniques. She was also a visiting surgeon at the prestigious Paris Breast Institute, where she gained valuable insights into innovative approaches to breast cancer treatment.
Dr. Gandamihardja's commitment to advancing medical knowledge extends beyond the operating room. She pursued a PhD from University College London (UCL), focusing on the molecular biology of cancer, and her tenure as a research fellow at the University of Southern California (USC) have deepened her understanding of cancer biology and treatment modalities.
Passionate about sharing her knowledge and expertise, Dr. Gandamihardja is actively involved in teaching and mentorship, holding a Masters in Surgical Education (MEd) from Imperial College London. She is committed to nurturing the next generation of medical professionals.
Dr. Gandamihardja's innovative approach to health education extends beyond the clinic walls. Through her popular YouTube channel "Dr. Tasha" and engaging podcast "My Breast My Health," she disseminates accurate information on breast health, treatment options and life style modifications that impact cancer risk. She also utilises social media platforms to foster dialogue and provide valuable resources to a wide audience.
Through her dedication to patient care, education, and research, Dr. Tasha Gandamihardja continues to impact the lives of those affected by breast cancer, empowering individuals to take control of their health and navigate life beyond a cancer diagnosis.
Dr Emma Davies - Speaker
Dr Emma Davies is an accomplished healthcare professional with an extensive 10-year tenure as a doctor within the NHS and worked within the field of surgical oncology over the last 5 years.
Dr Davies trained at King's College London, where she earned her undergraduate degree in medicine (MBBS) and she pursued an intercalated BSc in human nutrition (iBSc), which deepened her understanding of the impact of nutrition on overall health.
In 2018 she qualified as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and has solidified her knowledge in surgical oncology over the last 5 years where she was a Research Fellow at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research. During this time, she worked both as a surgical registrar in the hospital and a clinical research fellow in the laboratory. She has made significant research contributions, publishing her findings in renowned peer-reviewed journals, served as the first author for a textbook chapter and has presented her research internationally. She was also awarded a competitive Research Fellowship by the Royal College of Surgeons which enabled her to undertake an innovative research project, co-running a phase I/II clinical trial in surgical oncology involving translational research.
Dr Sameer Kassem - Speaker
Dr. Sameer Kassem is the head of the department of medicine and consultant of endocrinology at Carmel Hospital, Haifa, Israel. Dr. Kassem obtained his MD/PhD degree from the Hadassah-Hebrew University in Jerusalem and completed internship and specialty training in Internal medicine and Endocrinology at Hadassah Medical Center and completed a master’s degree in public administration at Harvard University, USA.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Kassem co-led the hospital’s designated units introducing integrative medicine therapies for patients and hospital personnel with considerable success. Dr. Kassem’s main research interests include diabetes therapies and complications, the application of integrative medicine therapies for diabetes and the metabolic syndrome and the utilization of integrative and complementary medicine in crises among patients and healthcare workers.
Dr. Kassem is a senior clinical lecturer and is actively engaged in training the next generation of physicians within Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. Among his previous positions: medical director at Maccabi Health Services, the director of endocrinology laboratory in Hadassah hospital and Medical Director ofBait Balev Geriatric and Rehabilitation Medical center.
Prof Stephanie Otto - to be confirmed
Prof. Dr. biol. hum. Stephanie Otto is a Sports Scientist (M.Sc.) and Exercise Oncology Physiologist from the very beginning of exercise oncology in the early 1990s. After leading an exercise oncology group at a rehabilitation clinic, she was the head of Exercise Oncology service at the Cancer Center North (UKSH). As a Senior Sports Scientist at the Department of Sports Medicine at Ulm University Hospital, she completed her PhD in Human Biology in 2015. She is currently Senior Scientist of the Department of Exercise Oncology at the Comprehensive Cancer Center Ulm (CCCU) at Ulm University Hospital and owns a visiting professorship at Universidad Fundación H.A. Barceló in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Since more than 23 years she trains sports scientists in the field of exercise oncology at both, national and international level. Dr. Otto has been researching the positive effects of sport and exercise in the context of cancer for more than 35 years and in prehabilitation since more than 13 years. She has published numerous nationally and internationally renowned scientific papers in this context. Her research strategy is quite different from the usual one, more precisely, she calls it bottom-up research rather than top down. This means that she transfers her therapeutic methods, which have proven successful in daily clinical work, into study concepts and then investigates them in larger scientific studies. For example a pilot study investigates the feasibility of a prehabilitation integrative day clinic for patients during neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery. Her actual research focuses on the link between fascia and cancer, especially on myofascial release and scar remodeling in bilateral mastectomized patients and also on the effects of fascial treatment on patients suffering from corticosteroid induced myopathy due to graft versus host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With the chapter “The Role of Fascia in Oncology” she contributed to the second edition of the book “Fascia: The Tensional Network of the Human Body: The science and clinical applications in manual and movement therapy (Editors: Schleip R, Stecco C, Driscoll M, Huijing P.A., Elsevier). She perceives great potential both in the pathophysiological mechanisms of tumor development and in the therapeutic potential of fascia treatments in relation to the side effects of tumor therapy.
Integrative Pain Care in Cancer Support 4pm - 4.30pm, C2 workshop room
Professor Deepak Ravindran - Chair
Professor Deepak Ravindran has over 20 years of experience in Pain Management and has worked in the NHS at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, UK as well with the Berkshire Community Pain service IPASS. He is one of the very few consultants in the UK who holds qualifications in musculoskeletal, pain medicine and lifestyle medicine. He has trained in premier tertiary institutes in India before undergoing higher training in Oxford and a pain fellowship from London. He lectures nationally and internationally on issues in Long Covid, Integrative Pain Medicine and trauma-informed practice. Dr Deepak is a senior visiting fellow at the University of Reading and a Honorary Professor at Teesside University.
Dr Ravindran is the author of the Amazon Best Seller “The Pain Free Mindset”. This book helps in understanding all the recent advances around pain management in a trauma informed integrative manner. He brings that integrative holistic approach to the bedside in caring and providing a personalised plan for his patients. He realised that going upstream and looking for underlying causes of illness and root causes is the medicine for the 21st century and now co-leads the Integrative Pain Care Team at Synthesis Clinic alongside Director, Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel, offering comprehensive programmes for patients impacted by chronic pain, including chronic joint and back pain, neuropathic pain and cancer-related pain, and other conditions, from long COVID to fibromyalgia.