Sarah McNab is a general paediatrician and the Director of General Medicine at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She holds honorary appointments with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (where she completed a Clinician Scientist Fellowship) and The University of Melbourne. Sarah’s PhD research compared intravenous fluids in children and helped lead international practice change. She subsequently founded CIRCAN (Children’s Inpatient Research Collaboration of Australia and New Zealand), a 42-hospital network conducting multicentre clinical trials to improve general paediatric inpatient care and outcomes.
Outside of the hospital and research world, Sarah also manages the joyful chaos of being the mum of three boys.
Dennis Ren is a pediatric emergency medicine attending at Children’s National Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. He completed both his pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine training at Children’s National Hospital. He received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA and his undergraduate degree from The University of California in Berkeley.
He is a Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) enthusiast and hosts a monthly critical appraisal podcast, SGEM Peds, in collaboration with The Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine and Ready. Prep. Go!, the podcast from the Pediatric Pandemic Network. He is passionate about exploring creative methods of science communication, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge translation.
Dani (she/her) is a Paediatric Emergency Medicine consultant & Director of Simulation at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), a member of the DFTB executive team, and a senior clinical lecturer on the Queen Mary University of London and DFTB PEM MSc. She led on the rollout of the Rainbow Badge in CHI and is passionate about advocating for children and young people in healthcare settings. She’s mother to two good‑hearted and spirited adolescents who bring plenty of heart (and a dash of teenage attitude), and wife of a proud Corkman who brings strong opinions, good humour, and excellent perspective. She loves good coffee, a good story, and surrounding herself with friends and family.
Damon Shorter is an Australian Senior Staff Specialist Paediatrician at Gosford Hospital working across neonatal, paediatric, and emergency departments. He is an adjunct Senior Lecturer with the University of Newcastle, works privately in rooms, and is a visiting paediatrician at Yerin Aboriginal Medical Service in Wyong on the NSW Central Coast. He is active in teaching and education of medical students and trainees, is a course director for Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) Australasia, and is a National Examiner with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Prior to studying medicine, Damon worked as a science journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney and the Australian National University in Canberra. Damon graduated from Sydney University in 2002 then studied paediatrics through The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney with an interest in critical care, including secondments to the Newborn and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) and the Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care units.
Damon's interest in the microbiome has evolved alongside his clinical practice, but has increasingly focussed on evidence linking early life treatment decisions with lifelong health trajectories.
Shrouk is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, and the Emergency Departments Research Lead. As a clinician, Shrouk works in one of the busiest children’s emergency departments in the country, dealing with undifferentiated illness and injury including major trauma. As a clinical researcher, she was formerly an Advanced Research Scholar at the NIHR North West Coast, and a UCLAN ARC Intern, having completed 2 years on the NIHR Research Scholars Program. Shrouk is keen to enable research in the Paediatric Emergency Department through ED generated projects or collaboration with other specialties to ensure an appropriate evidence base for the diagnosis, treatment and management of paediatric conditions. Shrouk is also PERUKI (Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland) Vice Chair and the NIHR Northwest RRDN Paediatric Speciality Lead for Trauma and Emergency Care. Through both roles, Shrouk helps to design research which is deliverable in EDs, increase research capacity through novels models of working, and navigate the challenges of conducting research in Paediatric ED. Other interests include developing and sustaining educational programs. Shrouk is often found near cake and tea.
Shrouk’s research profile can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shrouk-Messahel
Dal Hothi is a Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist, clinical lead for Home Haemodialysis at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and National Speciality Advisor for NHSE.
She has considerable experience in Quality Improvement and has led several local and national projects and designed and delivered several training programmes. She was the co-lead for Quality & Safety theme for the Harvard Pediatric Leadership Program; and was the lead for Paediatric KQUIP, a national Quality Improvement collaborative for children with kidney diseases.
Over the last 10 years she has been developing a profile in leadership development. She was a faculty member of the NHS Staff College for 4 years; is a trained Action Learning Set facilitator for NHS Leadership Academy; and Senior Fellow Faculty Medical Leadership & Management (FMLM). She has also held several leadership roles including the Associate Medical Director at GOSH, and the Director of Leadership Development at the FMLM.
She is an accredited Professional Certified Coach and holds an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Coaching.
Shaarna Shanmugavadivel is an ST7 PEM GRID registrar at Leicester Royal Infirmary and also works as the CCLG Early Diagnosis Fellow at the University of Nottingham. She has an interest in early diagnosis, public health and health policy. She is the Media and Awareness Lead for the DFTB Skin Deep project and also heads the new Child Cancer Smart campaign, based on the success of the award-winning HeadSmart campaign.
Professor Simon Carley MB ChB, PGDip, DipIMC (RCS Ed), FRCS (Ed)(1998), FHEA, FAcadMed, FRCEM, FTACC, MPhil, MD, PhD is a Consultant in Enhanced Pre-Hospital Care with North West Air Ambulance and a BASICS doctor with North West Pre-Hospital Critical Care Charity. He is a Consultant in Adult and Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust. He is visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is co-founder of the BestBets website and the St.Emlyn’s social media learning platforms as Creator, Webmaster, owner and Editor in Chief of the St Emlyn’s blog and podcast. He leads the MSc in emergency medicine at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an Education Associate with the General Medical Council and is an Associate Editor for the Emergency Medicine Journal. He is Dean of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. His research interests include diagnostics, Medical Education, Major incident management & Evidence based Emergency Medicine. He is on social media platforms as @EMManchester
Elaine is a Professor of Trauma Sciences at the Centre for Trauma Science, Queen Mary University London. Her research interests centre on improving outcomes for severely injured patients, with a focus on those admitted to critical care. She is also CI for a pan London study investigating how diverse characteristics influence the response to injury and subsequent recovery. Elaine co-leads the MSc Trauma Sciences at QMUL which aims to develop future clinicians, nurses and AHPs in the field of Major Trauma.
Professor Damian Roland is an experienced Paediatric Emergency Medicine clinician who is passionate about improving the care of the ill and injured child.
Ken Milne MD, MSc, MBA, CCFP-EM, FCFP, FRRMS
Dr. Milne is a staff physician at the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. He has been doing medical research for 41 years publishing on a variety of topics. Dr. Milne has been working clinically for 30 years and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Emergency Medicine) and Department of Family Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He has taught evidence-based medicine (EBM), clinical epidemiology, critical appraisal and biostatistics at Western University in London, Ontario. Dr. Milne is passionate about skepticism and critical thinking. He is the creator of the knowledge translation project, The Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine (TheSGEM). Dr. Milne completed his MBA at Ivey School of Business in 2025 and has started a DPhil (PhD) at Oxford University on artificial intelligence (AI) and EBM. Ken is married to Barb and has three amazing children.
Dr. Milne serves as a senior editor of Academic Emergency Medicine. He has no funding from the pharmaceutical or biomedical device industry. He is on faculty for the Center for Medical Education and EMRAP. Dr. Milne does partake in medical malpractice reviews and does hold a patent on a pediatric resuscitation device.
Elliot works at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne as a paediatric emergency physician. He is the Sepsis Research team leader at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne Department of Critical Care, and an executive member of the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network. He leads the Paediatric Adaptive Sepsis Platform Trial (PASSPORT). He is really excited to catch up with friends and colleagues in Glasgow!
Michelle is a Teacher Practitioner and Senior Research Fellow in RCSI SIM and a Lecturer in Paramedicine in University College Cork; a registered Advanced Paramedic, Tutor and Examiner with the Prehospital Emergency Care Council (Paramedic regulator) in Ireland. She holds a Masters in Psychological Trauma from University of Nottingham, a Postgrad Diploma in Health Professions Education from RCSI, and is currently a final year PhD candidate with Monash University in Australia. She leads the HUGS@Home research programme and is co-founder and CEO of emerging spin out company and social enterprise, HUGS Community.
I am a Paediatric Emergency Medicine consultant at a busy trauma centre in London. I am also passionate about promoting the national agenda for Paediatric Emergency Medicine. I currently sit on the APEM committee as the Events Officer. I co-wrote Standards for Paediatric Assessment Units, the RCPCH Trainee Charter, and ‘Delivering Really Good Paediatric Training’. I have recently co-written the ‘Children with Complex Needs’ Chapter for The Emergency Care Standards.
I am a keen educator, both as the education lead in the PED, as well as a previous Undergraduate Child Health Lead for King’s College London and a keen founder and collaborator for PEM Adventures.
Outside of work, I can mainly be found running after my two small children, and am fuelled by coffee and wine, in any order!
I am known to all at work simply as Dr Anna, I trained as a paediatrician in London and now work in the East of England. I work across the emergency department, general paediatrics and have an outpatient cardiac clinic. When not working you can find me running, swimming, trying to improve my broken conversational Spanish, playing the violin and laughing with my children. At quieter times, I love a good puzzle so I might be finishing a kakuro whilst my kids are on the sudoku.
Dr Ed Pooley is a UK GP, educator and communication skills trainer. Alongside clinical practice, he designs and delivers high-impact training for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and healthcare organisations who want to consult more effectively, manage pressure better, and reduce the personal toll of modern medicine.
His work focuses on the real dynamics that shape consultations: alignment, boundaries, emotional connection, communication style and the deeper psychological patterns that influence behaviour in both patients and clinicians. His teaching blends behavioural science, psychology and frontline clinical experience, offering practical strategies that clinicians can use immediately in busy surgeries and hospital settings.
Ed works with GP practices, training hubs, private providers and national organisations, including delivering large-scale programmes. He also runs a widely followed professional community focused on consultation challenges, medically unexplained symptoms, and clinical culture. His approach is grounded, reflective and direct, aimed at helping clinicians feel more confident, more contained and more effective in the consulting room without losing their humanity.
Chella Quint OBE is an educator, author, performer and artist-researcher working at the intersection of health, culture and communication. She coined the term “period positive” in 2006 and founded the Period Positive movement. She is the author of Own Your Period and Be Period Positive - books enjoyed by parents, teachers and young people, and widely used across education and public health in the UK and in translation.
A former head of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) in a Sheffield secondary school, Chella now works across culture, policy and clinical education, supporting clinicians, schools and organisations to strengthen practical, inclusive menstrual literacy training and patient conversations across the menstrual span.
Alongside five-star Edinburgh Fringe shows and regular work in science communication and professional training, she brings a creative, audience-aware approach to stigmatised and emotionally loaded health topics. Her art and design practice spans installation, graphic design, ad-busting and zines, and often draws on the history of menstrual product advertising as a route into unpacking shame, agency, and the stories we inherit.
She is currently completing a funded PhD in Art and Design at Sheffield Hallam University’s Lab4Living, exploring design-led methods for sharing intergenerational menarche-to-menopause narratives and building community resources.
In 2024, she was named to the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 and appointed an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to education and menstrual literacy.
