Speakers
Plenary speakers
Keynote speaker: Dr Jon LaPook
Jon LaPook, M.D., is the chief medical correspondent for CBS News. He is also Professor of Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, an internist and gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, and Founder and President of the NYU Langone Empathy Project, which seeks to promote a culture of empathy in medicine.
LaPook contributes to all CBS News broadcasts and platforms. Since joining CBS News in 2006, he has done more than 1,400 reports, contributing to the "CBS Evening News," "60 Minutes," "CBS Mornings," "CBS Sunday Morning," "Face the Nation," and “CBS News Radio.”
Dr. LaPook has won five Emmy and two Edward R. Murrow awards. In 2018, he received a Gracie Award and was named a George Foster Peabody Award finalist for two groundbreaking 60 Minutes reports investigating sexual abuse of elite gymnasts. In 2010, he was recognized in the Webby Awards for his documentary series Doc Dot Com. In 2020, LaPook was awarded a Drama Desk Award for his work as the medical contributor to “Stars in the House.”
Born in Mineola, New York, Dr. LaPook graduated with honors from Yale University and received his M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was elected into AOA, the national medical honor society. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowships in Gastroenterology and Medical Informatics at Presbyterian Hospital, New York City.
Dr Ben Bravery
Originally a zoologist and science communicator, Ben Bravery worked for the Australian and Chinese governments before being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer at age twenty-eight. After undergoing eighteen months of cancer treatment, Ben decided on a career change. He became a doctor in 2018 and is now undertaking speciality training in psychiatry. Ben volunteers, advocates, writes and speaks about colorectal cancer, living with cancer, cancer in young adults, medicine and medical education, and is committed to advocating for change in Australia's healthcare system. His memoir, The Patient Doctor, was released in 2022.
Dr Monika Arora
Prof (Dr) Monika Arora, PhD, MSc (Public Health), MSc (Child Development), is a public health scientist working in the area of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Control and Adolescent Health. She is Vice President (Research and Health Promotion) at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). She is also the Executive Director of HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination amongst Youth), an NGO hosting secretariat of Healthy India Alliance. She is the President of the NCD Alliance (2023-25), and Founding Chairperson of the South East Asia NCD Alliance (2020-23). Her areas of research include designing, implementing and evaluating: Group Randomised Trials, Behavioural Research including mixed methods research, Policy Research, Implementation Science Research, and Impact Evaluation of Policies and Programs.
She has published extensively in the area of NCD Prevention and Control and her research outcomes have successfully informed National Health Programmes in India. She serves on National and International Expert Committees on NCD Prevention and Control, Ending Childhood Obesity, Tobacco Control, Developing National Nutrition Strategy, and has been a Commissioner on Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health.
Dr Gozie Offiah
Dr Gozie Offiah graduated from University College Dublin with a BSc in Chemistry and subsequently achieved a MB, BCh, BAO (NUI), LRCP/SI honours degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland following which she practised medicine (with a background in Surgery) for over 15 years in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Dr Gozie Offiah is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Curriculum at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She is also the Clinical Lead for the National Intern Training programme in the Health Service Executive, the chair of the cross-cultural group of tEACH, the International Association of Communication in Healthcare and the Non- executive Director of the Medical Protection Society for Ireland. Along with her Medical degree from RCSI, she also has a Master's in Medical Education from Queen’s University Belfast, a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in surgery from RCSI exploring the role of JAM-A in Breast cancer, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Medical Education from the University of Dundee with a thesis entitled: “Women in Surgery: Exploring stakeholders lived experiences in the Irish and Scottish Healthcare systems.” She has published more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and has given invited lectures and oral presentations at many national and international meetings. She has held several leadership roles across organisations in Ireland and Internationally.
Debate speakers
Professor Jeremy Howick
Jeremy Howick is a Professor at the University of Leicester and the first Director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare. His mission is to ensure that a dose of empathy is included in all healthcare consultations, and to achieve this in his current role he is leading a growing team of academics and clinicians to embed a novel empathy curriculum into the medical school, as well as cascade the curriculum to other medical schools and healthcare organisations.
His work includes over 250 papers and 3 books that have been cited over 15,000 times. He has pioneered fundamental methodological research in evidence-based medicine, placebo effects, and empathy. His book The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine, came to define a new sub-field. He remains interested in methodology and is the principal investigator on a Medical Research Council-funded project aimed to improve the way potential trial treatment benefits and harms are communicated to patients.
He has received numerous honours and awards, including the Dawkins and Strutt Award from the British Medical Association, and a gold medal from the European Society for Person-Centred Care. He is currently a member of the Sigma Xi honours society and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) for the East Midlands.
Jeremy Howick has founded several highly successful courses and research groups, including the Oxford Empathy Programme. He also enjoys communicating the results of his research to the outside world and has written a book Doctor You (Amazon #1 bestseller), given a TEDx Talk on nocebo effects, and has appeared on the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. The Guardian, The Times, Men’s Health, the Daily Mail, the Huffington Post. He is among the most widely read authors in The Conversation.
With Professor Sir Muir Gray, Howick is founder of Oxford Empathy Solutions.
Follow him on Twitter @jeremyhowick
Dr Paquita De Zulueta
Dr De Zulueta qualified in medicine at Cambridge and was a hospital junior doctor in London from 1978 to 1983. From 1983 until 2021, she was an inner-city, London-based GP with a special interest in mental health, migrant health, clinical ethics, professional education and development. Dr De Zulueta began teaching and writing about clinical ethics in 1993 and has been a Senior Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College since 2000. She has also been involved in GP professional development, is a qualified coach and mentor and since 2008 has worked as a part-time Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.
Dr De Zulueta is a Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London. She was a member of Imperial College NHS Trust’s Clinical Ethics Committee for 10 years and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics for six years. Dr De Zulueta is a Schwartz Round facilitator for Imperial College NHS Trust, an Institute of Medical Ethics trustee and a Royal College of GPs Ethics Committee member. She has helped to launch and is the chair of a charity called Human Values in Healthcare Forum (HVHF) which aims to rehumanise healthcare. http://humanvaluesforum.com/
Masterclass leads
Dr Andy Ward
Dr Andy Ward is an Associate Professor in Medical Education and Honorary Senior Academic General Practitioner at the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare based at Leicester Medical School. Andy's role is to develop innovative and evidence-based teaching interventions across the medical curriculum that will increase and sustain empathy in medical students. He has wide experience in producing teaching around patient-centred care and has presented on his work internationally. Andy also works as a GP at Inclusion Healthcare in Leicester providing primary care to people experiencing homelessness and as a presenter for NB Medical Education.
Dr Jennifer G. Adams
Jennifer G. Adams, MD, is the inaugural Frankfort Family Director, Center for Empathy in Medicine. Dr. Adams is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, director of the primary care residency track, and a preceptor and attending physician at Gouverneur Diagnostic and Treatment Center. Dr. Adams leverages her extensive experience and expertise as a clinician, educator, and researcher to advance the mission and goals of the NYU Langone Health Institute for Innovations in Medical Education and The Empathy Project. At NYU Grossman School of Medicine, she works closely with leaders across the educational and clinical missions to design, implement and study a formal curriculum on empathy at the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education levels. Dr. Adams also works nationally and internationally to expand empathy training and scholarly work in other educational arenas.
The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare National Patient Advisory Board
The Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare’s National Patient Advisory Board was established in 2023 by Dr Amber Bennett-Weston. Its role is to provide a patient perspective to guide the Centre’s strategy, including current research, medical education, and external training activities. The Board is comprised of five members who represent diverse lived experiences of health and social care, and is Chaired by a patient representative. Through regular meetings, the Board contributes to the Centre’s strategy for patient and public involvement in teaching and research, co-produce empathic curriculum streams, and contribute to research papers and funding applications.
The International Association of Communication in Healthcare (EACH)
EACH is a dynamic global network of researchers, educators, and practitioners dedicated to enhancing the patient experience through:
Research and Education that deepen our understanding of how clinical communication influences health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and empowerment.
Advocacy and Engagement with policymakers and non-academic stakeholders to ensure effective communication is embedded within healthcare systems worldwide.
Sharing Best Practices and Knowledge to support the dissemination of research findings and educational tools across the healthcare community.
Promoting a Person-Centred Approach that reflects the evolving needs of healthcare delivery.
Members of EACH are delighted to be asked to share some of their work during this conference.