BMS 28th Annual Conference programme – Day 1

Chair / Speaker

Mr Mike Savvas

Consultant Gynaecologist, King’s College Hospital, London. Member – BMS medical advisory council. Biography

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Mr Mike Savvas

After undergraduate training at The London Hospital, Mr Savvas pursued a career in Gynaecology. He developed a special interest in Reproductive Endocrinology when he was appointed Research Fellow to Professor John Studd at King’s College Hospital in 1986.

Mr Savvas has broad experience in Gynaecology and has specialist interest in Menopause, HRT, PMS, Colposcopy and menstrual disorders. He is currently Consultant Gynaecologist at King’s College Hospital, with a special interest in reproductive endocrinology and is the Lead for the Assisted Conception Unit. For many years, he was also Clinical Director for Obstetrics and Gynaecology at King’s.

He has undertaken research into the use of HRT for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, the effects of HRT on the skin as well as PMS and has published a number of papers in these areas. He is a Member of the Medical Advisory Committee of the British Menopause Society. He co-authored the BMS guidelines on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

He is an enthusiastic teacher and for many years was a member of the Specialist Training Committee of the London Deanery. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and was president of Obstetrics and Gynaecology section of the Royal Society of Medicine in 2013-2014.

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Mr Haitham Hamoda

Consultant Gynaecologist, Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, King’s College Hospital, London. Member – BMS medical advisory council. Biography

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Mr Haitham Hamoda MD FRCOG

Consultant Gynaecologist, Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, King’s College Hospital, London.

I am passionate about improving menopause care and am the Clinical Lead for the menopause service at King’s College Hospital, offering guidance to approximately 1,500 women a year. I am currently a member of the Medical Advisory Council for the British Menopause Society (BMS).

I am a co-author of the BMS and Women’s Health Concern recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women and author of BMS and Women’s Health Concern recommendations on the management of women with premature ovarian insufficiency. I am also a co-author of the 6th Edition of ‘Management of the Menopause’ recently published by the BMS.

I am actively involved in ongoing research projects both locally and nationally and have a special interest in infertility as well as premature ovarian insufficiency and its health and fertility implications.

I am a co-organiser of the Joint RCOG/BMS Post Reproductive Health Meeting and have for the last two years organised and held a BMS menopause study day at King’s College Hospital.

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Kathy Abernethy

Chairman and Trustee, the British Menopause Society. Senior Nurse Specialist, Associate Director, Northwick Park Hospital Menopause Clinic, London. Biography

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Kathy Abernethy MClinSci RN

Kathy has worked in the field of menopause for many years, has published widely on the topic in the lay and nursing press and is registered with the British Menopause Society as a Menopause Specialist.

She currently works in a multidisciplinary NHS menopause clinic, as well as running menopause education programmes for nurses.

With a Masters in Reproductive Women’s Health and as a prescriber, her consultations are independent and she aims to inform women about menopause and enable women to make confident therapy choices.

Kathy is Chair of the British Menopause Society. Her courses and study days complement those of the BMS and are run by nurses for nurses.

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Chair: Mr Nick Panay

Consultant Gynaecologist, Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London Trustee, the British Menopause Society. International Menopause Society Board Member and former Editor-in Chief Climacteric, the journal of the IMS. Biography

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Nick Panay BSc MRCOG MFSRH

Present position

Consultant Gynaecologist, Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine & Surgery
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College London

Summary CV

As director of the West London Menopause & PMS Centre at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea and Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals, he heads a busy clinical and research team which publishes widely, presents at scientific meetings and trains health professionals at all levels. Through his work with a number of councils and women’s groups he campaigns actively for women’s health issues both nationally and internationally. His affiliations include:

Past Chairman, Trustee and Member of MAC, The British Menopause Society,
Honorary Director of Conferences, RCOG,
Board Member and Secretary General Elect, International Menopause Society,
Past President, The Royal Society of Medicine (O & G Division),
Chairman, National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome,
Patron, The Daisy Network,
Editorial Board Member, Climacteric and
Past Council Member, British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy

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Professor Richard Anderson

Professor of Clinical Reproductive Science, University of Edinburgh. Biography

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Richard A Anderson

Elsie Inglis Professor of Clinical Reproductive Science
Head of Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Edinburgh

Richard trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, with experience in clinical research first developed from a WHO study of male contraception at the MRC Reproductive Biology Unit. He completed his clinical training as a lecturer in the University of Edinburgh, subspecialising in reproductive medicine under the guidance of David Baird. After a year as an MRC Travelling Fellow in Sam Yen’s laboratory in San Diego, he returned to the now renamed MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit with an honorary consultant appointment, and was subsequently appointed to his current post at the University of Edinburgh in 2005. He has developed a combined basic science and clinical research programme in the human ovary, particularly its development, lifespan and the impact of cancer treatments, and has also undertaken early-phase clinical studies of the role of kisspeptin and neurokinin B in the control of male and female reproductive function.

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Professor Scott Nelson

Muirhead Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Glasgow. Biography

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Professor Scott Nelson

Scott Nelson is the Muirhead Chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow. He undertook his medical training in Glasgow with a PhD in fetal therapy from the University of Dundee. Further clinical academic training was undertaken in Glasgow as a Clinician Scientist in maternal medicine and assisted conception. Professor Nelson’s particular area of expertise is in the use of biomarkers to individualize care. He has published landmark papers on assisted conception in The Lancet, JAMA and Plos Medicine. He currently holds grants from the US National Institute of Health, The European Union, Wellcome Trust and the UK Medical Research Council in reproductive medicine.

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Professor James A Simon

George Washington University Hospital and Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, USA. Biography

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James A. Simon, MD

James A. Simon, MD is Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University in Washington, DC, USA. Dr. Simon is a Past-President of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), and The Washington Gynecological Society, and is currently President of The International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH). Dr. Simon’s research has been supported by more than 360 research grants and scholarships from a wide range of sponsors, including The NIH, The American Heart Association, The Heinz Foundation and the pharmaceutical industry. He is an author or co-author of more than 550 peer reviewed articles, chapters, textbooks, abstracts, and other publications, including several prize-winning papers. Dr. Simon is coauthor of the paperback book: “Restore Yourself: A Woman’s Guide to Reviving Her Sexual Desire and Passion for Life”. A short-list of his other honors and achievements includes being selected to “Top Washington Physicians”, “America’s Top Obstetricians and Gynecologists”, and “The Best Doctors in America”.

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Chair: Mr Tim Hillard

Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Poole Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Poole, Trustee, the British Menopause Society Biography

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Timothy Hillard DM FFSRH FRCOG

Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Poole Hospital, Dorset

Graduated from Southampton University and spent most of his postgraduate training at King’s College Hospital, London where he developed special interests in Menopause and Uro-gynaecology. He received his MD (1994) for work on transdermal HRT and osteoporosis. Appointed Consultant in 1994 and heads a busy Uro-gynaecological department and runs one of the few specialist menopause clinics in the South of England outside London. He has lectured and published widely on various aspects of the Menopause and Uro-gynaecology.

Positions held:

British Menopause Society: Past Chairman and founding Trustee.

International Menopause Society: Board member and Associate Editor of Climacteric

British Uro-Gynaecology Society (BSUG); past Secretary and Chairman of the meetings committee

RCOG: past Chairman of the Patient Safety Committee and now Clinical Lead for Patient Safety.

Patient Groups: Patron of The Daisy Network and Medical advisor to Women’s Health Concern

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Chair: Mr Edward Morris

Consultant Gynaecologist, Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital. Trustee, the British Menopause Society. Biography

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Edward Morris BSc MBBS MD FRCOG

Following a 5 year research fellowship at Guys Hospital in London, Eddie has had an interest in the management of the menopause for a total of 20 years. He has been working in gynaecology for 27 years, 16 of which have been at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where he looks after women with a wide range of problems, but has a particular interest in pelvic pain, endometriosis, fibroids, the menopause, urogynaecology and leads the laparoscopic (keyhole) gynaecological surgery and endometriosis services.

Eddie is also heavily involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the University of East Anglia and is a researcher in endometriosis, fibroids and the menopause as director of the Norwich Gynaecology Research Unit.

Eddie was also the Chairman of the British Menopause Society (BMS) from 2013-15 and a medical advisor and trustee to the charity Women’s Health Concern. He is co-editor of “Post Reproductive Health”, the journal of the BMS.

Nationally he worked for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology as the elected representative for the East of England on the Council of the RCOG from 2011 to 2016. Following this he was elected as RCOG Vice President for Clinical Quality, starting in this role in September 2016.

He is committed to the translation of scientific evidence into safe, effective clinical practice in all areas of women’s healthcare. His current role also allows him to directly influence those at the very top of the NHS, and is committed to representing post reproductive healthcare.

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Dr Marianne Canonico

Consultant Endocrinologist, French Institute of Health and Medical Research, Paris, France. Biography

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Dr Marianne Canonico

Marianne Canonico, biologist in endocrinology and epidemiologist, is a permanent Inserm Research Associate since 2009 who works on the role of sex steroid hormones during ageing.

Her work has mainly focused on the role of endogenous and exogenous hormones in cardiovascular diseases and she now extends her research to other age-related traits such as Parkinson disease and disability.

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Professor Peter Collins

Professor of Clinical Cardiology, Royal Brompton Hospital and National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College, London. Biography

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Professor Peter Collins

MA, MD, FRCP, FESC, FACC

Peter Collins is Professor of Clinical Cardiology, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology as well as a member of the British Cardiac Society and the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.

He is and has been a member and board member of several renowned societies and committees such as the International Menopause Society, British Menopause Society and European Society of Cardiology. He is currently the Chairman of the Task Force on Gender of the European Society of Cardiology.

His principal clinical interests are in cardiovascular disease, and in particular coronary heart disease, intractable angina, valvar disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease in women, hyperlipidaemia and the effect of a variety of hormones on the cardiovascular system including estrogens, progestogens, androgens, SERMS and phytoestrogens. He has published extensively in these areas and has investigated coronary flow mechanisms in the human coronary arterial system. He has been instrumental in establishing (in 1993) and running the weekly ‘Women’s Heart Clinic’ with Dr John Stevenson at the Royal Brompton Hospital, one of the first of its kind in the UK.

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Dr Nico Bruyniks, MD MRCOG MFSRH, Consultant Gynaecologist

Chair: Professor Mary Ann Lumsden

Professor of Medical Education and Gynaecology, Consultant Gynaecologist, Lead for Reproductive & Maternal Medicine School of Medicine, University of Glasgow. President, International Menopause Society, Member – BMS medical advisory council.

Professor Serge Rozenberg

Clinical Professor and Head of Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, CHU St Pierre, Brussels, Belgium. Biography

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Professor Serge Rozenberg

Serge Rozenberg is a Clinical Professor and Head of the Departement Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. He is in charge of the menopause and osteoporosis unit at the University Hospital, St Peter, and is well recognized in of women’s health in general. He has written a thesis on postmenopausal osteoporosis and published more than 100 articles in international peer reviewed journals on topics such as women’s health, menopause, osteoporosis and reproductive endocrinology. He is on the editorial board of several international journals and has received several awards and grants for his research. He is currently also the president of EMAS and one of the editors of Maturitas.

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Chair: Prof Johannes Bitzer

Consultant Department Obstetrics and Gynecology University Hospital Basel; Director Basel Center of Sexual Medicine; Co-Director Basel Institute of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, Basel, Switzerland. Biography

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Prof Johannes Bitzer

Johannes Bitzer is Former Chairman and Professor em of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Hospitals of the University of Basel.

He is former Head of the Division of Psychosomatic and Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Basel.

He is past president of the European Society of Contraception and past president of the International Society of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology and member of several international executive and advisory boards in family planning, sexology and menopause.

He is member of the Executive Committee of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Director of the knowledge based assessment in the education committee of EBCOG.

He is member of the Board of Trustees of the International Menopause Society.

He is member of the Multidisciplinary Joint Committee of Sexual Medicine.

Director of the Diploma of Advanced Studies in Sexual Medicine at the Advanced Study Center of the University of Basel.

He is Editor in Chief of The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care and Associate Editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

During his specialisation in Ob/Gyn he was trained in behavioural sciences and psychotherapy.

His research and practical interest is in contraceptive counselling as well as contraceptive technology, epidemiology, sexual and reproductive health and the interface between obstetrics/gynecology and psychology/psychiatry, which includes infertility counselling and psychooncology.

He has more than 200 peer reviewed publications, has edited three books and given more than 200 invited lectures and workshops.

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Chair: Kathy Abernethy

For: Miss Joan Pitkin
Consultant Gynaecologist, Associate Medical Director & Director of R&D LNWH-TR Reader and Head of Year 5 Imperial College, Trustee, the British Menopause Society. Biography

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Miss Joan Pitkin

Joan Pitkin has been a Consultant Gynaecologist at the London North West Healthcare NHS Trust for 25 years and has a particular interest in Urogynaecology & Menopause.

Joan served for 6 years on the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and was President of the British Menopause Society, notching up 15 years either on the Medical Advisory Council or the Board of Trustees.

She was Clinical Director of Women Services 1997-1999; Director of Clinical Studies Oct 2007-Jan 2015;
Director of R&D Feb 2009-June 2016; Associate Medical Director for the Academic Director Feb 2009 – June 2016; and has just stepped down after 4 years as head of Year 5, at Imperial College Medical School.

Joan was made a Reader at Imperial College in 2012 and continues as Director of the Menopause Research and Clinical Unit at Northwick Park Hospital.

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Against: Dr Heather Currie
Associate Specialist Gynaecologist & Obstetrician Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, Immediate Past Chairman and Trustee, the British Menopause Society. Biography

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Dr Heather Currie

Dr Heather Currie, Associate Specialist Gynaecologist at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Scotland, specialising in Menopause, Pre Menstrual syndrome and Sub-fertility. Co-Editor of Post reproductive Health, the Journal of the British Menopause Society (BMS), Immediate Past Chairman and Trustee of the BMS. Founder and Managing Director of Menopause Matters Ltd which runs the award winning website www.menopausematters.co.uk, along with www.bladdermatters.co.uk, and publishes the award winning Menopause Matters magazine. Author of the award winning book, Menopause, answers at your fingertips, e-book Menopause Essentials, and of many original papers and review articles in scientific journals.

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