Chair / Speaker

Professor Janice Rymer – Joint Chair, Programme Planning Group

Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, King’s College School of Medicine, London; Consultant Gynaecologist, Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation, London; Chair and Trustee – British Menopause Society Biography

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Professor Janice Rymer

Professor Rymer qualified with MBCHB in 1981 from the University of Auckland and commenced her specialist training in New Zealand. She moved to the UK in 1987 and became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in 1987 and fellow of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) in 1990. She was awarded her MD thesis from the University of Auckland in 1994 and was made fellow of the RCOG in 2005. She was made Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at KCL in 2005 and Dean of Undergraduate Medicine in 2010 – 2013. In 2016 she became Vice President of the RCOG (Education) until 2019. She was National Specialty Advisor for Gynaecology for NHSE/I from 2020-2023. She is Chair and a Trustee of the British Menopause Society.

Her current appointments are Professor of O and G, and Dean of Student Affairs at KCL, Consultant Gynaecologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Her areas of special interest are Minimal Access Surgery, Ovarian Failure, Medical Education and Female Genital Mutilation. She has published over 150 peer review papers and 18 textbooks.

Other extramural positions include: Member of the RCOG Council 1997-2003 and 2010-2016; Member of the British Menopause Society Council 1986-2002 and 2010-16; she is currently on the General Medical Council team for assessing new Medical Schools.

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Co-chair: Dr Clare Spencer – Joint Chair, Programme Planning Group

GP Partner, The Meanwood Group Practice, Leeds; Member – British Menopause Society medical advisory council Biography

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Dr Clare Spencer

Dr Clare Spencer is a British Menopause Society (BMS) registered menopause specialist and an NHS GP partner. She qualified from Cambridge University and holds Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She initially trained in obstetrics and gynaecology where she gained a Doctor of Medicine for research in fetomaternal medicine. She a member of the BMS medical advisory council and a BMS menopause trainer.

As well as working as a GP, she runs a specialist NHS menopause service in Leeds.

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Professor Janice Rymer

Co-chair: Dr Jane Clarke-Williams

Specialty Doctor SRH Cardiff; Octavia Health Menopause Specialist; Member – British Menopause Society medical advisory council  Biography

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Dr Jane Clarke-Williams

I have worked in hospital jobs covering all stages of a woman’s lifespan, I worked as a GP principal for 30 years, running specialist clinics within Primary Care. I was a clinical tutor and examiner for Southampton University Medical School and have trained clinicians at all levels in female health. Since moving to Wales, I have increasingly concentrated on training Menopause specialists, hoping to use my knowledge and experience to help improve patient care.

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Co-chair: Dr Heather Currie MBE

Consultant Gynaecologist, Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary; Trustee – British Menopause Society  Biography

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Dr Heather Currie MBE

MB BS, FRCOG, DRCOG, MRCGP

Gynaecologist at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, specialising in Menopause, Pre Menstrual syndrome and Cervical screening. Co- Editor of Post Reproductive Health, the Journal of the British Menopause Society (BMS), Trustee and past Chair of the BMS, Founder and Managing Director of Menopause Matters Ltd which runs the award winning website www.menopausematters.co.uk, and publishes the award winning Menopause Matters magazine. Author of the award winning book, Menopause, answers at your fingertips and of many original papers and review articles in scientific journals.

Previous national Clinical Lead for Gynaecology in Modernising Patient pathways Programme.

Clinical advisor to Scottish Government for development of the Women’s Health plan for Scotland.

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Professor Alex Comninos

Consultant Endocrinologist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust & Imperial College, London  Biography

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Professor Alex Comninos

Professor Alex Comninos has a broad portfolio encompassing clinical, research and educational roles. As an Endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, alongside general endocrinology he heads the Imperial Endocrine Bone Unit (EBU) where his clinical interests include reproductive-bone disorders, osteoporosis and calcium disorders. Within the EBU he set-up and runs the nationally-leading Imperial Fracture Liaison Service.

His research focuses on reproductive hormones and their influence on behaviour and bones with over 90 publications in bone and reproductive endocrinology (including in the Lancet, Cell, Lancet D&E, JAMA Network Open and Nature Reviews Endocrinology) and supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust, NIHR and MRC. Alex also performed the early discovery studies for the recently approved NK3R antagonists for menopausal hot flushes and is currently investigating several clinical uses for kisspeptin. In addition, Alex authored the bone guidelines for the recent national SfE hypogonadal women guideline.

Alex has presented his work in invited talks internationally and as ‘Visiting Professor’ at Harvard. His work has attracted extensive international media attention including documentaries, live TV and radio interviews. In addition, he has presented on bone health to key government and NHS leaders including the Minister for Health.

Alex is also heavily involved in education. From Head of Academic Tutoring for clinical students at Imperial College School of Medicine through to an extensive portfolio of international postgraduate education activities, an Endocrine Careers evening and his own webinar series.

His contributions to Endocrinology have been recognised internationally by several prizes including The Reproductive Science Prize (ES), The Harbuz Prize (BSN), as well as the Early Career Prize, Clinical Endocrinology Trust Prize, Leadership Development Award and Teacher of the Year Award (SfE). Most recently he was awarded the 2024 RCP-NIHR Research Delivery Researcher Prize which recognises NHS clinicians who integrate research & innovation into their practice.

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Professor Annice Mukherjee

Department of Endocrinologist, Spire Manchester Hospital & Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry University Biography

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Professor Annice Mukherjee

Dr Annice Mukherjee is a Consultant Endocrinologist and Author. Annice has special interests in reproductive endocrinology and menopause, thyroid disease, pituitary disease, calcium and bone disorders, late effects of cancer treatment and medical weight management.
Annice has held elected national positions on the programme and clinical committees for the Society for Endocrinology. She contributes to the Society’s reproductive endocrine network, their patient website “You and Your Hormones” and their magazine “The Endocrinologist.” She is a past treasurer of the North West Endocrine Society.

Annice is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and member of the British Thyroid Association and British Menopause Society. Annice was awarded an MSc from King’s College London in 1998 and MD from the University of Manchester in 2008. She has published original articles and reviews extensively in high impact peer reviewed journals including JCE&M and Endocrine Reviews. Annice provides peer review for several specialist endocrine journals.

Annice supports the Trekstock young cancer support charity, works closely with the charity Prevent Breast Cancer and Greater Manchester Cancer network, to improve awareness and information about safe menopause management in breast cancer survivors.

Annice published “The Complete Guide to the Menopause” with Penguin Random House publisher in 2021.

She worked as a Consultant at Salford Royal Hospital Trust until 2019, having worked in the NHS for 27 years.

She currently practices at Spire Manchester, Orth Team centre and HCA Wilmslow Hospitals as well as her not for profit work.

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Co-chair: Professor Janice Rymer

Co-chair: Dr Angela Sharma

GP partner, Pembridge Villas Surgery, London; Clinical Sexologist; Co-founder and Director, Spiced Pear Health; Trustee and medical advisory board member, Menstrual Health Project; Member – British Menopause Society medical advisory council Biography

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Dr Angela Sharma

BSc (Hons), MBChB, MRCGP, DRCOG, DCH, DFFP, FECSM

Dr Angela Sharma is a GP partner at Pembridge Villas Surgery in London and has been a GP for 22 years. She is the lead for women’s health and runs an NHS menopause clinic at the surgery. She is a BMS menopause specialist and is a member of the BMS medical advisory council. She is also a clinical sexologist and trained in both the psychosexual and medical aspects of sexual dysfunction and is a fellow of the European Committee of Sexual Medicine. She is the co-founder and director at Spiced Pear Health an online menopause and sexology clinic.

She is a Trustee and a medical advisory board member for the Menstrual Health Project a charity that empowers and educates women about all menstrual health issues and volunteers for Maggie’s a cancer support centre running menopause and sexology workshops for cancer patients.

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Professor Susan Davis

NHMRC Leadership 3 Investigator, Director, Monash University Women’s Health Research Program; Consultant Endocrinologist and Head, Specialist Women’s Health Clinic, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Biography

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Professor Susan Davis

Professor Susan R Davis AO, MBBS FRACP PhD FAHMS is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Director, Monash University Women’s Health Research Program, Consultant Endocrinologist and Head, Specialist Women’s Health Clinic, Alfred Hospital Melbourne and consultant at Cabrini Medical Centre. Her research has advanced the understanding of gender-specific health needs of women. Prof Davis is a past President of the Australasian Menopause Society and immediate past President of the International Menopause Society. She has over 430 peer-reviewed publications and has received numerous national and international prestigious research awards. In 2021 Prof Davis was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia distinguished service to medicine, to women’s health as a clinical endocrinologist and researcher, and to medical education.

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Co-chair: Kathy Abernethy

Menopause Specialist Nurse; Director, the menopause course; Trustee – British Menopause Society Biography

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Kathy Abernethy

Kathy Abernethy is Director of ‘the menopause course’, an educational programme for nurses and Coombe Menopause Clinic. She was Founding Clinician at Peppy Health, where she helped develop the world’s first ‘direct to clinician’ menopause App. As former Co-Lead of a long-established NHS Menopause service she has extensive clinical experience working with women at and after menopause. As Chair of the Society until July 2019, she contributed to the British Menopause Society handbook on menopause management and is a registered BMS Specialist and Trustee.  Her book for women: “Menopause: The One Stop Guide” was Highly Commended in the BMA Book Awards 2019. www.kathyabernethy.com

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Co-chair: Dr Claire Phipps

NHS GP North Central London and Private London Gynaecology; Member – British Menopause Society medical advisory council Biography

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Dr Claire Phipps

Dr Claire Phipps is a highly dedicated and compassionate GP with many years experience in providing comprehensive healthcare to all ages.

She has a strong commitment to patient-centered care and strives to provide the most holistic care she can, alongside building trusting relationships, ensuring wellbeing and addressing medical concerns. She is known for her excellent communication skills.

Claire graduated from Guy’s, Kings and St Thomas’s medical school and also holds a degree in Human Biology and Genetics. Throughout her career she has gained expertise in treating a wide range of medical conditions, including women’s health.

Dr. Phipps holds the British Menopause Society Advanced Menopause Certificate and is a certified menopause and GP trainer. She is also CBT trained. Claire believes that the perimenopause and menopause are opportunities to take back control of our health.

Claire is deeply committed to advancing access to evidence-based menopause care for underserved and underrepresented populations. Her areas of special interest include providing education around genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) treatment and within this supporting survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM). Ensuring equitable menopause care for individuals who struggle to access affordable, high-quality support forms a large part of her work. Passionate about community and charity-driven initiatives, she focuses on breaking down barriers to healthcare, particularly for ethnically diverse groups, to create a more inclusive and compassionate care system.

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Dr Sophie Behrman

Consultant Psychiatrist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Honorary Clinical Research Fellow, Oxford University Department of Psychiatry Biography

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Dr Sophie Behrman

Dr Sophie Behrman is a general adult psychiatrist working in a community mental health team in Oxford. She has a special interest in the interplay between mental health and menopause and menstrual disorders and has set up an NHS clinic within secondary care mental health services in collaboration with community gynaecology. Sophie is a member of the RCPsych Menopause Working Party and is currently doing research into suicidality and the perimenopause. Sophie has edited a book for RCPsych entitled “Menopause, Menstrual Cycles and Mental Health” which will be published by Cambridge University Press in June 2026.

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Professor Aimee Spector

Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing, Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College, London; Director, Menopause Mind Lab; Director International Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Centre; Lead, UCL Dementia Training Academy; International lead, Doctorate – Clinical Psychology Biography

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Professor Aimee Spector

Aimee Spector is Professor of Clinical Psychology of Ageing at University College London (UCL) and director of the UCL ‘Menopause Mind Lab’. Her research primarily focuses on the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions for ageing, with a particular interest in global health, cultural inclusivity and implementation research in low-and-middle-income countries. Current menopause research includes supporting the World Health Organisation in their Menopause Hormone Therapy and dementia risk guidelines, exploration of cultural differences in symptoms and help-seeking; and the development and evaluation of interventions to improve cognition. She also directs the International Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) centre at UCL and the ‘UCL Dementia Training Academy. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, 9 book chapters and 14 books; and is international lead for University College London’s Clinical Psychology doctorate course. Websites:

Menopause Mind Lab www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/menopause-mind-lab

International Cognitive Stimulation Therapy Centre www.ucl.ac.uk/international-cognitive-stimulation-therapy

UCL Dementia Training Academy www.ucldementiatrainingacademy.org

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Co-chair: Mr Haitham Hamoda

Consultant Gynaecologist, Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, King’s College Hospital, London; Trustee – British Menopause Society  Biography

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Mr Haitham Hamoda

Mr Haitham Hamoda is a Consultant Gynaecologist and Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery. He is the Clinical Lead for the Menopause Service at King’s College Hospital and a Trustee of the British Menopause Society. Mr Hamoda has published widely in his specialised field and is actively involved in ongoing research projects both locally and nationally and teaches at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

He is the first author of The British Menopause Society & Women’s Health Concern 2016 recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women and author of the British Menopause Society guideline on the management of women with premature ovarian insufficiency 2017.

Mr Hamoda is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and was awarded a degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Aberdeen. He obtained his accreditation as a subspecialist in reproductive medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital.

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Co-chair: Mr Tim Hillard

Consultant Gynaecologist, University Hospitals Dorset, Poole; Trustee – British Menopause Society Biography

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Mr Tim Hillard

DM FFSRH FRCOG

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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Dr Clare Cromwell

GP; Menopause Specialist at Mater Private Hospital Cork; Dept. of Gynaecology at CUMH; Co- chair of the Menopause Society of Ireland Biography

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Dr Clare Cromwell

Dr Clare Cromwell works as a GP in Cork City Ireland. She also runs a Menopause Clinic at the Mater Private Hospital Cork and works in the Gynecology Outpatient Clinic in Cork University Maternity Hospital. She graduated from University College Dublin in 2003 and is a member of the Irish College of General Practice, has completed the British Menopause Society Advanced Certificate in Menopause Training in 2023 and has a Diploma from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an ICGP Certificate in Community Gynecology.

She is co-founder and current co-chairperson of the Menopause Society of Ireland and contributes to primary care education on the community gynecology course as well as coordinating a monthly webinar series for the MSI. She has a deep passion for the advancement of womens health in Ireland, the advocacy of women experiencing menopause and the ongoing education of all healthcare providers seeing these patients as well as promoting ongoing research and data collection in this area.

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Dr Caoimhe Hartley

GP; Menopause Specialist and Clinical Lead, Rotunda Hospital; Complex Menopause Service, Clinical Lead Women’ s Medicine, Blackrock Health Women’s Health Centre; Co- Chair of the Menopause Society of Ireland Biography

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Dr Caoimhe Hartley

Dr Caoimhe Hartley is the Clinical Lead of the Complex Menopause Service in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin. She is also the Clinical Lead for Women’s Medicine in Blackrock Health Women’s Health Centre, based in Dublin City.
She is the director of the Community Gynaecology Course for the Irish College of General Practice and is the current Co-Chairperson of the Menopause Society of Ireland.

Caoimhe completed her General Practice Training Scheme in the Southeast of Ireland and was awarded a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2013.

She moved to Canada in 2014, working in a busy, dedicated Women’s Health Centre and the Pacific Centre of Reproductive Medicine.
Caoimhe completed her accreditation with the North American Menopuse Society in 2017.
She was invited to be a Clinical Professor in the University of Alberta in 2019.
She is delighted to also be a British Menopause Society trainer.

She was honoured to be a member of the advisory board of the European Menopause Society.

Caoimhe is passionate about all aspects of women’s health and is dedicated to promoting education, research and excellence in clinical care.

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