Program

David W. Kissane, AC MD, is a psychiatrist and researcher in psycho-oncology and palliative care. He is currently the Chair of Palliative Medicine Research at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University, and previously Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. His academic interests include group, couples and family psychotherapy trials, communication skills training, studies of existential distress, and ethics of end-of-life care. He chaired the IPOS World Congress in 2000, and was awarded their Arthur Sutherland Award for lifetime achievement in 2008. Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, PhD, is Professor of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. Her academic interests include studies of mental disorders and distress in cancer including demoralization and loss of meaning, and psychotherapy trials for patients with cancer. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, several books and holds editorial positions for journals such as Psycho-Oncology and Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

Anja Mehnert was awarded the Hiroomi Kawano New Investigator Award by IPOS in 2009, the German Cancer Award in 2016 for Psycho-oncology, and she chaired the IPOS World Congress in Berlin in 2017.

Luigi Grassi MD MPhil, is Professor and Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. He is Head of the University Unit of Hospital Psychiatry, S. Anna Hospital and Local Health Agency in Ferrara. He is author of over 200 scientific papers, chapters of books and books. He has been the President of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (2006-2008) and the Italian Society of Psycho-Oncology (2003-2011). He is currently Chair of the IPOS Federation of Psycho-Oncology Societies and the World Psychiatric Association - Section on Psycho-Oncology & Palliative Care.

Chun-Kai Fang, MD PhD is Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at the McKay Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, as well as Chief of Taiwan's Hospice and Palliative Care Centre at McKay Hospital. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Thanatology and Health Counselling at the National Taipei University of Nursing Health Sciences. Dr Fang translated the Demoralization Scale into Mandarin and has examined the way that demoralization mediates suicidal thinking. He has been President of the Taiwanese Psycho-Oncology Society and IPOS honoured his clinical leadership with its Noemi Fisman Award in 2017.

Sigrun Vehling, PhD, is a researcher at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, and works in the Department of Medical Psychology. She has been the principal investigator of a longitudinal study investigating sources of meaning, meaning-focused coping and positive and negative life change in patients with cancer. She has focused on existential issues in cancer, specifically demoralization, sense of dignity and meaning-focused coping. She has been the co-editor of a Psycho-Oncology special issue on the topic of existential distress and she is an active contributor to the IPOS Early Career Special Interest Group.

Rebecca Philipp MSc, PhD, is a researcher in the Department of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf Institute and Polyclinic for Medical Psychology, Hamburg, Germany. She has explored the contribution of early experiences that generate attachment security and social relatedness as predictors of building resilience or risk to develop demoralization when events and illness bring challenges to coping later in life.

Ayala Bloch is a senior neuropsychologist and clinical supervisor with a specialization in Rehabilitation Psychology and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She is on the faculty of the Ariel University Graduate Degree Program in Psychology and CEO of the Israeli National Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured, where 500 patients with acquired brain damage are treated annually. Previously, Dr. Bloch was Head Psychologist at the Sheba Medical Center Neurological Rehabilitation Department and manager of an advanced cognitive psychology lab at Bar-Ilan University. She has been Head of the Israeli Ministry of Health Professional Committee for Rehabilitation Psychology since 2017.

Limor Sharoni holds a master's degree in Clinical Neuropsychology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. She is a senior rehabilitation psychologist and neuropsychologist at The National Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured, a public NPO dedicated to neuropsychological and psychosocial rehabilitation of individuals with brain damage. Limor established the Gesher-Galilee Center, which provides comprehensive neurorehabilitation and psychotherapy for a diverse population following acquired brain damage, PTSD, and other chronic diseases. Her main interests include neuropsychological, cognitive, and neuro-psycho-oncological rehabilitation; treatment of co-morbid TBI and PTSD; occupational assessment; and counseling for people with acute and chronic medical conditions.

Gary Rodin, MD, FRCPC. Gary Rodin is the Joint University of Toronto/University Health Network Harold and Shirley Lederman Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care and is Head of the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Rodin is the Director of the Global Institute of Psychosocial, Palliative and End-of-Life Care (GIPPEC) and a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He is a clinician-investigator who has published widely on the psychiatric and psychosocial aspects of cancer and other medical illnesses. Under his leadership, the Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Program at the Princess Margaret has achieved an international reputation for its academic and clinical excellence. Dr. Rodin has authored texts on Depression in the Medically Ill and is currently leading research on the psychological impact of advanced and terminal disease in affected patients and their families.

Sarah Hales, MD, PhD, FRCPC. Sarah Hales is a psychiatrist for the Division of Psychosocial Oncology in the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Her research has been funded by both the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Her clinical and research interests include the end of life experience as it affects both patients and families, and psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating distress in those facing advanced disease.

Dr Joanne Shaw is a Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology, The University of Sydney and Executive Director of the Psycho-Oncology Cooperative Research Group (POCOG). She brings expertise in psycho-oncology, health service improvement and heath communication. In her role at PoCoG, Dr Shaw has Executive leadership responsibility for the development and conduct of large-collaborative intervention research. Dr Shaw is current Chair of the IPOS Research Committee

Prof Nick Hulbert-Williams is a Coaching Psychologist and Professor in the School of Psychology, University of Chester. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Contextual Behavioural Science. Nick is especially interested in the application of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and principles from Contextual Behavioural Science (CBS) in the development of effective psychological interventions for use in psychological coaching and healthcare. In his Psychosocial Oncology work, he is currently working on projects that aim to lead to a better understanding of the psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis (for patients and their families), and to developing interventions to improve wellbeing and quality of life in this patient group by reducing unmet needs and distress. Much of his work focuses on the application of third-wave psychological interventions (e.g. Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) within this setting. You can follow him on twitter @profnickhw

Associate Professor Sylvie Lambert is at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University She is also a Research Associate, St. Mary's Research Centre. A/Prof Lambert's research focuses on 1) better understanding the substantial impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients' and their caregivers' well-being and functioning, 2) developing and evaluating illness self-management interventions that are sustainable to enhance translation in practice, 3) addressing the challenges of using patient reported outcomes in intervention programs, and the use of advanced psychometric approaches for improving the precision and efficiency of outcome evaluations.

Professor Sophie Lebel is a clinical psychologist with a focus on cancer survivorship and Psychosocial interventions. She has contributed to the definition and measurement of FCR and clinical FCR, validated a blended model of FCR, and co-developed FORT with Dr. Maheu. She was the recipient in 2015 of the CAPO early career award and is former chair of the FCR SIG with IPOS.

Christine Maheu is an Associate Professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University. Dr. Maheu's research interests include testing cancer survivorship interventions. She has co-developed the FORT intervention with Dr. Lebel. For her research work in psychosocial care, Dr. Maheu received excellence awards in nursing research (2013, 2015, 2016) from Ovarian Cancer Canada, the Canadian Association of Nurses In Oncology, and the Association Québécoise desinfirmières en oncologie (AQIO) Quebec Association of Nurses in Oncology. Dr. Maheu is the recipient of a junior 2 FRQ-S career award.

Professor Phyllis Butow has worked for over 25 years in Psycho-Oncology. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist, Prof Butow has focused her career on research in doctor-patient communication, and cancer patient and carer support and empowerment. Prof Butow has received many awards for her work, including the IPOS Bernard Fox Award in 2009. Prof. Butow led the research team which evaluated ConquerFear in Australia, and is currently working on several projects adapting and extending ConquerFear for other settings and Formats.

Professor Louise Sharpe is a clinical psychologist with expertise in cognitive behavioural treatments (CBT) for patients coping with chronic physical illness. She has 30 years of experience in developing treatment programs for novel indications in a range of health conditions and testing their efficacy in randomised controlled trials. She was an investigator on the ConquerFear study. She has received distinguished career awards from the Australian Psychological Society and Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for her contributions to clinical psychology and the practice of CBT.

Professor Jane Turner is a consultation-liaison psychiatrist who has worked for over 25 years in oncology. She has extensive experience in medical education and communication skills training and has taken a leading role in Australia in developing psychosocial clinical practice guidelines. Her research focuses on models of care to build psychosocial capacity including training of front-line health professionals. She was an investigator on the ConquerFear study and has presented many workshops to train health professionals in this model.

Dr Lyndsay Hughes: Lyndsay is a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer at the Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. Her research focuses on the adjustment to and management of long-term conditions and she is principal investigator for a number of studies across a range of conditions including breast cancer which aim to develop theory-informed interventions, including for digital platforms. Lyndsay has been invited to deliver numerous workshops and training sessions internationally to a range of healthcare professionals covering illness self-management, distress, treatment adherence and behaviour change.

Dr Zoë Moon: Zoe is a Chartered Psychologist and postdoctoral research associate at the Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. Zoë is currently working on a Breast Cancer Now funded study to test a digital intervention to improve adherence and support women prescribed endocrine therapy. This has involved developing and testing a theory-based paper version of the intervention, before successfully translating this into a digital intervention. Zoe has expertise in theory-led digital intervention development, patient and public involvement, user-testing and data analytics for digital interventions.

Sophie Fawson: Sophie is in the second year of her PhD at the Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. Her PhD aims to understand distress and physical symptoms as well as exploring the meaning of the term acceptance, in women with stage I-III hormone receptor positive breast cancer. The studies will provide evidence for the development of a digital self-management intervention to help manage distress and physical symptoms in this population. Sophie has previously worked with researchers to develop and implement an online therapist-supported intervention targeting pain and fatigue in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.