Speakers

• 

  Dr Rae Duncan

  Paediatric Consultant Cardiologist

  Dr Duncan is a Consultant Cardiologist at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle UK. In addition to working in the field of cardiovascular medicine for over 20 years, she also has a degree in infectious diseases and two postgraduate degrees in cardiovascular research. Dr Duncan is a former BSE Research Investigator Winner and a former RCP Presidents Gold Medal Award finalist. At the start of the pandemic Dr Duncan was rerolled to work with Covid patients. She has helped run an acute covid ward and runs a long covid cardiovascular complications clinic and since August 2020 has been caring for long covid patients. As a mother herself she has been extremely concerned about the lack of public health infection prevention and control measures in many countries and the resultant impact repeated SARS CoV-2 infections are having on children and young adults. In her free time she volunteers as a medical champion for the Long Covid Kids Charity and is a strong advocate for clean air in schools, hospitals and public buildings. She was also recently invited by leading Australian Covid Scientists to participate in the making of a COVID Safety for Schools Course which was launched for Australian schools earlier this year. Dr Duncan has a keen interest in long covid research and is a member of the Long Covid International Research Collaboration (TeamClots). Through this work she has authored several long covid treatment trials and is the recipient of a £2 million Research Grant from Kanro to co-lead on long covid research in children. Dr Duncan also works as an educator and has run and lectured on several courses & webinars both regionally, nationally and internationally in the field of both cardiology and long covid. She has given invited post covid condition research updates at the 4SD/WHO COVID online briefings and gave invited expert witness testimony to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus along with invited advice and recommendations to the UK Government. Latterly she has worked in a voluntary capacity as an invited long covid advisor to BBC World Service and as an invited medical/scientific advisor to the Covid Policy Development Group for the UK Green Political Party. Dr Duncan was a Unite Health International COVID-19 award finalist and is the recipient of an ACCIA National Clinical Impact Award for her ongoing work in the field of long COVID. She is a strong advocate for public health protections such as clean air to reduce the risk of disability from repeated SARS CoV 2 infections, and a strong advocate for raising awareness of long covid and improving research, investigation and treatment for those already living with this debilitating disease.

• 

  Dr Emma Weisblatt

  Emma Weisblatt is a developmental neuropsychiatrist. She trained at Cambridge and the Royal London Hospital Medical School, with intercalated BA in Psychology, followed training in general psychiatry in London and Cambridge. She is currently a Fellow in Psychology at Girton College Cambridge and affiliated lecturer in the Department of Psychology in Cambridge. After a PhD investigating genotype-phenotype relationships in schizophrenia, she trained in Child Psychiatry in Cambridgeshire and was Clinical Lecturer in Developmental Psychiatry in Cambridge from 1999 to 2005. From 2005 to 2012 she was consultant in paediatric liaison psychiatry at University College London with particular focus on child and adolescent cancer. and from 2012 to 2024 she was consultant in developmental neuropsychiatry in Peterborough where she worked across autism, neuropsychiatry and learning disability. She developed services in paediatric neuro-oncology in close collaboration with paediatric colleagues, and formalised complex neuropsychiatric assessments and formulations in the Peterborough service. She has taught a wide range of academic and clinical topics in psychology and psychiatry, from first year undergraduates to senior colleagues. Her research has included work on genetics, sensory processing in autism, Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, interventions for minimally verbal children with autism and most recently long covid in children in Lucy Cheke’s group in Cambridge. She is neuropsychiatry lead in the Long Covid research programme led by Dr Rae Duncan. She is an expert in the Clinically Vulnerable Families group for the covid inquiry. The overarching theme in her work, clinical and academic, is the relationship between brain function, particularly after insult or injury, and complex psychiatric, neurological, cognitive and behavioural presentations.

• 

  Dr Terry Segal

  Paediatric and Adolescent Consultant

  Dr Terry Segal has been a paediatric and adolescent consultant, with an interest in paediatric endocrinology and complex adolescent conditions at UCLH since 2007. She is clinical lead for adolescent specialties at UCLH, Co-Lead Pan London Post COVID service and lead for Transition and DAH at UCLH. She is medical CYP rep on the steering group for the IPIC International post COVID and Post infections conditions. She is a trustee of RCPCH. She was convenor of YPHSIG ( Young People’s health special interest group) 2018-21, and Led Transition for NTPN 2023-2025. She is particularly interested in helping young people with complex problems such as ME/CFS, Long COVID, persistent physical and functional symptoms, and really enjoys working in a multidisciplinary team. She has published >25 peer reviewed articles including areas of adolescent communication, HEADDSS, obesity, pubertal delay, ME/CFS and Post COVID condition. She enjoys teaching and collaborating with colleagues nationwide to improve health for children and young people.

• 

  Ms Kirsty Stanley

  Health Team Lead, Safe Guarding Lead - Long Covid Kids

  Kirsty (She/Her) is the Health Lead and Senior Occupational Therapist for Long Covid Kids. With over 25 years’ experience across the NHS, academia, and independent practice, she brings both professional expertise and lived experience of disability, including Long Covid, to her role. Kirsty is passionate about holistic assessment and understands that challenges faced by people with chronic health conditions arise from the interaction between the person, their condition, environment, and everyday occupations. She is committed to developing creative resources that build health literacy and self-advocacy skills in children and young people. Within LCK, Kirsty facilitates the Youth Advisory Panel (LCK YAP) and is preparing to launch the Parents and Caregivers Advisory Panel (LCK PCAP), ensuring co-production with researchers and clinicians. She also serves as the charity’s Designated Safeguarding Lead and supports occupational therapy student placements. In her spare time, Kirsty enjoys reading, writing fiction, crafting, and relaxing with her dogs.

• 

  Ms Jo Bond-Kendall

  Senior Specialist Physiotherapist; Paediatric Specialist Fatigue Service

  Joanne Bond Kendall is a specialist physiotherapist with a decade of experience working with children and young people living with fatigue. Based in the Paediatric Specialist Fatigue Service in Bath, a national tertiary service, she supports young people experiencing fatigue related to ME/CFS, cancer, long term health conditions, and, since 2020, Post COVID 19. As a member of the clinical leadership team, Jo leads both the Post COVID 19 pathway and the service’s research portfolio. She is committed to delivering personalised, collaborative intervention, working closely with each child or young person and their family to ensure care is tailored, empowering, and evidence informed. Jo has research links with the Universities of Bristol and Bath, contributing to ongoing and future projects aimed at improving care quality and shaping the development of clinical services. She has also contributed to the New Hospitals Programme at the Royal United Hospitals Bath, focusing on service transformation and the design of future clinical care models across the wider ICS pathways. In 2021, Jo helped establish the Paediatric Long COVID Hub for the South West at Bristol Children’s Hospital, where she played a key role in assessment, multidisciplinary input, and clinical recommendations until its closure in 2023. Since then, she has continued to lead the Post COVID 19 pathway within the Paediatric Specialist Fatigue Service, ensuring specialist support remains available for young people affected by fatigue following COVID 19. In 2024, Jo joined the clinical leadership group for the International Post COVID and Post Infection Conditions Society — a community of clinicians and researchers dedicated to improving outcomes for individuals affected by Post COVID and other post infectious conditions.

• 

  Dr Elmudathir Abdelrahran

  General Paediatrician

  I am a paediatrician with over a decade of experience spanning neonatology, intensive care, nephrology, and general paediatrics across major UK teaching hospitals. My clinical journey has taken me through Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle, and beyond, where I developed wide-ranging expertise in acute and chronic paediatric care. Currently, I serve as a Paediatric Research Fellow in Long COVID, investigating cardiovascular and neurocognitive sequelae in children under the supervision of Professor Spyridopoulos and Dr Duncan. Alongside my research, I hold a strong interest in paediatric cardiology, health services research, and global child health, with active contributions to quality improvement projects and health policy discussions. My career has been shaped by a dual commitment: providing high-quality paediatric care at the bedside while contributing to research that advances our understanding of children’s health.