Conference speakers
Meet the Speakers for NeoCard-UK 2024
Dr Jayanta Banerjee
Consultant Neonatologist,
Imperial College London, UK
Dr Jayanta Banerjee, MD (Res), FRCPCH is a Consultant Neonatologist at Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust since 2014 and anHonorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at the Imperial College London. He alsoheads the theme Origins of Health and Disease at the Centre for Paediatrics and Child Health at Imperial College London. His research interest includes neonatal haemodynamics and tissue oxygenation and was awarded with an MD (Research) in this field from QueenMary’s University of London.
He is a faculty for many POCUS and echocardiography courses across the UK and internationally and an active member of the pregnancy and prematurity theme at the Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. He has recently been awarded a Clinical Academic Research Partner fellowship from NIHR/MRC.
Dr David Crossland
Consultant ACHD and Paediatric Cardiologist,
Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
David Crossland is a Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. Special interests include interventional congenital cardiology, mechanical support in congenital heart disease and ACHD. He maintains an active interest in neonatal cardiology and haemodynamic assessment. This includes working closely with the teams in the Northern region looking at tissue Doppler in preterm infants and developing guidelines for the management of babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernia with associated severe pulmonary hypertension. He is at a loss to understand the reasons for the completely different methods of assessing the circulation of neonates used on cardiac PICU compared to NNU and is convinced that a meeting of minds will improve the care of babies in both settings.
Professor Willem de Boode
Professor of Neonatology, Radboudumc Amalia Children’s Hospital,The Netherlands
Willem de Boode, a neonatologist at Radboudumc Nijmegen, Netherlands, completed his PhD in 2010, focusing on advanced hemodynamic monitoring. His areas of interest are neonatal hemodynamics, cardiovascular physiology, NPE, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, PDA, and Extracorporeal Life Support. Dr. de Boode is project leader of the BeNeDuctus Trial and holds the title of Professor of Neonatology at Radboudumc. Since September 2023, he has served as the president of the European Society for Pediatric Research (ESPR).
Professor Afif EL-Khuffash
Neonatologist and Professor of Paediatrics,
The Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Prof EL-Khuffash is a Consultant Neonatologist & Paediatrician at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, and a Full Professor of Paediatrics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He is also a board-certified lactation consultant, a digital artist, and the lead host of the acclaimed Baby Tribe Parenting Podcast. He has over 20 years experience in newborn care and has considerable knowledge of breast-feeding medicine and experience in providing antenatal and postnatal feeding advice and support to new mothers. This includes identifying and addressing challenges to breastfeeding in both the mother and the baby. He also specialises in general feeding difficulties and early feeding issues encountered by babies. His primary clinical and research area is the assessment heart function in term and preterm neonates. He is the lead for neonatal echocardiography and heart function assessment in the neonatal intensive care unit in the Rotunda Hospital. He is the recipient of several national and international research awards with a total grant value of over 4 million euro, over 180 international peer reviewed publications and over 30 keynote presentations. He has successfully supervised 9 post graduate PhD candidates since his return to Ireland and continues to mentor post graduate PhD students.
Prof EL-Khuffash completed a one-year fellowship in paediatric cardiology in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. Prof EL-Khuffash has assumed a leadership role at a Global level in devising training guidelines for echocardiography by the Neonatologist.
Prof EL-Khuffash graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 2002 and enrolled in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland paediatric specialist training scheme in 2005. He completed a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree in University College, Dublin in 2008 and his neonatal specialty training in Toronto, Canada (2009-2011). Following this, he was appointed as a consultant Neonatologist and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto in January of 2011. He obtained a diploma in clinical epidemiology during his time in Toronto.
Professor Samir Gupta
Professor of Neonatology,Durham University, UK and Chair Division of Neonatology, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
Samir Gupta is Professor of Neonatology at Durham University, UK and Fellow at National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Oxford University, United Kingdom. He is Division chief of Neonatology, a Quaternary care neonatal unit at Sidra Medicine (Children’s hospital), Qatar.
He is a Fellow of Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health and Fellow of Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. He is member of European steering group of the Neonatologist performed echocardiography (NPE). He is founder and chair of the Neonatologist with interest in Cardiology & Hemodynamics in the UK and has now successfully established Qatar NPE training program at Sidra Medicine in Doha, Qatar.
He is a member of several scientific organizations, including the European Society for Pediatric Research (ESPR) and Society for Pediatric Research (USA). He has authored over 150 articles in indexed peer reviewed journals and books. He has been invited guest editor for high impact journals.
He is Chief investigator of Baby-OSCAR trial on patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), (https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/baby-oscar). He established 1st global Annual international neonatal cardiology & hemodynamics conference in UK in 2010, which is successfully running to date (www.neonatalcardiology.co.uk). He is lead for Asia & Middle East for the NHRC (https://neonatalhemodynamics.com).
He has established Neonatal hemodynamics program at Sidra Medicine with a team of clinicians, that has significantly improved neonatal outcomes in surgical, complex and sick newborn infants. He works collaboratively with Pediatric cardiology and fetal medicine division to improve the care of complex cardiac patients admitted to the NICU. Currently, he is working to set up the ‘Cardiac ICU on NICU’’ and expanding the NPE training program internationally. He also advises on various international forums on cardio-respiratory disorders and management and is international expert in this field.
Dr Sundaram Janakiraman
Consultant Neonatologist,
James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK
I work as Consultant Neonatologist at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, one of the Tertiary level NICU in Northern England. I graduated in India and completed my postgraduate Paediatric and Neonatal training in the UK across North West and Northern regions of England. Neonatal cardiology and haemodynamics are my fields of interest. I actively contribute to facilitate training, postgraduate education and research. I love gardening which helps me to be happy. It gives me immense satisfaction to harvest vegetables and fruits.
Dr Caroline Jones
Consultant Paediatric & Fetal Cardiologist,
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK
Dr Jones is a Consultant Fetal and Paediatric Cardiologist in the North West of England and Clinical Lead at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. She trained in paediatric cardiology at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, Alder Hey and Evelina London where she undertook a fellowship in fetal cardiology. Her clinical interests include fetal echocardiography and the prenatal and perinatal management of congenital heart disease. She is currently co-director of the North West, North Wales and Isle of Man Congenital Heart Disease Network and Honorary Secretary of the British Congenital Cardiac Association.
Dr Bernadette Khodaghalian
Paediatric Cardiologist with a specialist interest in inherited cardiac conditions,
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK
Dr Bernadette Khodaghalian trained as a paediatric cardiologist in the UK with experience and speciality interest in inherited cardiac conditions. Additional interest in genomic medicine with a masters in genomic medicine and place on national genetics working group specific to cardiology.
Dr Chetan Mehta
Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist and Lead Interventional Cardiologist, Birmingham Women’s and Children’sNHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
Dr Chetan Mehta, MBBS, MD, MRCPCH is a Consultant Paediatric and Lead Interventional Cardiologist at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Honorary Consultant Adult Congenital Interventional Cardiologist at University Hospital’s of Birmingham.
Dr Mehta did his training in Mumbai, London and Birmingham. He was appointed to Consultant position in 2007. Dr Mehta, with his team, delivers a very busy Cardiac services at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The unit is world renowned for its work on children with various complex congenital, structural and acquired heart diseases. There is active surveillance program for inherited cardiac conditions.
Dr Mehta leads the Congenital Cardiac Interventional program at Birmingham Children’s hospital for kids and the Adult Congenital Interventional program at University Hospitals of Birmingham.
Dr Mehta has authored book chapters and publications in various journals. He is also a reviewer of scientific articles. Apart from interventions, he has a particular interest in transition of care from Paediatric to Adult services in children with Congenital Heart Disease. He has organised various cardiac conferences and is an invited faculty in various National and International meetings. He has led charity camps in developing countries via UK based charities.
When he is not at work he enjoys time with family and friends. He loves listening to Indian music, watching and sometimes playing cricket.