Hospice and Palliative care

Dr. Carolyn Messner, DSW, MSW, OSW-C, BCD, FAPOS is Director of Education and Training at CancerCare where she pioneered the use of teleconference technology to bring evidence-based, psychosocially sensitive cancer-related information to people living with cancer, cancer survivors and their caregivers. A national and international speaker and author, Dr. Messner’s expertise includes the psychosocial impact of cancer on patients and their caregivers; palliative care & hospice care; methods to design patient education interventions, and cancer in the workplace. Dr. Messner is a prolific author of book chapters and articles. Dr. Messner is coeditor of the inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer (Oxford University Press, 2015). She is a former president of the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) and serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. She is on the editorial boards of: Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, Journal of Cancer Education, The Oncology Nurse, The Journal of Interprofessional Practice, and Conquer Magazine. She is an adjunct lecturer at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Dr. Messner’s many honors include: CancerCare Hope and Help Award; Fellow, American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS); Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine; AOSW’s Oncology Social Worker of the Year Award; American Cancer Society’s Oncology Social Work Leadership Award; Hyman J. Weiner Award from the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care; and the Individual Award for Creativity in Health Care Practice and Scholarship from the National Academies of Practice (NAP). She is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Practitioner in Social Work, NAP. Dr. Messner received the degree of Doctor of Social Welfare (DSW) from the City University of New York with a Doctoral Fellowship Award in Social Welfare; and The Ohio State School of Social Work National Doctoral Award. She earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from New York University School of Social Work with a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellowship, and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clark University, graduating cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

palliative care & hospice care

Paulina Taboada (Chile) is Medical Doctor, specialized Internal Medicine, with clinical experience in Palliative Care. She holds a PhD in Philosophy by the International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein (IAP). Dr. Taboada is Associate Professor for Internal Medicine and Bioethics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile since 1996 and is the former Director of the University’s Center for Bioethics (2005-2011) and also the former Director of the PUC’s Masters Programe in Bioethics (2003 – 2012). Her area of particular academic interest is related to “dying with dignity” and ethical issues at the end of life. She has participated in a number of national and international research projects and published a number of contributions in specialized journals and books, both in the fields of Bioethics and Palliative Medicine (e.g.: “Person, Society and Value. Towards a Personalist Concept of Health”, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002; “Medicina Paliativa y Cuidados Continuos” Ediciones Universidad Católica, 2010; “Sedation at the end-of-life. An interdisciplinary approach.” Springer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2015.) In 2001, Dr. Taboada participated as a Professional Adviser in the work the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Human Genetics and Other New Technologies in Modern Medicine, in Brussels, Belgium. Since 2005, she is Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, in the Vatican. In 2010 she was awarded with the Manuel Velasco Suarez Award for the Excellency in Bioethics.

palliative care

S Irudaya Rajan is Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Currently, he is the President of the Association of Gerontology (AGI, India) as well as Kerala Economic Association (KEA). He has three decades of research experience and has published extensively in national and international journals on social, economic, health and demographic facets of population ageing. He is the lead author of the book India’s Elderly: Burden or Challenge? (1999) and has edited the books Social Security for the Elderly: Experiences from South Asia (2008); India’s Aged: Needs and Vulnerability (2017); Elderly Care in India: Societal and State Responses (Springer, 2017) and Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly in India (Springer, 2018). He developed the first longitudinal Ageing Survey in Kerala (India) in 2004; repeated every three years, it completed its fifth wave in 2016 and will enter its sixth in 2019. The second longitudinal Ageing Survey in Kerala started in 2013, completed its second wave in 2016 and will enter its third wave in 2019. Professor Rajan has been involved in several projects on ageing funded by the United Nations (UN), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), World Bank (WB), International Labour Organization (ILO), Helpage International, South Asian Network of Economic Institutes, Indo-Dutch Program on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD), Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and International Development Research Centre. He has also undertaken considerable research on international migration and is the editor of two series – India Migration Report and South Asia Migration report – as well as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Migration and Development.

Ageing survey and palliative care

A pioneer in starting private palliative & home care services in Mumbai. He is one of the few trained Palliative care experts in the country with over 15 years of experience . He has extensive teaching experience as a faculty in recognized university affiliated Post Graduate courses like Post Graduate Fellowship in Palliative Medicine, (MUHS , Nashik) & Fellowship in Palliative Medicine ( Indo- American Cancer Association). He has quite a few scientific publications & presentations to his credit. He has been a Member of the Working Committee of the Government of Maharashtra for formulating and drafting the statewide Policy for Palliative Care, and development and making of teaching material for all the stakeholders in the Government Healthcare setting for both medical and paramedical staff in Palliative Care. He has been a faculty member in various International and National conferences. A life member with Indian Association of Palliative Care, Mumbai Oncology Association and International Association with Hospice & Palliative Care. A physician with a Certificate course in Palliative care and Diploma in Clinical Trial Management from Mumbai. Prince has also done his Postgraduate Certificate in Palliative Medicine from Cardiff University UK and Master of Palliative Care in Aged Care from Flinders University Australia. He has worked in leading hospitals like Tata Memorial Hospital, S.L. Raheja Hospital, Asian Cancer Institute, Fortis Hospital, Mumbai, Cipla Palliative Care & Training Centre, Pune.

My research interest is mainly in geriatric palliative care, palliative care in non-communicable diseases other than cancer, Models of Palliative care delivery and malignant wound care.

Professor and honorary faculty of Imperial College, London, Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioner and College of Public Health. UK, member of the Irish College of General Practitioner and the American Academy of Family Physicians. He was the Vice President and Chairman of Family & Community Department at Arabian Gulf University. He is the General Secretary of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine, currently the chairman of Home Health Care Centre, served for eight years as the President of the Scientific Council of Family & Community Medicine in the Arab Board for Health Specialties, He is recognized locally, regionally and internationally for his Family Medicine expertise and was the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Bahrain Medical Society, and editorial board member of many national and international journals. He is advisor for WHO, EMRO region and WONCA, EMR. He was awarded many recognitions and appreciation of excellence from various local and international organizations and was recognized for distinguished parents caring and recently was awarded certificate of excellence by the World Health & Wellness Awards in India.

He published three books, contributed to chapters in three international books and have 71 articles published in scientific referred journal. Research interest in medical education, family medicine and primary health care

Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani is the president of Higashi Sapporo Hospital (a government-approved hospital specializing in palliative cancer care in Japan), a professor of the department of oncology at the Health Science University of Hokkaido, and president of the International Research Society of the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer. (http://www.sapporoconference.com/en/) He has been an associate editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Supportive and Palliative Care since 2018. He received the Annie Blount-Storrs Award from Calvary hospital in 1991. Dr. Ishitani contributed to the establishment of the Japanese Society for Palliative Medicine and organized the 1st congress in Sapporo in 1996.

Dr. Kunhiko Ishitani received his MD and PhD from Sapporo Medical College. He went on to study as a research fellow of department of biochemistry at the Albert Stein College of Medicine for 3 years, after which he was an assistant professor of department of hematology/oncology at Sapporo Medical College. In 1983, he founded Higashi Sapporo Hospital.