Advancements in Global Health: The 11th Malta Medical School Symposium

Professor Maxwell qualified in Medicine with Honours from the University of Birmingham in 1986 and trained in medicine and clinical pharmacology in the West Midlands where he undertook research in cardiovascular medicine to gain both PhD and MD degrees. He was initially appointed as a consultant in 1996 in Leicester and subsequently moved to Edinburgh where he is now Professor of Student Learning (Clinical Pharmacology and Prescribing). He has had a longstanding interest in the assessment and management of people at increased cardiovascular risk because of hypertension and hyperlipidaemia.

He has been a member of the Scottish Medicines Consortium and NICE medicines appraisal committee. He is currently a member of the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Pharmacovigilance Expert Advisory Committee and is Medical Director of the Scottish Centre for Adverse Reactions to Drugs (CARDS).

Bora Lim is an esteemed associate professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, at the forefront of translational research in oncology. As the Chief of the Translational Research section, Dr. Lim is not just a researcher; she's a visionary, crafting innovative therapeutic strategies to confront and conquer aggressive breast cancers. Her unique approach leverages precise tissue analysis and rigorous bench validation to ensure the highest efficacy in clinical applications.

At the helm of the OPTIMA program, Dr. Lim orchestrates a symphony of collaboration among internal and external investigators. Her mission: to unearth new therapeutic vulnerabilities and decipher the resistance mechanisms of rare and formidable breast cancers. Trust in Dr. Lim's expertise to illuminate the path toward new life-saving treatments in the fight against breast cancer.

Professor Booth is a clinical academic specializing in primary immunodeficiency (PID) and gene therapy. She leads gene therapy clinical trials at Great Ormond Street Hospital, treating patients with immune deficiencies, haematological, and metabolic disorders. Her expertise spans pre-clinical laboratory research, translational studies, phase I/II clinical trials, and the clinical management of patients with PID, including

Her extensive experience in clinical trials includes regulatory frameworks, investigational medicinal product (IMP) manufacturing, clinical pathways, orphan drug designation, industrial partnerships, and commercialization.

Her pre-clinical research focuses on developing gene therapy strategies for X-linked lymphoproliferative diseases (XLP-1 and XIAP deficiency). She is actively investigating both conventional lentiviral-mediated corrective strategies and novel gene editing techniques to enable targeted gene addition in haematopoietic stem cells and T cells.

As a consultant paediatric immunologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital—one of the U.K.'s two commissioned centres for stem cell transplantation for primary immunodeficiency—she is dedicated to advancing treatments for haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Her work aims to improve outcomes for HLH patients through the development of new therapeutic approaches, including gene therapies. Additionally, she holds a visiting lecturer position at Boston Children’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in paediatric haematology/oncology.

Kevin Mackie has been with Resuscitation Council UK since 1993, first as an ALS Instructor and Course Director, before becoming an Educator in 2003 and a Lead Educator in 2015. As an Educator, Kevin has facilitated many courses and is Educational Adviser to the Advanced Resuscitation of the Newborn Infant (ARNI) course. He is a member of the e-ALS review Working Group and occasional adviser to the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Subcommittee. His particular interest is in debriefing candidates engaged in medical simulation. Now a freelance consultant in medical education and company director, Kevin also spent nearly 25 years in the Royal Air Force.