Managing growth disorders: integrating technology into a personalised approach

Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology

William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London, UK

Martin Savage is Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London School of Medicine & Dentistry in London. He was head of the Paediatric Endocrine Unit at Barts and the London School of Medicine from 1982 to 2007. He is a clinician with clinical and research interests in growth disorders, specifically those with abnormalities in the growth hormone-IGF-1 axis. His main research field has been the phenotype:genotype relationships of GH-IGF-1 axis defects. He published the first human case of an IGF-1 gene defect in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996.

His other clinical interests are Cushing’s syndrome and growth in chronic inflammatory diseases. He was General Secretary of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) from 1997 to 2004. Professor Savage has lectured in 59 countries world-wide and has published over 440 original articles, reviews, textbook chapters and books. In 2007, he was awarded the ESPE Andrea Prader Prize for contributions to paediatric endocrinology and in 2018 he received a Visionary Award from the American Human Growth Foundation. He continues to lecture nationally and internationally.

Disclosures

• Consultancy agreements with Ipsen, Sandoz, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, OPKO, Genexine-Handok
• Honoraria for lectures from GeneScience, Novo Nordisk

Professor of Psychology

Kings College London, London, UK

John Weinman is professor of psychology as applied to medicines in the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and emeritus professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience in King’s College London. The main focus of his research has been on the ways in which patients’ beliefs about their illness and treatment affect self-regulation and self-management across a wide range of physical health problems. Increasingly, part of this work is concerned with understanding the reasons underlying non-adherence to treatment, and in developing effective interventions for improving use of medicines and other recommended treatments. This has also resulted in the development of widely used measures and cognitively-based interventions, which have been shown to be effective in improving adherence to treatment, recovery and quality of life.

Weinman has taught undergraduate and postgraduate medical, pharmacy and psychology students, and is the author of many books and papers in peer review journals. He has been instrumental in developing health psychology as a discipline and a profession in the UK and Europe, and was the founding editor of international journal Psychology & Health. He currently holds visiting professorships in UCL, Denmark and Ireland, and was awarded a lifetime achievement award and an honorary fellowship by the British Psychological Society. Weinman is a fellow of the European Health Psychology Society, the American Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and the Academy of Social Sciences.

Disclosures

• Research grant from Merck, served on Behavioural Advisory Board for Sanofi, and consultant for Bayer

Trustee

Child Growth Foundation

Rachel Pidcock has been a trustee for the Child Growth Foundation for over 15 years, having joined when her eldest daughter, who is now 17, was diagnosed with a rare condition called Russell Silver syndrome at 6 months old. She says; “Being part of the charity has been a life-line to me, it’s given me a set of peers on this journey and now that Emily is older, it’s good to be able to reassure and support those with younger children”.

Professionally, she is a publishing rights agent, and runs her own agency helping 10 small publishing clients sell the rights to their books into Northern Europe. Working from home she enjoys regular travel to book fairs.

Disclosures

• No conflicts of interest to disclose.

Learning and Professional Development Coach

KT Training and Coaching Ltd

Katie Frost is a professional coach and workshop facilitator. She specialises in helping people work with assertive communication skills in the workplace and manage conflict situations with confidence. Taking a psychologically informed approach, she enjoys working with hard to reach young people to support them achieve their goals and potential. Katie is interested in addressing the emotional barriers that can get in the way of people making positive changes in their lives.

Katie is passionate about learning and has recently received her Diploma in Coaching at the University of Cambridge. Trained in motivational interviewing she practices these techniques within her coaching practice and is qualified in a range of psychometric tools. She is OCN London accredited and is a member of the Association of Coaching.

Disclosures

• No conflicts of interest to disclose.

Paediatric Endocrine Specialist Nurse

Children’s Hospital, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Christine Davies completed her general and then children’s nurse training at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff in 1985, and 1989, respectively. Davies worked for 12 years in the acute paediatric sector as a senior staff nurse. She made the move into the community setting firstly as a district nurse, followed by a school health nurse and later as a nurse educator. Davies completed her first degree in specialist community public health nursing in 2004, taking up the role as senior school health practice teacher, with lead responsibility for growth in the community.

Davies completed her PGCE in 2008 and became an associate lecturer in specialist community public health nursing at the University of Glamorgan. She returned to the hospital setting to take up the position of paediatric endocrine specialist nurse in 2010 and also obtained an MSc in Child Health. Davies is currently the lead paediatric endocrine specialist nurse at the Children’s Hospital for Wales.

Disclosures

• No conflicts of interest to disclose.

Jenny Child is Membership & Parent Manager at Child Growth Foundation, having worked there for 18 years. She has three daughters, and her youngest daughter, now 21 years old, has Silver Russell Syndrome and latterly Growth Hormone Deficiency. Her daughter has been on growth hormone treatment for almost 20 years.

Disclosures

• No conflicts of interest to disclose.