Fiona Jones

Fiona Jones MBE is Professor of Rehabilitation Research at St George's University of London and Kingston University. She specialises in physiotherapy, neurorehabilitation and self-management research and has led studies to evaluate self-management approaches within stroke teams in London. She is interested in professional attitudes and skills that influence inclusive approaches to self-management support and sustainability within acute and community rehabilitation settings.  

Fiona is leading a study funded by the UK National Institute of Health Research to evaluate the use of Experience–Based Co-Design to explore ways to increase therapeutic activity in stroke units.  

Lisa Kidd

Dr Lisa Kidd is a Reader in Supported Self-Management in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow.

Her research interests include self-management, person-centred care, implementation science, and patient and public engagement. Lisa is leading research focussing on the implementation of self-management support in stroke service provision, particularly how practitioners implement and embed self-management support in their practice.

Lisa inputs into the roll out of supported self-management as part of Scotland's Stroke Improvement Plan. She leads the Supported Stroke Self-Management Network, a network of practitioners, academics, policymakers with an interest in shaping stroke self-management research and practice.

Alexia Kountouri

Alexia Kountouri had a stroke in May 2015 whilst she was studying for a PhD in the UK. Her right side was paralysed and she had to give up her studies.

She has had to learn how to adapt, cope and solve problems caused by her disability. She is now a social worker in Nicosia Municipality Multifunction Foundation, enabling vulnerable and marginalised people in Nicosia to become active and integrated into society. Alexia is also an Ambassador for stroke in Cyprus.

Nuno Ferreira

Dr Nuno Ferreira is a Professor of Clinical Health Psychology at the University of Nicosia and has a PhD in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Edinburgh. He has published extensively in the areas of General Mental Health Disorders and Psychological Adjustment to Chronic Illness.

Nuno is interested in the use and development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for long-term or chronic health conditions. He is also interested in the study of the impact of values, acceptance/ avoidance, cognitive fusion and mindfulness on psychosocial and physical outcomes.

Diana Wong Ramos

Diana Wong Ramos was 34 years old and working as a journalist-editor for a magazine when she had a Cerebral Venous Thrombosis stroke. Her life changed and she had to adapt to her new circumstances. Thanks to exhaustive work with a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team Diana began to regain some mobility and independence.

She has a special interest in patient advocacy and patient engagement and was involved in the creation of the first Portuguese association of stroke survivors www.portugalavc.pt and participated in the redesign of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030.

Liam Healy

Dr Liam Healy is a Consultant Stroke Physician and Geriatrician and Clinical Lead for Stroke in Cork University Hospital, Ireland. Cork University Hospital is the busiest inpatient stroke service in the country and one of two thrombectomy centres nationally. 

Liam trained in Ireland as a Geriatrician and spent a number of years training in Edinburgh in Acute Medicine and Stroke before returning to Cork in 2015. He is a member of the Irish Clinical Advisory Group on Stroke and a Clinical Lecturer in University College Cork. 

Avril Drummond

Avril Drummond is Professor of Healthcare Research, and an occupational therapist, at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her main area of interest is stroke rehabilitation and she has undertaken large trials, studies and service evaluations. 

She is a member of the Royal College of Physicians' Intercollegiate Working party for stroke, which produces the UK Stroke Clinical Guidelines. She is a former Chair of the UK Stroke Forum, she chaired the 'Life after stroke' domain for the Action Plan for Stroke in Europe and is a trustee of the UK Stroke Association. 

Juliet Bouverie

Juliet Bouverie OBE is the Chief Executive of the Stroke Association. The organisation’s activities extend from funding stroke research, to providing services to stroke survivors and their families, influencing and campaigning for change, and educating and working to prevent strokes. There are 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK, yet stroke still remains the fourth single largest cause of death in the UK and second in the world.  

Juliet co-chairs the Stroke Delivery Programme Board with NHS England and is a member of the NHS Assembly.  

Hanne Christensen

Hanne Krarup Christensen is Professor of Neurology at the University of Copenhagen and Bispebjerg Hospital. She has worked for 25 years in clinical practice, mainly in acute stroke care, as well as stroke research.

Hrvoje Jurlina

Hrvoje Jurlina M.D is a specialised doctor of family medicine, responsible for over 1900 patients in the Community Health Center of Zagreb County. He is also the coroner for the county.

He survived a stroke in 2015 and became involved in the Croatian Stroke Society and is now its Second Vice President. He is board member for the Stroke Alliance for Europe. Hrvoje Jurlina believes that because stroke presents itself in an array of different symptoms, it is necessary to take a biopsychosocial approach to achieve post stroke recovery.

Hariklia Proios

Hariklia Proiosis is Associate Professor of Neurocognitive Disorders and Rehabilitation at the Department of Educational and Social Policy of the University of Macedonia, Greece. Her research interests include adult aphasia, visual hemi-spatial neglect, and number processing difficulties in people with aphasia. She is interested in the implementation of theoretical constructs for evaluating neurological cases, and the development of standardised tools for patient screening and testing.

She is President of the Stroke Alliance for Europe and a member of the National Aphasia Association Advisory Council, the Multicultural Task Force and the Academy of Aphasia. She is active in Stroke and Rehab committees in the World Health Organization and the American Congress of Rehab Medicine.

Rosa Suñer-Soler

Dr Rosa Suñer-Soler Serra is a researcher at the University of Girona. She is a registered nurse, has a degree in social and cultural anthropology and a doctorate in psychology. Her postgraduate specialisation was in stroke units at the University of Alicante.

Before she became a full-time researcher with a Serra Húnter Fellowship in 2018, she worked as a nurse and held several senior management positions, especially in neurosciences and then became a lecturer of the University of Girona. Her research is in health psychology and health promotion in the healthcare sector, particularly in stroke care and prevention. She is also a member of the Cerebrovascular Diseases Working Group of the department of health of the government of Catalonia.

Carina U Persson

Dr Carina U Persson works at the Department of Occupational therapy and Physical Therapy at Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SU) in Gothenburg, Sweden and is clinically active at the stroke unit at SU/Östra.

She has worked as a physiotherapist and graduated with a PhD in Medicine and was appointed associate professor in Rehabilitation Medicine at GU in 2019. Carina is a member of the research group Rehabilitation Medicine, GU, and her research areas are within post-stroke rehabilitation and epidemiology. She is a board member of the Nordic Stroke Society, Stroke Centrum Väst Inspirationsforum and Neuro Section of Fysioterapeuterna.