Meet our team

Our team brings together a wide range of expertise in cancer care and treatment, clinical and non-clinical education, research, media, and communication.

Write your awesome label here.

Our leadership team

Simon

Bhav

Kiruthikah

Julie

Dr Simon Hughes is the Director of Guy’s Cancer Academy.

He’s also a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, an Honorary Reader at King’s College London School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and a member of the Education Council at ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology).

Simon divides his time between:

Clinical education (using digital and blended education to tackle health inequalities and improve cancer outcomes).
Clinical work (using radiotherapy and drugs to treat people with prostate and bladder cancers).
Research (developing new radiotherapy techniques and investigating the combination of radiotherapy with novel agents).

Simon has extensive experience in clinical education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has been the Clinical Oncology Training Programme Director for South East London, an Associate Clinical Dean of GKT Medical School at King’s College London, President of the Oncology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, and past chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) International Education Steering Group. He is a Fellow of both the Higher Education Academy and the Academy of Medical Educators.

Outside medicine, Simon is an international tuktuk racer, provides ballast for an offshore yacht racing team, and won the inaugural 'Dumball Rally - India' in 2018 driving a Hindustan Ambassador.

Bhav Radia is Head of the Learning Laboratory.

He founded and leads the Learning Laboratory which designs, develops and researches online education for a global audience of healthcare professionals and people affected by cancer.

Bhav has worked and researched in the online learning field for the last decade. Bhav has worked with a wide range of different organisations over the last few years - from business schools in Cardiff and London, to florists in Florida, and global mediation organisations.

This enjoyable work has led to the development of hundreds of online modules and courses, which have been accessed by over 100,000 learners across the globe.

Bhav has a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford, which focused on technology-enhanced learning. He is currently completing a part-time PhD exploring the impact of professional development in the NHS at the University of Cambridge. He has written several peer reviewed articles with collaborators at Cambridge and Guy's. He teaches modules on educational theory and evaluation to clinicians across Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust and to partners in India.

Bhav can play four musical instruments. One of these is the recorder.

Julie Bishop is Business and Project Manager at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

She oversees the Academy’s finances, contracts and human resources (HR). She also provides administration support for all our events and courses.

Julie has over 19 years’ experience of working in the NHS, 15 of which have been with Guy’s & St Thomas’. She started in the Trust in 2007 as a PA Office Manager, and after a year became the Business Manager for the Cancer Programme. She has worked specifically within cancer for 14 years.

Julie is a mother to a 19 year old daughter, and is very family oriented. Since her father’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in January 2022 she has been engaged in fundraising and raising awareness for this condition.

Dr Kiruthikah Thillai is Health Equality and Inclusion Education Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

She is also Consultant Medical Oncologist and Deputy Clinical Director for Oncology at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Kiruthikah works on developing educational content for staff and patients focusing on communication, health care inequalities and wellbeing.

Kiruthikah is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. During specialist training she was awarded a Wellcome Trust fellowship to undertake a PhD in cancer biology.

She has extensive experience in postgraduate education and was the former education lead for junior doctors in Oncology at Guy’s and St. Thomas’, and co-created a wellbeing programme for junior staff.

In her spare time she practises yoga and paints.

Yvonne Francis is Faculty Development Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

Yvonne oversees the running of accredited courses, writes learning content, and organises UK-based learning events such as webinars and study days. She supports, develops and delivers education and training to all staff involved in providing care for people with cancer.

She has a DipHe in adult nursing, a BSc in cancer nursing, a PGDip in Advanced Nursing Practice and a PGCert in clinical education. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Yvonne has 25 years’ experience as a nurse, mostly as a clinical nurse specialist in haemo-oncology. As an independent nurse prescriber she routinely educated in, monitored and prescribed systemic anti-cancer therapy.

She has recently co-authored a chapter in the new UKONS textbook: Fundamentals of Cancer Care, as well as the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)-endorsed first national guidance for therapeutic venesections for which she won the 2021 British Journal of Nursing Nurse of the Year Award.

Yvonne has two children, two kittens and 10 goldfish! She is also responsible for the plants in the office as her indoor plants at home get destroyed.

Louisa Fleure is the Lead Course Educator for our prostate cancer care course.

Louisa is a Consultant Nurse and leads the uro-oncology CNS teams at Guy’s Hospital. She specialises in the care of people with advanced prostate cancer, with a particular interest in androgen deprivation therapy.

Louisa has 30 years’ experience in urological nursing, and has an MSc in Advancing Health Care Practice, postgraduate qualifications in healthcare ethics and Law, and is a non-medical prescriber. She is chair of the European Association of Urological Nurses Prostate Special interest group, and has also held trustee and officer positions for the British Association of Urological Nurses.

In her spare time Louisa is a keen fan of true crime documentaries and reality television. She has never been called for jury service but this remains a key ambition and life goal.

Michael Flynn is the Lead Course Educator for our acute oncology (AOS) course.

He works on supporting students undertaking the AOS module and updating content for the module.

Michael has been the Acute Oncology Nurse Consultant at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ for 11 years and a cancer nurse for 33 years. He has an MSc in Advanced practice from King’s College London and a PG Cert in Health Services Management from London South Bank University. He is an independent prescriber, and is currently undertaking an MSc in Health Professions Education at UCL.

In his spare time Michael is ever expanding his barbecuing repertoire, much to his wife’s dismay. According to Michael the ideal number of fire related devices to own is n + 1 (where n is the current number you own).

Dr Catherine Oakley is Joint Course Lead for our systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) course.

Catherine is a Chemotherapy Nurse Consultant at Guy’s Cancer Centre, where she leads non-medical prescribing clinics and is the strategic SACT nursing lead.

She is a clinical academic with a research focus on communicating risk and symptom reporting. She is establishing a new model for group pre-treatment consultations where patients and families learn from each other and the nurse facilitators.

Catherine is a past president of the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) and past co-chair of the UK SACT Board.

She worked with Cancer Research UK to develop a national cancer patient treatment record and patient film, and is the lead author for the national UKONS SACT nursing Competency Passport.

Catherine lives in Surrey and has a keen interest in gardening. Her favourite place is Spain, where she often visits.

Lisa McGarry is Joint Course Lead for our systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) course.

Lisa is the Head of Nursing for Oncology at Guy’s and St Thomas’. She is a highly accomplished, well respected senior nursing leader with over 17 years’ experience in NHS cancer nursing.

Her extensive nursing experience spans different cancer services including oncology, haematology and ambulatory systemic anti-cancer therapies (SACT).

Lisa's portfolio reflects a solid clinical, operational and strategic nursing background in SACT nursing. She has contributed to articles on improving and promoting patient care, support seminars, and education modules on SACT, and is a UKONS Champion.

Dr Danny Ruta is Lead Course Tutor for our upcoming accredited course on artificial intelligence in cancer care.

Danny is AI Clinical Lead for Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, including Guy’s Cancer Centre, which is partnering with the King’s Technology Evaluation Centre (KiTEC), King’s College London, on the clinical evaluation of AI technology in cancer care.

Danny currently leads on several AI clinical evaluations in cancer care, including evaluations of AI for clinical decision support, clinical trials matching and histopathology diagnosis.

Danny has formerly held posts as Director of Public Health for the London Borough of Lewisham and the City of Newcastle, and as Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Health Services Research at Newcastle University and Dundee University. He is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Kings College London.

He has an admiration for the great Disney animators and a passion for hand-drawn animation, which he's dabbled in, on and off, since he was 14 years old.

Andrew Grey is Online Learning and Events Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

He designs and creates online courses and events for all audiences, in the UK and internationally.

Andrew has spent several years working in health and care, specialising in patient information, digital learning and engagement, and adult education and training. He has trained as a tutor, trainer and editor.

In his spare time, Andrew co-hosts The Right Work careers podcast, and according to Spotify he is a top 0.1% fan of ABBA.

Gareth Bracken is Learning Content Creator / Editor and Patient Involvement Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

He works on writing, editing and creating online learning for all audiences, in the UK and internationally. This includes ensuring that the experiences of people affected by cancer feature within our learning.

Gareth worked as a journalist for nearly 13 years, writing and editing for consumer, business-to-business and charity magazines and websites. This included almost seven years at Alzheimer’s Society, where he supported people living with dementia and their carers to share their stories publicly.

When not working or parenting, Gareth enjoys spending his free time writing online biographies in the third person.

Megan Thomas is Online Learning Copywriter and Editor at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

Megan develops, writes and edits online learning content tailored to a range of audiences.

Megan holds a BSc in Human Biology and an MSc in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. She previously worked as a Medical Writer where she worked on the development and publication of research papers for healthcare and biotechnology companies. She has a keen interest in science communication and enjoys translating complex medical information into clear, engaging and accessible content.

In her free time, Megan is a big football fan (COYG) and enjoys walking her dog Coco.

Vic Cann is Learning Lab Copywriter and Editor at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

She writes, edits and creates learning content for Guy’s Cancer Academy’s online resources, courses and programmes.

Vic has been copywriting and editing in a host of eclectic roles over the last ten years, from marketing luxury travel, to writing and presenting educational content for heritage charities. Vic completed an MA in English Literature in 2018 which helped hone her editorial abilities (whilst in no way alleviating her obsession with good grammar).

Vic can (just about) play the ukulele - if requests include The Beatles’ Let It Be or anything by the Backstreet Boys. She can be found most weekends cycling around London or the Surrey Hills, in search of a good view and a good pint.

Marcus Samperi is Media Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

His day to day work involves planning productions (including speakers, locations and scripts), and filming and editing those visions, usually with eclectic background music playing and a hot beverage by his side!

Marcus has a long history of working in different forms of media from commercial radio and children’s television through to large scale film and TV drama productions. He brings that creativity to learning material here at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

Marcus loves a challenge. In the past these have been adventure-based such as summiting mountain peaks or stand up paddle boarding long distances (Bristol to London was a highlight) to more recently self-renovating his home!

Will Green is Media Production Content Creator at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

On a daily basis, Will shoots and edits the content that we produce within the Learning Lab. He also gets involved with pre- production and keeps a close eye on the upkeep of the equipment and the studio.

Will studied for his BSc at the University of Greenwich, and has remained in London ever since, working with cameras for 20 years overall, both within a rental environment, and on set shooting a wide range of content from commercials and music promos, to high-end feature films and TV dramas.

As a Viking in a past life, Will loves to be out on the water. His weekends often consist of SCUBA diving or sailing somewhere around the UK.

Marjolein Poortvliet is Animation and Art Lead at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

Marjolein creates animations and illustrations to visually communicate ideas in the fields of science, healthcare and linguistics.

She has a decade’s worth of experience in instructing and presenting in higher education. She has since started her own business in illustration and animation, where she has worked for universities, organisations and businesses in The Netherlands, the US and the UK.

Marjolein holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Oxford.

Dr Shrawan Pandit is Senior International Education Fellow at Guy’s Cancer Academy. He is also Senior Oncology Clinical Fellow at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He helps to develop and deliver high-quality digital and blended learning. He develops educational content particularly focusing on oncology for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professions.

Shrawan graduated in medicine from Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences and has General Medical Council (GMC), UK registration with a licence to practise.

Apart from working as a doctor in various hospitals in Kathmandu and NHS in the United Kingdom, he has a keen interest in teaching and learning activities and has years of experience working in medical education departments.

During his spare time, Shrawan listens to music and often meditates to keep himself relaxed and peaceful.

Dr Parnyan Ashtari is Senior Clinical International Education Fellow at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

She is also a dentist with the Head and Neck Cancer Restorative Dental Services, Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Parnyan is involved in the design, development and delivery of digital cancer education at Guy’s Cancer Academy. Additionally, she provides dental care to Head and Neck Cancer patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and is actively involved in cancer research working alongside the Head and Neck & Oral Cancer team at GSTT.

Parnyan has extensive clinical experience and is a dual-qualified dentist and pharmacist. She has worked in multiple clinical specialties in both primary and secondary care settings. Parnyan is an experienced educator and is undertaking a qualification in clinical education.

In her spare time, Parnyan enjoys singing and exploring London!

Dr Emily Hubbard is a Senior Education Fellow at Guy’s Cancer Academy.

She is involved in creating medical education content across a wide range of medical specialties and projects, to provide training for healthcare professionals and information for patients.

Emily has a background in medical education -- working as a Clinical Educator at the University of Buckingham, facilitating teaching of Phase I medical students. She also works as a Medical Tribunal Member for the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

Emily is a GMC licensed doctor with over 10 years' of NHS experience in anaesthetics and general practice. She gained her Fellowship of the Royal Collage of Anaesthetists in 2014.

At the weekends, Emily enjoys exploring the Oxfordshire countryside with her family.

Llywelyn Cadman-Davies is Lead Pharmacy Educator at Guy's Cancer Academy.

He leads on writing course information and mentoring professionals on systemic anti-cancer therapies and cancer courses, across a wide scope of professional platforms.

Llywelyn has worked across cancer services for 15 years, operating as an expert clinician within haemato-oncology for the past 10 years at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He has led the pharmacy service in oncology and haematology as part of his ongoing role.

He is an independent prescriber in myeloid neoplasms, and is currently leading on the pharmacy research projects within cancer at the Trust.

After beginning his sporting career as an aspiring rugby player, both age and injury have blunted his dynamism. He can now most often be found blindly wandering around golf courses muttering to himself about lost youth.

Dr Michael Skwarski is Clinical Oncology Consultant at Guy’s Cancer Centre.

Michael has been a consultant at Guy’s Cancer Centre for the last four years, and has a specialist interest in treating thoracic malignancies.

He joined Guy’s Cancer Academy in 2023 with the aim of developing educational content focusing on radiation-based treatments.

Michael completed his clinical oncology training in Oxford, where he also completed a PhD which involved developing and running early phase oncology clinical trials. He continues to be involved in research, as well as being a lecturer and educational supervisor for medical students.

Michael has recently been rediscovering his Polish roots through cooking, and you can often find him in the kitchen making pierogi in the small hours of the night.

Professor Arnie Purushotham has been a Consultant Academic Surgeon for 26 years having worked in Glasgow, Cambridge and London. He is Professor of Breast Cancer at King’s College London and Consultant Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. He is also the Director of King’s Health Partners Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

As a scientific researcher, Professor Purushotham’s goal has been to drive high quality clinical and translational research that directly impacts patients with cancer. Key areas of research are patterns of metastatic spread, novel optical intra-operative imaging, MR Elastography to predict response or resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, window of opportunity trials, prevention and early detection, cancer in low- and middle-income countries and cancer outcomes.

Arnie advises on international education and public health.

Guy's Cancer Academy
1 Long Lane
London
SE1 4PG

Get updates on courses, events and research from the Guy's Cancer Academy team.

I would like to receive news, tips and tricks, and other promotional material

Thank you!

Meet our team

Our leadership team

Simon

Bhav

Julie

Kiruthikah

Find out who can help you with…

Credit-bearing courses

Yvonne

Louisa

Michael

Catherine

Lisa

Danny

Online learning and media

Andrew

Gareth

Megan

Vic

Marcus

Will

Marjolein

Clinical content / expertise

Shrawan

Parnyan

Emily

Llywelyn

Michael

Advisors

David

Arnie