I am a clinical senior lecturer looking at integrating Patient-focused initiatives in many aspects of the HYMS Medical School, including developing modules focusing on giving this holistic approach to the medical students.
I qualified in Thoracic Surgery in and I have been awarded a PhD at the University of Leeds in 2019 on The Role of Patients Reported Outcomes (PROMS) in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer radical treatments. I have obtained a Master in Robotic Thoracic Surgery in 2017 in Pisa, Italy. During my surgical career, I have been a visiting physician of foreign Institutions such as the Divisions of Thoracic Surgery at the Washington University, St. Louis, USA and Hotel Dieu in Paris, France.
I am expert in Health Outcomes Research and my research focus is on patient-centered care for thoracic surgical patients. In particular, I focus on patient-reported outcomes (PROs), health-related quality of life, and preoperative fitness for surgery.I am also involved in gender equality research in academic surgery and particularly interested and deeply committed to the elimination of bias and disparities in healthcare and in particular in thoracic oncology.
My research focuses on two areas a) patient-centred and personalised interventions for complex lung oncological conditions b) evidence-based practice in thoracic surgery with particular interest in risk-stratification and preoperative assessment through Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs).
I am part of research groups developing and implementing quality of life instruments in clinical practice using new technologies.am co-chairing the ESTS Patient-Centred Working Group developing a European Quality of Life App for surgical patients and other patient-focused projects. I am also part of the EORTC Quality of Life Group, participating to initiative focusing on developing the Lung Cancer Specific PROs questionnaires and educational project to establish PROs curriculum.I am an advocate for gender equity in surgery, having some leadership positions as chair the ESTS Women in General Thoracic Surgery Committee (@ests_womenThor), and as a member of the SCTS Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery (WiCTS) committee. I have been recently elected co-chair of the IASLC Diversity and Inclusion Task-Force. I have funded the ESTS Women in General Thoracic Surgery Academy, involving clinical and personal development lectures for international female mid-career surgeons.
Editorial Board Membership:
- Associate Editor for Thoracic of the Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery
- Journal (ICVTS), 2022-present
- Journal of Thoracic Disease (JTD), 2016-present
- Section Editor of Annals of Translational Medicine (ATM), 2019-present
- Journal of Hospital Management and Health Policy (JHMHP), 2020-present
- Acta Chirurgica Belgica, 2021-present
Guidelines panel membership:
- PROMs lead of the European Respiratory Society (ERS)/ESTS/European Society for Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) Clinical Practice Guideline Task Force on Fitness for Tumour- specific Treatments of Lung Cancer (TF-2020-07)
Professional Membership:
- International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) D&I Task-Force Chair
- European Respiratory Society (ERS)
- European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS), Co Chair Patient-centred Working Group 2019, Co Chair Women in General Thoracic Surgery Committee 2020
- Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS)
- British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG)
- European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group
- ISOQOL (International Society of Quality of Life Research)
- Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (2022)
2012: European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) Young Investigator Award