Podiatry 2025: Speakers A - Z

Mandy is a Senior Lecturer and the Professional Lead for Podiatry at Glasgow Caledonian University where she teaches on the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She is also the Advanced Practitioner at Hampden Sports Injury Clinic where she works with professional sports people and athletes.

Mandy is the Clinical Director for Special Olympics GB and has extensive experience at Commonwealth, World and European Games. For her work in this field Mandy was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons (Glasgow) and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Podiatry.

Mandy’s research interests are the effect of orthoses on human movement and is at present undertaking her PhD in runners with high arch feet.

Patrick has worked at the Health and Care Professions Council since 2017. He started in the Registration Department working across all the registration processes. He then worked as an Education Officer, quality assuring education programmes to enable students to apply for registration. He has then moved to working in the Upstream Regulation Department that is focussed on prevention, partnership, and support.

Dr Backhouse is podiatrist and Associate Professor in the Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Warwick. He qualified from the University of Southampton and previously held academic appointments at the universities of Leeds and York.

Mike leads a multidisciplinary team improving the lives of people with foot and ankle problems. He has received over £6m of grant income, primarily for large pragmatic clinical trials, but his portfolio also includes systematic reviews, imaging, and mechanism of action studies.

His research is changing clinical practice and informs international guidelines, the NHS Long Term Plan, and the NHS England GP contract.

Mr Ian Beech trained as a podiatrist in Plymouth qualifying 1986! He commenced podiatric surgical training with Professor Mark Tagoe at Hillingdon and then later West Middlesex University Hospital, completing his Fellowship in 2001. Ian has published papers on lesser metatarsal osteotomies and neuroma.

Worked in Nepal working for Nepal Leprosy Trust.

Ian has worked as a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon for St Georges University Hospital NHS Trust based at Queen Mary’s Roehampton. Managing a variety of foot and ankle complaints, working with many other disciplines including: MSK Podiatry, High Risk Diabetes Podiatry.

PG Cert - Non medial Prescribing and Foot and Ankle Ultrasound. Past Chair post for the Southern Region for Faculty of Podiatric Surgery for five years.

He is a great advocate for the podiatry profession to work together in order maintain and further their knowledge, position and excellence in managing the foot; delivering high-quality cost-effective healthcare in the public and private sector.

Dr Aileen Boyd is an infectious diseases/microbiology consultant and clinical lead for diabetic foot infections as well as co-lead for complex outpatient antibiotic therapy at King’s College Hospital, London.

She obtained her medical degree and immunology honours degree from Edinburgh University. She completed specialist training in infectious diseases and general medicine in Manchester and London, following which she obtained Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists in medical microbiology.

She was appointed to her first consultant post at the Homerton University Hospital NHS Trust, London in 2014 and moved to her current role at King’s College Hospital in February 2022.

Qualifying from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2001 Sheryl joined the NHS Podiatry services.

Having worked in a variety of community clinics and acute hospitals throughout her NHS service she has been an integral part in the multidisciplinary development within podiatry.

Sheryl has a passion for the care of the at risk limb and in particular the impact of peripheral vascular disease. Sheryl has held posts as specialist podiatrist, clinical educator and advanced practitioner. She currently holds a seconded post as Deputy Head of Service within NHS Lanarkshire.

Sheryl has completed postgraduate training in prescribing, vascular disease and gained a postgraduate diploma in podiatric medicine.

Sheryl currently sits on the Faculty of Podiatric Medicine Executive Board at Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and is vice chair of the Vascular Specialist Advisory Group within the Royal College of Podiatry.

Outwith podiatry, Sheryl is coaching elite national age group athletes within Netball Scotland and volunteers  with a community netball club for over 150 young players.

Dr Ivan Bristow PhD (Dermatol) MSc (Oxon) FRCPodM is a graduate of the University of Oxford and holds a strong interest in lower limb and foot dermatology. He has promoted the subject worldwide. He has co-authored books, published over 140 professional and academic papers and runs a successful podiatric dermatology blog (www.foot.expert).

His current work includes consultancy, research, private practice and is an Honorary Professor at Health Sciences University in Dorset, United Kingdom and holds other visiting positions at other Universities in the UK and Australia.

Joanne is a passionate and experienced clinician who advocates for improving lower limb care.  She is vice chair of the Legs Matter coalition and is keen to encourage the use of early intervention compression to support good foot and leg care. The Legs Matter campaign on reducing harm focuses on developing workforce capability and supporting practitioners to build confidence in compression therapy.

Joanne will lead a practical session exploring how early intervention compression skill developments can improve outcomes and empower clinicians across settings to deliver preventative care in venous disease.

Dr. Coleman O Clougherty is a foot and ankle surgeon practicing at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. He specializes in treating complex lower limb conditions such as congenital and acquired post-traumatic angular deformities, and focuses on limb salvage of the lower extremities.

His passion in reconstruction goes beyond the clinic with his extensive interest in community medicine and his involvement as an active member of the American Microsurgical Orthoplastic Society (AMOS). Dr Clougherty has extensive experience in muscle flap procedures and peripheral nerve surgery.

Dr Clougherty is an active Attending Physician in the newly created Surgical Residency Training Program Cleveland Clinic, and also serves as an Adjunct Faculty Member and Visiting Professor at the Samuel Merritt University College of Podiatric Medicine.

Ben has over 25 years’ board-level experience working in sales and marketing management and strategic business consultancy for international manufacturing groups. His primary focus has been developing commercial and business strategies to support the growth and expansion of businesses.

Ben now specialises in working with independent business owners on planning their future exit strategies. He feels strongly that exit planning means putting the business owner at the centre of all decision-making, while optimising the business value to enhance its attraction to potential purchasers.

When not working, Ben is a keen golfer, skier, and mountain walker.

After qualifying, Steve became interested in MSK conditions occurring in adults and children. Steve is a Podiatry Professional Lead Managing Children's Podiatry services, education and Future Generations portfolio's.

Steve is the current RCPod Wales Chair as well as being involved with teaching both undergraduate / postgraduate students.

Steve champions service improvement. His team has received the JH Podiatry award, Clinical Board QSE award for SMILE as well as winning two Making it Better awards for waiting list reduction/innovation.

QuickChange is the latest award-winning collaborative project, possibly the most important of his career: even the Welsh Children's Minster came to visit, listen and recognise this initiative.

Mike has been Director of Education for the British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) since 1997 and Medical Director since 2001. His role involves running the BMAS London Teaching Clinic (LTC), developing and running BMAS courses in Western medical acupuncture, acting as an associate editor for the Medline-listed journal Acupuncture in Medicine, and representing the BMAS at academic and political meetings.

He is an Honorary Clinical Specialist at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine.

His principal academic and clinical interests are musculoskeletal pain, and in particular, needling therapies in the treatment of myofascial pain syndromes.

He is a reviewer for Annals of Internal Medicine and has acted as a specialist adviser to NICE in the UK.

After completing his medical degree at Leeds, and several hospital jobs in the north of England, Mike joined the Royal Air Force for a six-and-a-half-year short service commission. A substantial portion of the workload for a general duties medical officer (GDMO) in the RAF is musculoskeletal medicine. Mike came across acupuncture by accident whilst working as a GDMO. He followed his interest in musculoskeletal medicine and acupuncture on retiring from military service and finally found himself occupied full time in the field of acupuncture (see start of the piece).

Links, publications, downloads on this page: https://goo.gl/6XQeXv

Mike edits and writes on the BMAS Blog: https://bmas.blog/

Professor Ketan Dhatariya graduated in 1991 and trained around London where he also did General Practice and ITU. In 2001 he went to Mayo Clinic and was appointed as a consultant in Norwich in 2004, and Honorary Professor in 2019.  

He is the Chair of Association of British Clinical Diabetologists and was the Chair of the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care. He is the Chair of the Examining Board of the UK Diabetes Specialist Clinical Exam. He is the chair of the wound healing group for the IWGDF

He has over 230 peer reviewed publications, with over 20 book chapters on inpatient diabetes, peri-operative diabetes care or on the diabetic foot.

Martin works in the first NHS commissioned, podiatry-led, community lower limb vascular service, in Manchester; providing diagnosis and clinical management to people with peripheral arterial disease, in partnership with primary care and vascular teams.

He presents lectures and workshops nationally and internationally on vascular podiatry and writes journal articles and book chapters on these themes.

He is an elected Council member with the RCPod, chairing the Clinical Senate committee. He has been awarded fellowships by the RCPSG and RCPod and an NHS England CAHPO Gold Award for Excellence, for contributions to vascular podiatry, within the podiatry, AHP and vascular communities.

Dr James Gavin is a lecturer in Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Southampton, who has translated from exercise to health sciences. He has interdisciplinary experience across i) research (specialising in active living and occupations for long-term health), ii) education (Occupational Therapy lead for BSc year 1 Anatomy and Physiology, and years 2 and 3 Research Methods), and iii) enterprise (including partnership with Hampshire County Council and manufacturer, Cyberdyne). He is particularly interested in digital and physical activity interventions to support the self-management of long-term conditions.

Dr Gavin’s research is interdisciplinary in nature, and informs his teaching and enterprise roles, including acting as the Higher Education Institution co-lead (Southampton) for the UK Versus Arthritis Nursing and Allied Health Professional (AHP) internship programme, and member of the Long Term Conditions research group in the School of Health Sciences. These responsibilities involve him working across AHP and nursing educational programmes, particularly in teaching research and evidence-based practice to trainee healthcare professionals.

Adele Holmes qualified from Huddersfield in 1989, with a Diploma in Podiatric Medicine.

Working initially in NHS community podiatry services, Adele developed a special interest in diabetes and high-risk foot complications. She was involved in developing the MDT Diabetic Foot Service within Wirral NHS Trust, introducing advanced treatment techniques and raising the profile of the podiatry profession within a multidisciplinary diabetic foot team, and involved in collaborative studies with other hospital teams.

Adele sold her five-room private practice in Birkenhead after 12 years to relocate to NW Cumbria, where she is now the Director of Cockermouth Chiropody/Podiatry Ltd managing three busy private multidisciplinary podiatry clinics.

Adele has lectured nationally in the past and still enjoys mentoring and educating. Her practice provides final year podiatry placements for Salford University and has two podiatry apprenticeship students from Plymouth University.

Adele is passionate about her beloved podiatry profession, especially the future generation. Her two daughters have recently graduated as HCPC registered podiatrists from Salford University. All podiatrists, wherever they work, should have every opportunity to develop and learn in a standardised way.

Dave James is a TEDx speaker coach, former podiatrist and A&E nurse.

After a career in healthcare, he helps experts develop their speaking skills so they can bridge the gap between their expertise and their audiences. Drawing on his healthcare background and experience hosting stand-up comedy, his work focuses on storytelling, presence, authenticity, and making complex ideas easy to connect with.

His TEDx talk, How Mindfulness and Meditation Can Help Men, has been viewed over 20,000 times and was chosen as an Editor’s Pick.

His keynote, How to Be a Happy Human, blends personal story with practical tools for well-being.

Mr Ewan Kannegieter is a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon based in Essex and current Dean of Podiatric Surgery at the Royal College of Podiatry.

He is also Associate Professor of Medical Sciences at Quinnipiac University, USA, where he supervises research Fellows.

With nearly 25 years’ experience in foot surgery, his specialist interests include minimally invasive techniques, limb salvage, service redesign, and surgical education.

Ewan leads a private practice, sits on the hospital’s medical admissions committee, and oversees clinical governance for MSK, orthopaedics, radiology, SEM, and podiatric surgery. He is passionate about raising the profile of podiatric surgery in the UK and beyond.

Steve qualified as a podiatrist in 1982 in Manchester. On completion of his studies he moved to London taking up a post at City and Hackney District Health Authority. He took a keen interest in the diabetic and rheumatoid foot and became involved in a number of collaborative research projects. At the same time he trained and qualified in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an acupuncturist.

In 1990 he completed a Masters (MPhil) research degree based at the University of Westminster and Northwick Park Hospital. He established a multi centre clinical trial looking at the investigation and management of plantar fasciitis.

In 1992 he was appointed as a part-time clinical tutor in podiatry at the University of Westminster. Steve also took a post at the Royal Free Hospital as podiatrist to the Orthopaedic and Rheumatology Departments. During this period he developed an interest in foot problems associated with Scleroderma and connective tissue diseases as well as general Rheumatology.

In 1996 he completed his surgical training and was awarded Fellowship of the Podiatry Association. He established a Department of Podiatric Surgery within Royal Berkshire NHS Trust where he remained till his retirement from the NHS in 2018. His particular surgical interest was in the management of the arthropathies. He is now retired from all clinical practice.

He is an expert witness with the Parliamentary Clinical Ombudsman and a Royal College Council member.

Wendy qualified as a Podiatrist from what is now known as Northampton University back in 1995 and now works as an Advanced Specialist Diabetic and Tissue Viability Podiatrist in the Midlands.

Over her 29 years she has specialised in many areas including working as the Clinical Audit and Effectiveness Manager for a few years.

She now sits on the RCPod Health and Safety at work panel for the Midland area

In her spare time Wendy is a Brownie leader and volunteers at a local homeless shelter.

Matt is a Registrar in Podiatric Surgery at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon, with special interest in limb salvage.

Matt graduated in 2008 and went on to complete his MSc in Podiatry with a keen focus on MSK and Rheumatology. He attained clinic lead posts in Buckinghamshire and Oxford before formal commencement of his surgical training.

Matt completed his surgical fellowship in Essex under the tutelage of Mr Ewan Kannegieter in 2023 gaining a wealth of experience in elective foot surgery and surgical management of the high-risk foot. Matt has served on the Faculty of Podiatric Surgery and is an independent prescriber.

I was appointed Consultant Podiatric Surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham in 2014. I work in private practice at Spire Little Aston Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and at Rowley Hall Hospital in Stafford. In my NHS post I am a surgical tutor and have been involved with limb preservation surgery, working with our vascular, diabetes and podiatry colleagues to improve the surgical outcomes for patients across Birmingham and Solihull.

I am an elected Fellow of the Faculty of Podiatric Surgery and was Conference Co-chair in 2022 and 2023. As part of my role for Faculty I am National Tutor Co-ordinator and also sit on the Royal College of Podiatry Academic Quality Assurance Committee. I have also represented Faculty on the Royal College of Podiatry’s Research, Development and Innovation Committee.

Veronica Newton, PhD, MSc, BSc, DPodM, PGCert, SFHEA, MRCPod is a part time Lecturer in Podiatry at the University of Salford and part time in Footprints private practice, Lancashire. 

Over the last three years Veronica has a special interest in women’s health and offers a Menopause and MSK service in private practice. She has completed additional menopause education and training.

Veronica is a strong advocate for increasing awareness nationally and internationally on the impact of menopause with respect to MSK symptoms in the lower limb and post menopausal health risks.

Claire qualified as a podiatrist in 1991 and became a Podiatric Surgeon in 2000 being awarded both the Alan Proctor and Ian Turnbull awards for the highest passes in these examinations. In 2003 she completed her training in podiatric surgery and was appointed as a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon at Ilkeston Hospital in Derbyshire.

Claire started working in Hillsborough Private Clinic, Co Down, in March 2007.

She has published papers on the surgical correction of Hallux Valgus surgery, Hammer toe surgery, central metatarsalgia and fusions of the second metatarsalcuneiform joint among others.

I have been a proud member of the Royal College of Podiatry Council since June 2023, where I chair the Employment Support Committee.

For over 25 years, I have represented members as a Staff Side rep, contributing to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion projects and shaping policy on Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. I have represented the College at the Trade Union Congress and within the Midlands network.

Alongside my independent podiatry practice, I serve as a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian across two NHS trusts, and chair the Midlands Regional Guardians Network.

Before joining the Royal College of Podiatry, Jane was Chief Executive at the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (ACB). She is currently on the Science Council Board of Trustees. Jane was a Director at responsible business charity, Business in the Community, leading on community impact, high street regeneration and social enterprise support. During this period, she created and delivered an Olympic legacy programme supporting social enterprise growth to create more than 5000 jobs and over £400m in economic growth.

Additionally, Jane has been a non-Executive Board Member of Impact Hub Kings Cross CIC, part of a global support network for mission-based enterprise delivering positive social and environmental outcomes aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Derek qualified as a podiatrist in 2005 and was awarded his Fellowship in 2023 having completed the new Masters in Podiatric Surgery course at Huddersfield University. He is currently working as a specialist registrar in Podiatric Surgery for Wye Valley NHS Trust whilst completing his CCPST. He also works in an advanced podiatry practitioner role for Hywel Dda University Health Board, where he has set up an independent diagnostic foot and ankle ultrasound service.

Derek has published several peer reviewed articles on a range of broad subjects in both podiatry and surgery.

He also holds a role as an associate lecturer for both Plymouth and Cardiff Metropolitan University having provided lectures for both the under and post graduate level programmes.

Mark Razzante serves as Dean of the Samuel Merritt University College of Podiatric Medicine in Oakland, California.

A board-certified podiatric physician and educator, Dr. Razzante has extensive experience in surgical practice, academic leadership, and curriculum innovation. He has held faculty roles at Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine and University Hospitals and co-founded the Student Transatlantic Education in Podiatric Surgery Program.

Widely published in peer-reviewed journals and a frequent national and international lecturer, Dr Razzante is recognized for advancing podiatric education, research, and clinical excellence. His leadership emphasizes student-centered learning, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration.

Matt Rothwell is a Consultant Podiatric Surgeon at Mid Yorkshire Teaching Trust. He was recently successful in gaining funding for a new podiatric surgery service and is the clinical lead. He has worked extensively as a clinical academic and was previously a Senior Lecturer in Podiatric Surgery at the University of Huddersfield (UoH).

Matt worked extensively with the RCPod Faculty of Podiatric Surgery and UoH as an educational advisor as part of the HCPC approval process for podiatric surgery annotation. He also worked as a HCPC senior visitor. He is still involved in post-graduate education and training and is currently an examiner for the MPodS surgical training course.

He works closely with vascular surgery services and has a growing elective surgery service. His clinical and research interests include limb preservation surgery, management of complex infection and elective surgery and audit.

Jai Saxelby works has the podiatric clinical lead for Physioworks, Musculoskeletal Directorate within Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and has extensive clinical and research knowledge within musculoskeletal care having worked in this sphere for 35 years. 

Jai is co-author of the RCPod Guidelines for Podiatrists using Ultrasound and is one of the RCPod representatives on the Consortium for the Accreditation of Sonographic Education (CASE) committee (since 2017), of which he was recently appointed the chair. Jai completed his PG Cert in Medical Ultrasound in 2011.

Rebecca Shirley is a Plastic Surgeon. She trained in the East Midlands, Oxford and the South East.

Her first interest as a consultant was in hand surgery and she is becoming increasingly interested in feet. She completed fellowships in Oxford in hand surgery, The Royal Marden Hospital, London in microsurgery and at Ganga Hospital in South India in trauma. She was in Ganga Hospital in 2016 and returned in 2024 after the International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons in Mumbai. This return visit was pivotal for realising the increasing burden of diabetic foot disease and the options for treating diabetic foot ulcers, not just with flaps, but by addressing the mechanics of the foot, in order to offload it and heal ulcers.

She is the head of department at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and is an advocate of joint consultant operating. She is part of a diabetic foot MDT and enjoys multidisciplinary work.

Emma has worked in the NHS for 27 years across Bedfordshire and Luton with a diverse clinical history working across Podiatric Surgery, MSK, and Diabetes gaining a non medical prescribing qualification in 2011. She is currently the Professional Lead for Podiatry at East London Foundation Trust, Deputy Therapy Lead and Intermediate Care manager in Bedfordshire Community Health Services.

Having previously chaired the Royal College of Podiatry Apprenticeship Group she has also completed a secondment with the College supporting the Workforce and Education Programme with apprenticeships. Emma is an accredited life coach and Quality Improvement Coach and enjoys facilitating others with their personal growth, providing mentorship to colleagues and supporting service innovation.

In July 2025 she joined the Council as a new elected council member and is looking forward to consolidating all of her skills and experience to support the continual growth of our profession.

Having the role of Conference Chair has been a privilege and career highlight for Emma and in her final year as Conference Chair she is looking forward to building on our purpose and uniting our profession.

Dr Sweeney is a board qualified foot and ankle surgeon with ABFAS and board certified with ABPM.

He is a Pennsylvania native who attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. He then went on to Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine to obtain his DPM where he served as Class President. He is also a recipient of the KSUCPM Student of the Year Award.

He completed an intensive three year surgical residency training at a Level 1 Trauma Center at the University of Louisville where he served as chief resident. He then completed a fellowship in Waycross, Georgia with a focus on Limb Deformity Correction and Reconstruction in 2025.

Dr. Sweeney currently practices in Laurens, South Carolina at Upstate Podiatry Group.

Joanna Tozer is the Clinical Lead in Podiatry at Cardiff Metropolitan University. A Cardiff Met graduate (2010), she has extensive experience across NHS and private sectors in the management of lower limb pathology.

Joanna is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate, conducting an ethnographic study of the ANCLE Café, an innovative collaboration between Cardiff Metropolitan University and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board focused on person centred management of chronic venous leg ulceration.

Her professional interests include interprofessional education, compassionate leadership and the development of integrated models of podiatric care.

After graduating from New College Durham in 1995, I worked within the Podiatry Team at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust for 24 years. My special interest was in high risk wound care, working within diabetes, rheumatology and orthotics before moving into a management role for podiatry and orthotics for the last five years of my NHS career.

After many years of interest, I moved into academia in 2019, taking up a lecturing role back where my career began at New College. I am now the Curriculum Manager for the programme and feel proud to be supporting our future workforce.

Dr Richard Wilkins is a clinical academic podiatrist at the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. His advanced practice integrates independent prescribing, injection therapies, biomechanics, and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Through NIHR-funded doctoral and development fellowships, he has led research into haemophilia-related ankle arthritis and complex foot and ankle interventions. His work underpins clinical trials and care pathway development, translating biomechanical science into practice.

Currently, he leads a non-pharmacological intervention package within the NIHR Leeds BRC, focusing on early diagnosis and management of psoriatic arthritis, combining advanced clinical skills with translational research to improve musculoskeletal care in spondyloarthritis.

Zoe graduated from the University of Salford in 2015 with a BSc in Podiatry, later completing an MSc in the Theory of Podiatric Surgery (2019) along side working in the podiatric surgery sector. More recently (2024) a PGCert in Medical Ultrasound.

Zoe founded ZW Clinics in 2017, a multidisciplinary clinic specialising in complex lower limb biomechanics, podiatric surgery, physiotherapy, gait analysis, diagnostic ultrasound, specialist footwear and rehabilitation. Zoe developed ZW Footcare in 2019, a UK-made, Eco friendly product range for patients and podiatrists which is currently undergoing huge development. 

An international speaker, Zoe has lectured on adult acquired flatfoot, foot drop, complex rearfoot and midfoot pathology, and developed the first in-person course for podiatrists on conservatively managing rearfoot pathology including prescribing AFOs, such as The Richie Brace. A member of the Royal College of Podiatry’s MSK Specialist Advisory Group, she is passionate about advancing podiatric practice and has exciting projects planned for 2026 involving clinical practice, in-house 3D printing and product design: watch this space! 

Zoe is always keen to innovate and inspire within the profession and loves meeting fellow podiatrists from across the globe to discuss all things anatomy, pathology, clinical practice and education.