ORUK / RCPod virtual course on paediatric practice for podiatrists

Dr. Antoni Caserta (PhD) works as a is Paediatric Podiatrist  across public, private and academic sectors. Antoni’s private practice  focuses on injured young athletes, infant foot conditions, simple and complex gait disorders, chronic pain or disability. Antoni has been Chair of the Paediatric Special Interest Group for the APodA VIC, and has presented numerous times at APodA state conferences, special interest groups and international conferences. He was the 2014 winner of the Jennifer O’Meara Memorial Award for outstanding achievement for a young podiatrist.

Antoni completed his PhD at Monash University, his thesis explored the lower limb characteristics of children with an idiopathic toe walking gait, and how these characteristics are managed. He has published a number of articles on idiopathic toe walking gait , the use of iPhone technology in the clinical setting, podiatry outcome measures, and is currently developing a diagnosis tool for calcaneal and tibial tuberosity apophysitis (Severs disease and Osgood-Schlatter disease).

Antoni is currently the project manager in setting up a Commonwealth and Victorian State funded initiative stemming from the Mental Health Royal Commission. The Infant, Child, Family Mental Health and Wellbeing Hubs will make seeking support easier for families with children aged 0-11 years experiencing developmental, behavioural, and emotional challenges.

Ms Nina Davies is Podiatrist and and Clinical Systems Pathway Development Lead, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. She is a visiting lecturer at Staffordshire University and has developed educational content for University of Plymouth on the lower limb for MSc and BSc (apprenticeship) programmes respectively. Nina is passionate about long term conditions, public health, children’s podiatry and developing practice nationally. She is the post graduate advisor for the Children’s Podiatry Special Advisory Group, editor for the Children’s Podiatry Clinical Framework and works with the Royal College of Podiatry to promote podiatry.

Jill has specialised in the management of childhood foot problems for the past 25 years. She has worked for the NHS and privately and currently works within the paediatric rheumatology department at GOSH, specialising in foot problems in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and hypermobility syndromes and alos seeing patients referred by the Pain Team.   Jill is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of East London, and has presented both nationally and internationally as well as contributing to peer-review journals.

Michail Kokkinakis is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital and an honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London. He is the Lead Surgeon on adolescent hip preservation surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust while his additional subspecialty interests include modern management of orthopaedic deformities in children with cerebral palsy as well as treatment of complex feet deformities.

Michail graduated from the medical school of University of Frankfurt in Germany and received his surgical and orthopaedic training in the UK and Greece. He is fellowship-trained in Glasgow, Evelina London and Stanmore. He has a PhD in orthopaedics awarded by the University of Frankfurt, Germany and a PgCert in Clinical Leadership awarded by the University of Teesside, UK. He has an extensive list of 36 Medline publications.

He is member of the British Society for Children’s Orthopaedic Surgery, British Society for Surgery in Cerebral Palsy and the European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society. He is co-chair of Cerebral Palsy Integrated Pathway for South East England as well as BSCOS Delphi flatfoot consensus group and a regular reviewer for the Bone and Joint Journal.

After qualifying from St Mary’s Paddington in 1989, Sue worked at Northwick Park Hospital and then Great Ormond Street Hospital as a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist.  She has been the lead physio in the Paediatric Rheumatology department and with the Pain Team.  Sue is currently in a joint role as Head of the Physiotherapy Department at GOSH.  Within her clinical role, Sue assesses young people and manages a wide range of MSK and pain conditions. Sue gained an MSc degree and published her thesis on the safety of physiotherapy in Juvenile Dermatomyositis – work that revolutionised how this group of children should be managed physically. Sue presents internationally several times a year and regularly contributes to peer-review journals and key textbooks.

Having graduated from the University of Ulster with BSc Podiatry in 2004, Ryan then completed his Podiatric Surgery training at West Middlesex University Hospital, London in 2014 and was soon after, appointed Consultant Podiatric Surgeon. He is currently the Podiatric Surgery Lead at Homerton Hospital, London and is a registered surgical tutor for the Faculty of Podiatric Surgery. He also works privately on Harley Street, London. Ryan’s clinical interests include the surgical management of hallux valgus, flat foot deformity and diabetic limb salvage.

Alongside his clinical work, Ryan holds an Honorary Fellow position at Ulster University and is an external examiner for the professional podiatric surgery exams at Huddersfield University.

Stewart is a Senior Lecturer at King’s College London. Stewart’s clinical and research interests are child health, with a particular focus on the manifestation and treatment of musculoskeletal foot and lower limb problems in children and young people. Stewart has a background in podiatry and has vast experience of managing foot and lower limb problems across the lifespan. His research is striving to improve clinical care for children and young people through enhancing knowledge and driving positive change in practice.  Stewart is currently leading a population level analysis of primary care encounters for foot and ankle problems in children and young people.

LMF, IOC Dip Sp Phy, MSc Pain Med, MSc Sports Med, Dip MSK US, DIU
Manual Med-Osteo (France)
Dr. Gus is a highly accomplished General Practitioner specializing in Sports Medicine and Pain Medicine. With a medical degree from Madrid, Spain, he holds an MSc in Sports Medicine and an IOC diploma. Dr. Gus also possesses an MSc in Pain Medicine and is a licensed Osteopath. Currently based at the renowned UPANDRUNNING Medical Center in Dubai, he focuses on treating sports-related injuries in both adults and children. Dr. Gus has a particular interest in paediatric sports injuries, including apophysitis in children and adolescents, and serves as the reference center for this field in Dubai. Previously, he held the position of Medical Director at the Andalusian Karate Federation and now contributes as the Volunteer Chief Medical Officer for the Dubai Little League. Dr. Gus’s extensive experience and expertise make him a sought-after speaker on sports medicine and pain management topics.

Gavin Spence is a full time Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. His particular clinical interest is in external fixation and limb deformity correction. Prior to this he was a consultant for King’s College Hospital London (Dubai) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, treating children with a variety of tertiary paediatric orthopaedic conditions including neuromuscular pathology. He trained in London and Cambridge, with fellowships in Great Ormond Street, Stanmore, and Adelaide.

James graduated in 2001 from University College London (UCL) and The London Foot Hospital. Since then he has worked in both the private sector and the NHS where he currently holds the post of Advanced Specialist Podiatrist in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics and Paediatrics. In 2018, he completed his Masters degree in the Principles of Podiatric Surgery from the University of Brighton, with his dissertation focusing on the role of steroid injections for recalcitrant plantar fasciopathy.

James has lectured nationally and internationally for a number of years and is the current vice chair of the Children’s Podiatry Special Advisory Group, as well as one of the main contributors to the Paediatric Podiatry Clinical Framework. He has a special interest in hypermobility and hypermobility disorders, paediatric heel pain (Calcaneal Apophysitis) and paediatric flat feet and is currently involved in 2 separate research projects in these areas. James is also one of the current Deputy Professional Editors for the Royal College of Podiatry professional magazine ‘The Podiatrist’.