Patrons and Board


PROFESSOR PETER M MORTIMER

Patron/Medical Advisor

Professor Peter Mortimer trained in Dermatology in Sheffield and Oxford. Formerly Physician to the Skin Department at St George’s and consultant skin physician to the Royal Marsden Hospital, as well as Professor of Dermatological Medicine to the University of London since 2000, he is now Emeritus Professor of Dermatological Medicine at City St George’s, University of London. Professor Mortimer is a founder of both the Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN) and British Lymphology Society (BLS), and was appointed the first Clinical Training Fellow in Lymphovascular Medicine in the UK.

PROFESSOR KRISTIANA GORDON

Patron/Medical Advisor

Professor Kristiana Gordon is a Consultant and Professor in Dermatology and Lymphovascular Medicine. She is Clinical Lead of the Lymphoedema Service at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, where her team cares for thousands of patients with primary and secondary lymphoedema from across the UK. Professor Gordon completed her doctorate in lymphoedema but continues to pursue her research interests within the rapidly developing field of lymphovascular medicine and Lipoedema.

PROFESSOR VAUGHAN KEELEY

Medical Advisor

Professor Vaughan Keeley is a Consultant Physician who specialises in lymphoedema. He leads the lymphoedema service in Derby, Nottingham and Mansfield, which sees people with all types of lymphoedema/chronic oedema and Lipoedema in adults and children. In 2020, the service was designated as a ‘Comprehensive Centre of Excellence for Lymphatic Diseases’ by LE&RN (the Lymphatic Education and Research Network). His research interests include developing quality of life assessment tools in lymphoedema and Lipoedema, and he is an Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham Medical School.

SHARIE FETZER

Chair

Sharie has been Chair of Lipoedema UK since 2014. She initiated the first patient survey in 2012 and, with Amy Fetzer, co-wrote the Lipoedema UK Big Survey 2014 Research Report, which was instrumental in creating the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) eLearning course. The Big Survey and RCGP’s course together became a worldwide impetus for better awareness of Lipoedema. Sharie and Mary Warrilow, Lipoedema UK Nurse Consultant, co-authored Women in Dire Need Denied Surgery and Treatments: Compression Garments and Liposuction to Manage Lipoedema following the NICE review into non-cosmetic surgery for Liposuction. Sharie is also a Patient Organisation representative on the Board of the newly formed Lipedema World Alliance (LWA).

KATE FORSTER

Trustee/Treasurer

Kate was diagnosed with Lipoedema in autumn 2015, following the late diagnosis of her mother with lipo-lymphoedema. As she grew up, Kate and her family experienced the impact of her mother’s undiagnosed and inappropriately treated Lipoedema and lymphoedema; Kate is therefore passionate about increasing access to early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. She had Lipoedema surgery in spring 2016. Kate is currently Vice President, Global Human Resources, for a medical device manufacturer, and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Kate also volunteers for several other charities and community groups, and is a Patient Organisation representative on the Board of the newly formed Lipedema World Alliance (LWA).

SUZANNE EVANS

Founder/Trustee

Suzanne was diagnosed with Lipoedema in May 2011, 35 years after her symptoms first appeared. The shock of discovering she had a genetic condition, and the realisation that her long years of dieting had not just been worthless but had almost certainly made her condition worse, led Suzanne to work with St George’s Hospital to create Lipoedema UK.

KRIS JONES

Trustee/Nurse Consultant

Kris started working in Lymphology in 1998 and is now a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Director of LymphCare UK Community Interest Company, the first standalone lymphoedema service to have spun out of the NHS. She has a long-established interest in the diagnosis and management of Lipoedema, and has been involved in ensuring Lipoedema treatment is recognised within service specifications. She also has experience of living with Lipoedema, so brings a personal and clinical perspective. Kris is a respected trainer on compression and treatments for lymphoedema and Lipoedema.

SARA PERCIVAL

Trustee/Clinical Consultant

Sara Percival MSc. is an Advanced Practitioner and Service Lead. Sara started her working life as a radiographer, but her interest in lymphology started in 2008 while working as a therapy coordinator for a local hospice. She helped to set up a lymphoedema service in North Essex, and has since worked with commissioners to get NHS funding for this service. In 2017, she secured funding approval to see people with Lipoedema. Sara has a personal interest in Lipoedema and is keen to promote, and ensure, parity of care and treatment provision, and she is actively involved in providing education on both lymphoedema and Lipoedema to health professionals, patients and the public.

MARY WARRILOW

Nurse Consultant

Mary has varied nursing experience, including two years working in the community as a District Nurse and Primary Care Matron before specialising in lymphoedema. Mary was Joint Founder and Managing Director of LymphCare UK, a nurse-led Community Interest Company and social enterprise based in the West Midlands, which provides comprehensive Lipoedema and lymphoedema management. Mary has won a number of nursing awards, including the title ‘Queen’s Nurse’ from The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), and she is passionate about increasing access to services and treatments for patients with Lipoedema and lymphoedema. Mary now works as an independent Nurse Advisor for lymphoedema and Lipoedema, and provides specialist advice for many of Lipoedema UK’s medical enquiries.

CLARE ANVAR

Clinical Therapy Advisor

Clare has been a clinical massage and complementary therapist since 2004. She is extensively qualified in many massage techniques, including neuromuscular therapy, MLD, myofascial release, scar therapy, kinesiology taping and counselling, and has a diverse private practice helping people with complex pain conditions, post-surgical recovery, cancer-related dysfunction, post-traumatic stress disorder/breathing pattern dysfunction and immune/autoimmune/lymphatic issues. Since 2015, Clare has focused on improving the lives of people with lymphoedema and Lipoedema.

DR LESLEY STEINITZ

Head of Research

Lesley was diagnosed with Lipoedema in 2021, 40 years after first seeking medical advice for its symptoms. Diagnosis and access to treatments have transformed her quality of life, but the journey should not have been so long and difficult. She is now determined to do what she can to improve the diagnosis and treatment for people with Lipoedema in the UK. She brings several decades of business experience and a decade as a historian of food, medicine and science to her role as Head of Research.

JOELLA NUTT

Membership Support/Operations Manager

Joella has been an invaluable and integral part of Lipoedema UK for several years. She is our front-line contact person, managing our membership systems and enquiries. As our webinar co-ordinator, Joella has become a familiar face at our membership sessions.

TERESA SANDERSON

Social Media Ambassador UK

Tess is Lipoedema UK’s Social Media Ambassador. Lipoedema has shaped Tess’s life since around the age of eight, but she experienced 41 years before a diagnosis, so knows what it’s like to have gone through life with Lipoedema without support or treatment. Tess often chairs our webinars, bringing support and friendship on a weekly basis to our members.

DR YANNAN (JESSICA) JIN

Nutritional Research

Jessica’s research expertise lies in the areas of dietary prevention and management of cardiometabolic diseases, and childhood malnutrition prevention in the UK. Her current research activities include finding nutritional and adjunctive solutions to improving the health conditions and life qualities of patients diagnosed with Lipoedema or cardiometabolic diseases, and also developing strategies to tackle food insecurity and health inequality that are emerging at regional, national and global levels. Jessica is also a Registered Nutritionist (specialising in Nutrition Science), certified by the Association for Nutrition since 2013, and has been a Fellow of High Education Academy in the UK since 2016.

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