Dawn
Director of Patient Services
Hi, I’m Dawn and it’s my privilege to lead this fantastic Patient Services Team. Together we are committed to working closely with patients and families, carers and health care professionals to ensure we continue to develop and provide the support services you need. I joined Anthony Nolan in 2021 and am thrilled to be part of an organisation that has such a clear ambition for improving quality of life for all patients following stem cell transplant or cell therapy, and where the patient voice really matters.
As a registered nurse I have spent several years working in haematology and chemotherapy where I had the privilege of caring for, and supporting, patients and their families as they navigated their treatment journeys. I have been fortunate to experience a variety of roles within the NHS, including as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Matron, and Directorate Manager. Outside of work I enjoy long walks with our spaniel and spending time with the family.
Tom
Head of Patient Information
Hi – I’m Tom. I manage the production of our many patient info resources (webpages, booklets and leaflets) developing them with patients, authors and medical professionals. I ensure all our patient info resources meet the PIF TICK quality mark for health information – so they are clear, accurate, accessible and up to date.
Before joining Anthony Nolan, I held similar roles at mental health charity Mind, sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust and as a broadcast journalist on the BBC News website. I live in east London and when I’m not working, I like to DJ, swim and run (a bit).
Sarah
Head of Patient Involvement
I joined Anthony Nolan in 2013 and have had a variety of roles working across Donor & Transplantation Services and Register Development before joining this team in 2023. My role as Head of Patient Involvement focuses on finding new ways to work with, involve and support patients, and overseeing our Patient Grants and Telephone Emotional Support Service. I also lead a team of stem cell transplant recipients and their families at the British Transplant Games every summer – my favourite weekend of the year! Outside of work, I’m a keen runner and I volunteer as a Run Director at my local parkrun and as a Governor of a local primary school.
Emily
Cellular Therapy Clinical Nurse Specialist
Hi everyone, I’m Emily, the Cellular Therapy Clinical Nurse Specialist, and I joined Anthony Nolan in September 2023 and continue to work part-time in my NHS role as a CAR-T Clinical Nurse Specialist. One of my initial goals has been to scope the needs of CAR-T patients and their families across the UK. Since I qualified, as a haematology nurse, seven years ago, I've had the real privilege of growing in my role and working with brilliant colleagues, and caring for wonderful people, hopefully making a difference to their lives, however big or small that may be.
Outside of work, I live in South Wales, so I like to enjoy the beautiful countryside, socialising and spending time with family and friends.
Liam
Patients & Families Manager
I joined the team in 2022 and manage a wide range of patient engagement platforms including the Patient & Families Forum, our Facebook page, the Grants Programme, the Patient & Families Network, and providing support on our Helpline. I enjoy working closely with our community, and with many other teams across Anthony Nolan. Involving patients and their families in our work is a passion of mine, and I am so happy to be involved in the work myself. I have been at Anthony Nolan since 2016, working within the donor team in different roles, whilst I was there I studied and practiced counselling, which I still do in my spare time today. I feel my experiences have placed me perfectly to holistically support our patients and families. Outside of working, I enjoy travelling, gaming and spending time with my husband and our dogs, Ludovic and Tania!
Rachel
Lead Nurse
I have worked in the haematology and bone marrow transplant specialty for 20 years, my role prior to joining Anthony Nolan was as a Matron for a regional cancer centre. I am particularly interested in supporting patients and their healthcare teams to optimise both physical and mental condition pre transplant. Being Lead Nurse is a special role that allows me to develop services that work well for patients and identify what improvements can be made to give equity of treatment and service across the country and support the healthcare professionals delivering it.
Louise
Senior Health Information Writer & Researcher
Hi, I’m Louise and I joined the wonderful Patient Services team in 2021. I help Tom to look after all our patient information, from webpages and booklets, to leaflets and videos. As a writer, I make sure that all our information is accurate, accessible, evidence-based and empowering. But I can’t do this alone, and love collaborating with patients, families, and healthcare professionals to ensure our information is the best it can be! When I’m not faffing about with words, you can find me running, travelling, or at a gig.
Lauren
Research Officer
Hi – I am Lauren and I’m a Research Officer here in patient services. I am currently working on our patient-focused qualitative research to explore the impact of transplants on a patient’s quality of life and socioeconomic wellbeing. I am excited to be working on this novel research and can’t wait to see the impact our findings will have in the transplant community.
Before I joined the team in December 2023, I completed my PhD in the Social History of Medicine. My thesis focused on the history and lived experience of Type One Diabetes, using patient interviews to explore this. I have always had a passion for patient-focused research, so I’m delighted to be working on such important research with our patients.
Christina
Senior Research Manager
Hi, I’m Christina and I joined the team in November 2022. I am responsible for overseeing our patient-reported outcomes research, focusing on understanding how a stem cell transplant impacts quality of life, including how social and financial factors can influence transplant journeys. It was Anthony Nolan’s strong dedication to patient-focused research that attracted me to this role and whilst studying life sciences, and completing my PhD, that I discovered my passion for exploring the patient experience. Putting the patient's voice at the heart of everything I do is key to making a real difference in my work.
Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and snapping photos.
Karen Dean
Clinical Support Coordinator
I joined patient services in September 2021, and I support our lead nurse with the funded and adoption programme as a clinical co-ordinator. I work in the research team conducting interviews with patients, collecting data, and analysing themes. I also work on the helpline & grants panel and for the last 18 months have been an EDI champion. I love all the aspects of my work and particularly being involved in making change for the most important people, our patients.
Outside work, I enjoy walking my enthusiastic springer spaniel (they need a lot of walking, think Tigger from Winnie the Pooh), riding my road bike and my most recent adventure, a paddleboard.I also love to discover new places and have lived abroad on a couple of occasions.
Claire
Relationship & Marketing Manager
I joined the team in 2018. My role aims to connect more people to the amazing services we have available for patients. I love creating multi-channel campaigns that help build our profile and are informed by lots of audience insight. I previously worked in a similar role at Mind, and before that was at the National Trust. Outside of work I’m a keen gardener, lover of nature, and general adventurer – my latest being a trip to volcanoes and northern lights in Iceland.
Maddy
Team Assistant
In 2016, I joined the team as the Team Assistant after volunteering with Anthony Nolan for seven months. My role is to provide administrative support to the team that supports patients and families throughout their transplant or cellular therapy journey. In my spare time, I enjoy reading books, binge-watching series, and travelling.