Professor John Wass, MD, MA, FRCP (Chair of the Clinical Panel)
Professor Wass has had a long and illustrious career, heading up the Department of Endocrinology at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, until 2012. He has published over 410 articles, edited numerous endocrinology textbooks and held about every prestigious position possible across both European and UK Endocrinology societies.
Prof John Wass presented the acclaimed documentary ‘The Fantastical World of Hormones’ on BBC4 in 2016 and is the narrator of the ADSHG Adrenal Crisis YouTube videos. He is currently the Getting It Right First Time Endocrine Lead, NHS England, visiting and inspecting all endocrine departments in the UK (127), undertaking a national report.
Watch The Fantastical World of Hormones
Read more about Professor Wass
Professor Wiebke Arlt
Director of the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Professor of Transdisciplinary Medicine at Imperial College London and Honorary Consultant Endocrinologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Wiebke leads a research group that focuses on the role of steroids in health and disease. As Chair of the Society for Endocrinology Clinical Committee, she has spearheaded the development of a new steroid emergency card to be released by the Department of Health and Social Care UK. She has published articles on the management of adrenal insufficiency and contributed to several guidelines.
Dr Francesca Swords
Dr Swords trained at Oxford and Barts before being appointed consultant physician and endocrinologist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer, and more recently Associate Professor at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia in 2008. She was appointed the Clinical Director for diabetes and endocrinology in Norwich in 2011. Since then, she has held various NHS leadership and board-level roles - she became a hospital Medical Director in 2019 and since 2022 has been the Executive Medical Director for the Integrated Care Board: NHS Norfolk and Waveney. She joined the ADSHG's clinical advisory panel in 2016.
Dr Alessandro Prete
Alessandro Prete is a Clinical Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, University of Birmingham, UK. He obtained his PhD from the same University in 2022 and is also a Consultant Endocrinologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, UK.
Alessandro's area of research focuses on functioning adrenal tumours, endocrine hypertension, and adrenal insufficiency, combining clinical trials and experimental medicine studies. Alessandro was elected as a trustee in July 2022.
Professor William Drake
Professor Drake trained at the University of Oxford and the Royal London Hospital Medical College. After junior medical jobs in London and in Cape Town, South Africa, he returned to the UK to specialise in Endocrinology at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Following a 12-month medicine and endocrinology fellowship in Vancouver, Canada, he returned to the UK and is now Consultant Physician/Professor of Clinical Endocrinology at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
In 2021, the NHS endocrinology department at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, led by Professor William Drake, was the first service of its kind in the world to be awarded the full five stars in an independent review by the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumours (ENSAT).
Professor Simon Pearce, MD, FRCP
Simon Pearce is a Professor of Endocrinology at Newcastle University and an Honorary Consultant Physician at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, with a research interest in Addison’s disease and autoimmune thyroid disease. He trained in endocrinology at Hammersmith, London; in Boston, USA and latterly in Newcastle.
He joined the Addison's Clinical Advisory Panel in 2005 and was previously an ADSHG Trustee 2018-2020. Simon is the co-author of "Living with Addison's Disease – A Guide For People With Addison's, Supporters and Professionals", which won a commendation at the 2019 British Medical Association (BMA) Patient Information Awards. He is Editor-in-Chief of the European Thyroid Journal and President of the British Thyroid Association (BTA).
Stuart Pinkerton
Stuart has a family member who was diagnosed with Addison’s in 2010 and joined ADSHG at that time. He found the ADSHG invaluable for advice and support, especially in the first years. He has been a Dental Surgeon for 35 years working in Scotland and in Australia before settling in Oxford. Since 1990, he has run a successful Dental Practice in Oxfordshire.
Dr Ibrahim Rana
Ibrahim is a Psychiatry Resident Doctor in London. He has lived experience with Addisons Disease which is secondary to Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 1. He studied at St George’s University of London and became a doctor to help others with similar conditions. He has an interest in the mental health aspect of living with chronic disease and also the overlap between mental and physical health in how they interact with each other particularly in the pathogenesis and progression of autoimmune disease.
Lisa Shepherd, RN, MSc., BSc, DipHE, NMP
Lisa has worked in endocrinology since 1999 and is currently the lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner at HSG, now part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
Within this role, she caseload manages patients with endocrine disorders, running nurse-led clinics and supporting Consultant and other multidisciplinary clinics. This includes diagnosis and performing dynamic function tests, treatment, management and education of patients with long-term, highly complex needs. Her area of interest is adrenal insufficiency and the support and management of patients with this condition. Her research has looked at the knowledge and experience of patients with Addison’s disease, and this work is being further developed during her PhD. She is also an active member of the Society for Endocrinology (SfE) Nurse Committee since 2007, including Chair, and an executive board member of the Federation of International Nurses in Endocrinology (F.I.N.E.).
She is a member and trustee of the ADSHG and is passionate about improving the care of patients with Addison’s disease, working with patients, their relatives and healthcare professionals to achieve this.
Sam Westall
Dr Sam Westall graduated from The University of Liverpool in 2010, became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 2014 and completed 3 years of doctoral research in 2023. He completed higher specialist training in Merseyside and was appointed as a consultant endocrinologist at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (Now Mersey and West Lancs Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) in 2023. He has written for RCP Clinical Medicine, with a special interest in simplifying complex topics for general audiences. He is a strong advocate for improving patient safety and wellbeing in adrenal insufficiency having worked with the North West Ambulance Service to help enhance pre-hospital care of adrenal crisis, and has been a member of the Clinical Advisory Panel since 2021.
Dr Georgina Russell
Consultant endocrinologist at NBT and a senior clinical research fellow at the University of Bristol. At the University, Dr Russell is a personal tutor, examiner and lecturer on the MSc Neuroscience course. She also co-supervises 2 PhD students and is a professional mentor on the MB ChB program. She has devised a novel pulsatile form of glucocorticoid delivery. She is currently working with colleagues on new pathways to improve the diagnostic and monitoring pathways of patients as well as examining the effects of glucocorticoid-based therapeutics in patients and identifying strategies to decrease side effect burden. Dr Russell kindly spoke at our 2021 AGM about her research, which you can watch on our members' forum.
Matthew Heppel
Matthew is the Advanced Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology Pharmacist at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a member of the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association Diabetes and Endocrine Committee and a Clinical Associate Lecturer at the University of Lincoln School of Pharmacy.
Since starting off in pharmacy at the young age of 15 in his family-run community pharmacies in the North East of England, Matthew has been passionate about not just patient safety but ensuring medication is optimal for the patients he serves. After obtaining his MPharm degree from the University of Huddersfield and moving into secondary care, he has expanded his interests in the field of diabetes and endocrinology and now works within the specialist team at his acute Trust, contributing to the provision of care for patients with diabetes and a variety of endocrine conditions; including Addison’s Disease, growth hormone deficiencies, thyroid and parathyroid disorders and metabolic bone disease.
Dr Prethivan Gopalakrishnan
Dr Prethivan Gopalakrishnan is a Higher Speciality Trainee in Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus. He graduated from the National University of Malaysia with the Gold Medal in Medicine. He is currently the Co-Trainee Deanery Representative for Diabetes and Endocrinology for Merseyside (2025/2026).
He has a strong clinical and academic interest in adrenal disorders, with experience in developing a local pathway for glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency and in improving patient safety through quality improvement work. His research includes a presentation at the Joint ESE/ESPE 2025 meeting in Copenhagen on the ‘Reliability of Morning Cortisol in Predicting the Recovery of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis in Patients with Glucocorticoid-Induced Adrenal Insufficiency’. He has also led an audit titled ‘Bridging the Safety Gap: Implementing Electronic Health Record Alerts for Patients with Adrenal Insufficiency’, focusing on strengthening systems to reduce avoidable harm and support safer long-term management.
Dr Sofia Llahana
Dr Sofia Llahana is Associate Professor (Research) in Advanced Practice and Endocrinology and an NIHR Advanced Fellow at City St George’s, University of London. She is an internationally recognised clinical academic with over 20 years’ experience, leading a translational research programme focused on behaviour change, digital health, and self-management in rare endocrine conditions.
Her work integrates behavioural science, clinical endocrinology, and patient co-design to improve outcomes for people with adrenal and pituitary disorders. She has secured over £800,000 in research funding since 2022 and leads national and international collaborations, including a European Society of Endocrinology-endorsed study involving over 100 partners worldwide. Sofia works closely with patient advocacy groups to co-produce research and is committed to advancing equitable, patient-centred care through innovation, policy, and education.