Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare
Facilitators and Speakers
Course coordinator and speaker
Professor Jeremy Howick PhD, MSc, PGCert
Jeremy Howick is the inaugural Director of the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, where his mission is to ensure that all healthcare consultations include a dose of empathy. Previously, he worked in the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, where he co-founded the Oxford Empathy Programme. He holds a degree in Engineering from Dartmouth College, and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. He is currently a member of the Sigma Xi honours society and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) for the East Midlands.
He recently co-founded the Global Network for Empathy in Healthcare, aiming to infuse empathy into every healthcare consultation. With over 250 peer-reviewed publications and three books, including the Amazon #1 bestseller Doctor You, he is a recognized authority in evidence-based healthcare. His work has earned awards from the British Medical Association, European Society for Person-Cantered Care, and the University of Oxford.
Jeremy has appeared on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and NPR, and his research was featured in a BBC Horizon Documentary that had 2 million viewers. He regularly speaks at high-profile events, delivering keynote lectures and workshops for corporations, NGOs, and academic audiences, inspiring change in healthcare practices worldwide.
He is an international rowing champion and holds a Commonwealth Games Silver Medal.
Follow him on Twitter @jeremyhowick
Wikipedia
Research
Books
Find our more about Professor Jeremy Howick
Lead facilitator and speaker
Dr Andy Ward MBChB, MSc, MRCGP, PFHEA
Andy Ward is the Director of Education and Training for the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, University of Leicester, Associate Professor in Medical Education, and Honorary Senior Academic General Practitioner.
Andy's role is to develop innovative and evidence-based teaching interventions across the medical curriculum that will increase and sustain empathy in medical students. He has wide experience in producing teaching around patient-centred care and has presented his work at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
Andy also works as an inclusion health GP, providing primary care services to people experiencing homelessness in Leicester.
Find out more about Dr Andy Ward
Event speakers
Dr Rabia Imtiaz MBBS, FRCOG, MBA, PMP
Rabia Imtiaz is Medical Director at NHS England and an experienced transformational coach. Raised in Dubai, she graduated in medicine from Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Pakistan, before moving to the UK for specialist training in Aberdeen, Scotland. Over more than 15 years, she established herself as a consultant in High-Risk Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine in the UK.
She holds an MBA with Distinction and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). A Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, she also holds advanced coaching credentials as an ICF-accredited and EMCC Senior Practitioner. Rabia made history as the first female Muslim Medical Director of South Asian origin in an Acute NHS Trust.
An Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Leicester, she is deeply committed to education and talent development, actively mentoring and coaching emerging leaders across the healthcare sector.
Rabia is committed to driving excellence through compassionate leadership. She has championed inclusivity, compassion, and civility in workplace and co-founded and implemented culture change programmes across organisations.
A compelling speaker and storyteller, Dr Imtiaz brings a unique blend of clinical expertise, leadership insights through lived experience and evidence base. Her contributions have earned her multiple accolades, including Doctor of the Year, Best Trainer, and Patient Choice awards.
Find out more about Dr Rabia Imtiaz
Professor Angela Kubacki BA MSc CPsychol AFBPsS SFHEA NTF
Angela Kubacki is a nationally and internationally recognised leader in empathic, values based medical and healthcare education, with over 25 years’ experience designing teaching and selection practices that place compassion, perspective taking and human connection at the heart of clinical care.
She is Professor of Medical Education and Clinical Communication at St Mary’s University, London, where she is leading the design of the School of Medicine’s clinical communication and professionalism curriculum, welcoming its first cohort in 2026. Her work is grounded in the view that empathy is not innate or incidental, but teachable, assessable and sustainable, and must be intentionally embedded across curricula to support patient trust, clinician wellbeing and inclusive healthcare systems.
Angela is also Head of Medical School Admissions, where she has developed a values based selection approach that prioritises relational capabilities including empathy, respect, generosity of spirit and social responsibility. Through her leadership in widening participation and contextual admissions, she has contributed to increased access to medicine for students from under represented backgrounds and to national reform in healthcare selection practices.
Previously, at City St George’s, University of London, Angela was Head of Clinical Communication, leading multidisciplinary academic teams delivering communication curricula across multiple medical programmes. She has held senior education leadership roles including Associate Dean for Admissions and Dean for Student Conduct and Compliance, where she championed compassionate, developmental approaches to professionalism and student support.
A Chartered Health Psychologist and National Teaching Fellow (Advance HE), Angela is lead educator for the global FutureLearn course Developing Clinical Empathy: Making a Difference in Patient Care, supporting educators worldwide to embed empathy as a core capability in healthcare practice.
Find out more about Professor Angela Kubacki
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM
Dinesh Palipana was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland. Dinesh is a doctor, lawyer,disability advocate, and researcher. While in medical school, he was involved in a caraccident that caused a spinal cord injury. Dinesh was born in Sri Lanka, moving to Australia at the age of ten during the civil war. Dinesh works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital. He is a researcher and senior lecturer at the Griffith University and assistant professor at BondUniversity. Dinesh is a researcher in spinal cord injury, co-leading the BioSpine researchteam.
He is a doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby team. Dinesh was a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission. He is an advisory board member to HealthyLife, a Woolworths company. Dinesh is a John Monash Scholar. He is an independent non-executive director of George Steuart & Co, one of the oldest companies in the world.
Dinesh was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2019. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award. He was the 2021 Griffith University Young Alumnus of the Year. Dinesh was the Queensland Australian of the Year for 2021. His autobiography, Stronger, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2022.
Find out more about Dr Dinesh Palipana
Event facilitators
Dr Barbara Powell MBChB, BSc, FRCP
Barbara Powell is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester, and an experienced Advanced Communication Skills Training course facilitator, who regularly delivers courses to senior health care professionals. This evidence-based course has a practical focus using experiential learning, role-play and interactive workshops. Barbara has developed and delivers innovative teaching to medical students in their clinical years that focuses on patient-centred care in the context of managing serious disease such as cancer. Simulation and facilitated debrief promotes the value of empathy alongside managing clinical complexity.
Find out more about Dr Barbara Powell
Dr Gary Redfeather PhD, BSPharm
Gary is passionate about how the mind and body work together, and how both can be developed to create happier, healthier and more creative individuals, organisations and cultures. Gary is a global executive coach and master facilitator, weaving together neuroscience/neuroplasticity, philosophy and positive psychology, corporate organisational and academic experiences, and mind-body practices like yoga, meditation and ultramarathoning. His Educating for Empathy in Healthcare expertise includes research on whether we are neuronally hardwired for empathy. He encourages participants to determine answers for themselves, offering suggestions to build this capacity if their answer is not their desired one.
Find out more about Dr Gary Redfeather
Dr Dipti Samani MB ChB, MMedEd, FRCP, FHEA
Empathy for others starts with caring for ourselves, and this is increasingly important in healthcare settings. Dipti Samani is the Wellbeing Lecturer at the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare in Leicester Medical School. She is leading on innovative projects to support Medical Students with their wellbeing, transitions and mental health. She is a Consultant Geriatrician with over twenty years of experience, and is the clinical lead for a specialist continence service for older people at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.
Find out more about Dr Dipti Samani
Dr Rachel Winter MBChB, BSc, MMedSci, MRCPscyh
Rachel Winter is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Empathic Healthcare and Medical Education. She has extensive experience in the development, delivery, and evaluation of empathy-focused curricula for medical students and was instrumental in establishing the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare at the University of Leicester. Her research explores the experiences of healthcare students and professionals in training, with a particular focus on innovative and creative approaches to enhancing empathy, wellbeing, reflective practice, and professional development and identity.