Free Online seminar
Friday 26 June 12.30 -14.30 hours
Get your tickets here on Eventbrite
We’re delighted to announce our upcoming online seminar ‘Addressing women’s health inequalities’. NCWGB has campaigned about women’s health issues for many years. This is a key turning point in women’s health: the UK government recently published the renewed women’s health strategy, women are actively campaigning for an end to inequalities in care, and changes in systems and processes are being discussed.
NCWGB has a newly established study group for inequalities in women’s health which is highlighting vital changes and actions.
Join us for this fascinating and important online seminar.
Our leading speakers include:
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women’s Health Ambassador for England and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London.
Dame Lesley will bring us up to date with the objectives and progress of the ‘Renewed Women’s Health Strategy’ published in April this year. The strategy marks a shift for delivery and system reform. It offers a key opportunity for women to really change health care.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan is the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England, Honorary Secretary of FIGO and Chair of the charity Wellbeing of Women. She is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London and Consultant at St Mary’s Hospital in London.
She was the 30th President of RCOG between 2016-2019. During her tenure as PRCOG she co-chaired the National Women’s Health Taskforce and authored “Better for Women”, an RCOG report which promotes a life-course approach to the delivery of women’s health services.
Having graduated from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London in 1980, Professor Regan pursued her training at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, where she first became enthused by clinical and laboratory research, completing her MD on miscarriage. She went on to set up the world’s largest recurrent miscarriage clinic at St Mary’s Hospital in London.
Dr Maria Karvela, member of the faculty at Imperial College London and chair of the NCWGB women’s health study group.
Maria is a biologist, geneticist and leukaemia scientist and is passionate about informed consumer choice and bringing science and genetic testing technologies closer to the public.
Maria Karvela co-founded DnaNudge in 2015 with Imperial’s Regius Professor Christofer Toumazou to develop a new service to guide users to make the best shopping choices based on your unique genetic makeup – “nudging” your everyday choices through your DNA, plus your lifestyle.
“As a spin-out of Imperial, DnaNudge has benefited by working with the very best minds across a range of interdisciplinary fields, not only within the college itself but also in the clinical space with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust,” says Maria.
As co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of DnaNudge, and as a biologist, geneticist and leukaemia scientist, Maria is passionate about informed consumer choice and bringing science and genetic testing technologies closer to the public.
Gisela Abbam Hon FBSA, FRSA, Chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council. Gisela is a businesswoman working in the private and public sector with a focus on the healthcare industry. She is a founding trustee of the Dove Foundation for Global Change.
Gisela is a Global Executive who has a wealth of experience in delivering change in the health and life sciences sector, both in the UK and globally including through her Executive roles at General Electric Healthcare and Abt Associates. She was named on the Powerlist for 2025 and 2026 as one of the top 100 most influential black people in the U.K.
Committee
Previously, Gisela was Chair of the British Science Association (BSA). Gisela became Chair of the BSA’s Council in January 2019, succeeding The Rt. Hon. Lord David Willetts. In that role, she led the BSA’s Council and championed the BSA mission and vision, driving forward an agenda on equality, diversity, and inclusion in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
Gisela has worked in collaboration with governments, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, and other multilateral organisations to improve health outcomes for people across the world. She is the Senior Director for Government Affairs at Revvity, a global company that develops innovations for Life Sciences and Diagnostics. She also currently serves on a number of Advisory Committees and sits on the Board of the Bar Standards Board, the regulator for Barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales in the public interest; and the Board of Briyah Institute, USA a company focused on C-Suite ESG and sustainability training. She is also a Commissioner for the National Preparedness Commission and a Judge for the Everywoman Technology Awards.