Advisory board

The Advisory Board supports the mission and strategic development of Lifestyle Medicine Accelerator by offering expert guidance, constructive feedback, and diverse perspectives to ensure the service remains evidence-based, equitable, and impactful.

Dr. Shireen Kassam

Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist, Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician and Visiting Professor of Plant-Based Nutrition. She is founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, a community interest company that provides education and advocacy on healthy plant-based diets and lifestyle medicine. Her first book, Eating Plant-Based, Scientific Answers to Your Nutrition Questions, co-authored with her sister Zahra, was published in January 2022. She has also co-edited the textbook Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice, published in September 2022.

Dr. Sunil Kumar

Dr Dr Sunil Kumar is a UK-based Specialist Anaesthesiologist, Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Author, Master Health Coach, and International Speaker with over 30 years of clinical experience. He currently serves as a Council Member of the Royal Society of Medicine (Food & Health Forum) and works at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr Kumar is also a faculty member for NHS England’s Health & Wellbeing Workshops, the MSc in Lifestyle Medicine at the University of Thessaly in Greece, and the European Lifestyle Medicine Organisation’s certification programme. Additionally, he serves on the Exam Faculty for the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM). As a former Lead Tutor at the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM), he was involved in shaping education and exam preparation for lifestyle medicine practitioners.

Furthermore, he is a founding member of the Lifestyle Medicine Initiative at the Global Wellness Institute and advises the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC), supporting the integration of lifestyle medicine and prehabilitation into surgical pathways. He also serves as Co-Chair for Health & Wellbeing at the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO).Dr Kumar is a Collaborator at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training at Imperial College London and a member of the WHO FIDES network.

Layla Egwenu

Layla Egwenu is an experienced Programme Manager working within the NHS, with a strong track record in service transformation and improvement. With a background in commissioning across South London, she brings a deep understanding of healthcare systems and the importance of designing services that meet the needs of diverse communities.

A graduate of Biomedical Science, Layla began her career in private IVF before moving into the public sector, where she has developed a passion for co-production and inclusive healthcare. She is particularly committed to ensuring that the voices of underrepresented groups and people with lived experience are embedded throughout the design and delivery of services. Layla work is rooted in a belief that equitable, person-centred care is key to improving outcomes and reducing health inequalities.

Dr. Barnaby Hirons

Dr. Barnaby Hirons is a specialist respiratory trainee in South London with a strong interest in integrating lifestyle medicine into secondary care. He spent three years researching chronic cough and is currently completing an MDRes thesis in this area. Passionate about education, he holds a PGCert, has worked as an education fellow, and is the creator of the popular medical podcast Journalspotting. Barnaby brings an evidence-based, lifestyle-focused approach to his clinical work, aiming to improve patient outcomes and promote equitable healthcare.

Dr. Aaminah Verity

Dr Aaminah Verity is a GP based in Lewisham. She is passionate about strategies to achieve health equity and embed innovative community centred models of care in NHS business as usual. She is the community of practice lead for Health Equity for Lewisham. Through this program GPs are resourced to work in Health Equity Teams, in partnership with voluntary and community sector organisations, to co-design and deliver interventions to address health inequalities at a PCN level. Teams are supported to embed innovative models of care such as lifestyle medicine approaches, group consultations, outreach and community based interventions adhering to principles of cultural competency, taking an asset based and trauma informed approach.

Nana Ocran

Nana Ocran is a nutritionist with a Masters from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has worked with underserved communities across London for the last 10 years. Nana previously worked as a Health and Wellbeing coach on the National Diabetes Prevention programme, then went on to work as a diabetes practitioner on the low-calorie diet programme (now known as the Path to Remission Programme). She is currently a diabetes lifestyle medicine coach in a PCN in North Lewisham. Her goal is to keep emphasising disease prevention, using the principles of lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Saima Ajaz

Dr. Ajaz, is a highly accomplished clinician, researcher, and certified lifestyle medicine physician with over 20 years of experience in metabolic health, hepatology, and translational research. She is a leading expert on bioenergetics and personalised medicine, with extensive research and numerous publications on mitochondrial dysfunction and its role in chronic disease and aging. After her clinical training, she did her MPhil in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and her PhD was in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2016 from Kings College London (KCL). She has been actively involved in looking at non-invasive biomarkers and preventive strategies for early detection of chronic metabolic diseases.

Want to get involved?

We'd love to hear from you. Check out our website for current roles or contact us if you're interested in joining our Advisory Board and helping shape the future of our work.