Nathan I. Cherny is Norman Levan Chair of Humanistic Medicine at Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Ben Gurion University, Israel. In 2015 he was awarded the ESMO (European Society of Medical Oncology) Award for his contributions to the development of oncology in Europe, and in 2016 was the recipient of the EAPC/EJPC (European Association of Palliative Care/ European Journal of Palliative Care) Palliative Care Policy Development Award. Nathan has diverse research interests including opioid responsiveness of neuropathic pain, opioid rotation, opioid side effects and their management, cancer pain syndromes, suffering, palliative sedation, communication issues in oncology and palliative care, bioethics, and public health. He teaches in the Hebrew University Medical School and runs courses in communication and palliative medicine. Nathan has edited five books and has published over 120 peer reviewed papers and has made numerous invited lectures worldwide. Marie T. Fallon is the St Columba's Hospice Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, Honorary Consultant in Palliative Care at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh and leads the Edinburgh Palliative and Supportive Care group (EpaS). Marie serves as Chief Investigator for EpaS on a large portfolio of clinical studies spanning investigator-led randomized controlled trials examining improved management of cancer-induced bone pain, neuropathic pain, and institutionalisation of pain assessment. Marie is also the lead in an international programme of RCTs in cannabinoids in cancer-related pain and has led the development of studies using fMRI in Edinburgh, UK. Stein Kaasa is Professor of Palliative Medicine at the Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Stein specialises in medical oncology, radiotherapy, and palliative medicine. In 1993, he was appointed as the first professor in palliative medicine in Scandinavia and he was one of the founders of the palliative care unit in Trondheim and founder of the European Palliative Care Research Centre (PRC). He has been president of EAPC, the coordinator for a large EU-funded project, and is at present involved in several research collaborative and international partnerships on research and policy development. Stein has been an important advocate for evidence-based practice and has worked extensively to get palliative care research on the global agenda. Stein is also Director of the PRC and Chair of the European Association for Palliative Care Research Network and has published more than 450 articles and book chapters. Russell K. Portenoy is Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer of the MJHS Institute for Innovation in Palliative Care and is Professor of Neurology and Family and Social Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Prior to joining MJHS, he was founding Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care and the Gerald J. Friedman Chair in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center. Russell is Past President of both the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and the American Pain Society. He previously chaired the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Russell is recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Leadership Award of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the Wilbert Fordyce Award for Lifetime Excellence in Clinical Investigation, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Pain Society, and the Founder's Award by the American Academy of Pain Medicine. David C. Currow is Professor of Palliative Medicine at University of Technology Sydney, the Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Palliative and Supportive Care, Flinders University and Associate Director (Research) at the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, University of Hull, UK. Research includes clinical trials and use of large datasets to understand better the impact of life-limiting illnesses on patients and caregivers. Research into chronic breathlessness is a particular area of interest. He is the principal investigator for the Australian national Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) and is a foundation partner in the Australian national Palliative Care Outcomes Collaborative (PCOC), an initiative to improve palliative care clinical outcomes through point-of-care data collection.
