ADVISORY COUNCIL

Dr Lina Eliasson

Dr Lina Eliasson PhD, CPsychol, is Advisory Board Member at CPASS, Founding Director at Sprout Behaviour Change and Breast Cancer Survivor

As a behavioural psychologist, Lina specialises in developing programmes to support those affected by chronic and terminal conditions, including patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. She gained her PhD in adherence to oral oncology drugs from UCL School of Pharmacy in 2011 and worked as a post-doc researcher at the Centre for Haematology at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, before swapping academia for a career in Industry. She has collaborated with numerous world-leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the UK, European and US markets across a wide range of disease categories, including immunology, oncology, haematology, gastroenterology, neurology, OBGYN and paediatric neurodegenerative disorders. She previously lead the European Clinical Outcomes Assessment team for ICON Plc, one of the world’s largest clinical research organisations.

On the 2nd January 2018, Lina was diagnosed with stage 2, grade 3, triple negative breast cancer and embarked on the most in-depth patient experience research of her career. Knowing the benefits that medical cannabis could potentially offer as an add-on therapy to conventional antiemetics to manage side effects of chemotherapy, she did her research and then announced to her healthcare team she wanted to combine their prescriptions with medical cannabis.

Dr Derek Tracy

Dr Derek Tracy FRCPSYCH is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, London. His directorate is a nationally innovative integrated model encompassing adult social care, mental and physical health services.

He is a Senior Lecturer at King’s and University College London, running three MSc modules, and he has published over seventy peer-reviewed scientific papers and seven book chapters. In 2018 he was elected to the executive of the Royal College of Psychiatry’s academic faculty. His current research interests include novel psychoactive substances (‘legal highs’), and Derek is a member of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs that provides expert scientific advice to the UK Home Office on drug harms.

Derek is a board member of the British Journal of Psychiatry, writing its Kaleidoscope column, and leads the BJP’s public engagement arm that runs its twitter, podcast, and blogs. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Dr. Rosemary Mazanet

Rosemary Mazanet MD, PhD is the Chief Science Officer at Columbia Care, and has been the Chair of their Scientific Advisory Board since 2014. Trained as an internist and oncologist in the Harvard Hospitals, she moved to early Amgen, Inc. where she led Clinical Development teams that filed successful INDs, and Marketing applications in the 1990s. She subsequently moved to apply her expertise to the public equity markets in NY, where she was well known in the Biotechnology and Specialty Pharma sectors. She has held roles as a Director or a consultant to many companies and firms, and has been a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (her alma mater) for more than a decade.

Dr. Evan Cole Lewis

Dr. Evan Cole Lewis MD, FRCPC, CSCN EEG Diplomate, is a Pediatric Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist with expertise in epilepsy, epilepsy surgery, electroencephalography (EEG), teleneurology and medical cannabis for the treatment of neurologic disorders. Dr. Lewis is the director of the Neurology Centre of Toronto (NCT) which he established in January 2017. At NCT, Dr. Lewis treats children with a variety of neurological disorders and he also treats adults for concussion, headache and epilepsy.

Dr. Lewis’ interest in medical cannabis began in 2013 while training at Miami Children’s Hospital – one of the major sites for the Epidiolex trials. He has significant clinical experience with medical cannabis in adults and children and is a member of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC), Canadian Childhood Cannabinoid Clinical Trials (C4T), and the Cannabinoid Research Initiative of Saskatchewan (CRIS).

Dr. David Casarett

David Casarett MD MA is a palliative care physician and health services researcher whose major research interest is understanding and improving the way that health systems care for patients near the end of life. He is a professor of Medicine at Duke University and the Chief of Palliative Care for Duke Health where he directs the Duke Center for Palliative Care.

Dr. Casarett is the principal of Cannabis Outcomes, a full-service research and consulting group focused on bringing methodologic expertise to medical cannabis research and care delivery.

Chelsea Leyland
Patient Access Ambassador

‘SEPARATING THE STRAINS’ DOCUMENTARY
Deejay & activist
Chelsea is a recognised and established deejay in fashion and art, playing for Chanel, Vogue and the White House correspondents dinner. Chelsea suffers from a type of epilepsy called ‘Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy’, which she has been battling since her early teenage years. Chelsea has been treating her epilepsy with Cannabidiol, having weaned herself off pharmaceutical drugs. She has used her experience to become a leading advocate for the de-stigmatisation of epilepsy and medicinal cannabis. Chelsea is co-producing and featuring in the documentary: ‘Separating The Strains’ which explores medicinal cannabis, the world of epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases. Activism is a prominent part of Chelsea’s life, helping others access how medical cannabis can revolutionise health. She has spoken on panels; such as Cannabis Europa, The State of Cannabis, Cannabis Retreats, and was most recently a guest of honour at Latitude in Canada.

Dr. Daniel Couch

Daniel Couch, MB ChB MRCS MBA PhD, completed his medical degree in 2007, graduating from the University of Leicester, and has worked internationally in General Surgery after achieving membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in 2011. Daniel completed his PhD in 2018 from the University of Nottingham on cannabinoid pharmacology, focussing on the use of CBD in humans, and has 12 internationally published scientific papers. Daniel also recently completed his MBA from the University of Nottingham, awarded as the highest ranked student of the year. He has ongoing interests in entrepreneurship, having started two successful companies.

Daniel Medical Advisor to The Cannabis Oil Company.

Dr Julie Moltke

Dr Julie Moltke is the founder and editor in chief of Dosage, a London based online platform for cannabis science and general health and wellness, empowering through knowledge. Dr Julie Moltke graduated as a doctor from Copenhagen University faculty of medicine. She has worked in Emergency medicine, as an Orthopaedic surgeon, and as a GP in Denmark. She has a passion for mental health and is specialised in stress therapy through mindfulness.

Dr Callie Seaman
Patient Access Ambassador

HONORARY RESEARCHER AT SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY, DIRECTOR AQUALABS & HEMPIRE SPECIALISING IN CANNABIS CULTIVATION & SECONDARY METABOLITE PRODUCTION

Dr Callie Seaman is a veteran of the hydroponic industry. First studying for a degree in Biomedical Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University, during which she worked at GlaxoSmithKline, she went on to complete a PhD on The Investigating nutrient solution for hydroponic growth of plants. During her PhD she became a director by helped to set up the hydroponic nutrient manufacturing company Aqualabs Ltd, creating brands such as Shogun and Silver bullet. In 2018 she continued at Sheffield Hallam with a Post Doctorate role monitoring metal uptake into Soya crops. For the past 20 years and throughout all of this time, Callie has been passionate about the medicinal properties of cannabis and decided to join the team at Hempire Ltd in October 2018, a Licenced medicinal cannabis cultivator based in the UK.

Daniel Medical Advisor to The Cannabis Oil Company.

Yas Hakemi
Patient Access Ambassador

Yas has suffered from an array of conditions, nearly her entire lifetime. Type 1 diabetes since age 9, kidney failure in 2009, pancreas transplant in 2010 lasting to 2016 and back on dialysis since. The health issues impacting Yas’s mental health, she’d fought off depression post her transplant resulting in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Cannabis-based medicinal products have helped Yas to overcome her depression, nausea, headaches and anxiety. Yas has been, and continues to be, actively engaged with patient organisations, such as the United Patients Alliance (UPA), wanting to help shape and support the policy reform on cannabis for medicinal purposes. Yas shares her experiences with her medical team and is actively involved removing the stigma by normalising the dialogue with those around her. “Even my own mother who was very ‘anti’ is now open to CBD because I encouraged her to try some when she was going through a stressful time. She still doesn’t like the smell but is okay with my use of CBMPs as she’s witnessed how much it has helped my mental health.”

Shiona Redmond
Patient Access Ambassador

Is the creator of Graces London a CBD skincare brand established in the UK, 2016. A family brand created out of the love & grief from caring for her terminally ill father Paul, before his passing in 2014. Shiona was 3 years old when her father was diagnosed with the degenerative disease Multiple Sclerosis and back in 2002 her father was offered a place on one of the first medicinal cannabis trails for Sativex. Shionas father did not participate however it did spark a huge curiosity amongst the young 15 year old. Having a recent CPSTD diagnosis as a result of the emotional trauma experienced whilst caring for her father, Shiona is now more determined than ever to bring her life experiences, knowledge and cannabinoid self-research to help contribute to the best health care system for not only the patient but for the carer too.

Bill Griffin
Patient Access Ambassador

Bill spent his career working within corporate communications for various multinational organisations. Around ten years ago he started to suffer from symptoms related to a benign tumour that was growing on his adrenal gland (hyperaldosteronism). At the time doctors did not know the cause of these problems. He ended up being prescribed a cocktail of powerful drugs that left him in a zombie-like state. Bill decided to seek a natural remedy to treat the conditions he was suffering from and discovered how effective cannabis was. He was able to avoid anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, sleeping tablets and painkillers. Bill was treating himself through illicit sources and started to research more into cannabis. He realised that this was a ridiculous situation to be in (having to break the law to make his life bearable). Using his communication skills he started to write about the topic in an attempt to help normalise cannabis. Now he works full time writing for several cannabis organisations around the world providing them insight into the emerging cannabis industry as well as launching his own company within this space.

Dr Dani Gordon

Dr Dani GordonMD, CCFP, ABIHM, ABOIM is a double board certified medical doctor who over the past decade has successfully treated thousands of patients and clients with burnout, chronic fatigue, women’s health and stress related issues. She is a published researcher, American board certified in Integrative & Holistic Medicine (ABIHM) since 2012, the worlds leading evidence based natural medicine body, and was one of the first physicians to receive the new board certification in 2017 when Integrative Medicine became the newest US Board Certified mainstream Medical Speciality (ABOIM).

She has studied mindbody medicine at Harvard, yoga and meditation extensively throughout India and south east asia with traditional teachers, QEEG brain scanning and EEG neurofeedback brainwave training with the top leaders in North America and has been the director of a neurofeedback centre specializing in burnout and stress resilience.

She ran a cannabis medicine complex chronic disease referral practise in Canada were she specialized in the treatment of chronic fatigue and is now considered a leading expert in cannabis medicine, speaking internationally and working as a consultant to some of the first cannabis medicine clinics in the UK and on Harley street.

She has lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Bali and now lives in London, UK.

Sepe Sehati

Fluent in the cross-pollination & application of evidence-based principles to the world of business. Sepe Sehati holds a bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Electronic Engineering, an MSc in Medical Electronics & Physics and a Doctorate in Bioengineering from the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.