Medical advisors

Now living and working in New Zealand, Dr Hilary Longhurst was one of the first immunologists in UK to take an interest in HAE and as such has been involved in many international clinical trials as well as pioneering home therapy for HAE patients. She has also participated in many educational and advocacy initiatives, for patients and health care professionals.Hilary qualified in medicine from Cambridge University and Imperial College, London. She developed her interest in Immunology while studying for her PhD with Professor Tony Holder at the National Institute for Medical Research (now the Crick Institute). In 2018, Hilary co-founded a new angioedema service at University College Hospital, London, with Dr Magda Dzadzio and Professor Marcel Levi. She also holds an honorary contract at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.Hilary is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists, and a member of the British Society of Immunology. She is co-author of the UK and international HAE consensus documents and has co-ordinated the international home therapy consensus.

Dr Mark Gompels is Consultant Immunologist and Allergist at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.Mark qualified in 1986 and has worked in London, Newcastle and Bristol, starting as a consultant in Bristol in 1999. He has been interested in HAE since arrival in Bristol when he found that there were significant problems in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with HAE.He has and published on diagnosis of HAE and its pitfalls. From then he was responsible for compiling and publishing the first UK HAE Guidelines, still widely cited. Recently he has been involved in updates and International guidelines. He is currently a medical advisor to HAE UK and Clinical lead for Immunology.Mark is actively involved in clinical research to bring new products to patients. He has clinics at both Bristol and Taunton, managing a large number of HAE patients. Patients are encouraged to adopt the most suitable forms of therapy that allow them to have the most fulfilled and productive lives.

Dr Scott Hackett is a Consultant in Paediatric Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He leads the nationally accredited paediatric immunology service, based at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, covering the West Midlands. With 2 paediatric allergy/immunology nurse specialists he aims to see review all children with HAE within the West Midlands. They also run regular Immune deficiencies clinics, provide weekly ward reviews if needed and train patients on how to administer home therapies including C1 esterase. He runs monthly clinics with his adult immunology colleagues where they transition adolescents starting slowly from age 12-13 years.Scott also leads the largest paediatric allergy service in the West Midlands receiving regional referral for complex cases of chronic urticarial, angioedema and complex gastrointestinal allergies including FPIES. He has recently become the chair for the RCPCH Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases training CSAC and aims to improve paediatric immunology/allergy training and services within the UK.

Dr Tariq El-Shanawany is a Consultant Clinical Immunologist at University Hospital of Wales.Tariq trained in medicine at Cambridge University and Guy’s and St Thomas’s medical school. Following qualification in 2000, he undertook general medicine training in London, Worthing and Oxford before specialising in Immunology at University Hospital of Wales. He was appointed as a Consultant in 2010 and provides Allergy and Immunology clinics for patients across all of South Wales.In addition to his clinical roles, he is actively involved in teaching and research, has published on HAE and has ongoing research activity in HAE. He also directs laboratory services in Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea. The laboratory in Cardiff is a complement reference laboratory and receives samples from across the UK and Europe for specialist complement assays including genetic analysis for HAE types I, II and III.

John Dempster is Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Immunology and Angioedema at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).He qualified as a registered nurse in 1999 from Queen’s University, Belfast, and worked in HIV and Intensive care nursing before specialising in Immunology Nursing in 2004. He worked at Barts Health NHS Trust as Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist in Immunology from 2006-2019 and was responsible for teaching and training patients with HAE on how to manage their condition. He ran a successful self-administration programme for patients who wished to self-treat HAE with C1 inhibitor products or Icatibant. John joined UCLH in July 2019 and is proud to be working in a central London teaching hospital, with some of the world’s most published and expert medical Doctors in HAE. He is confident that potential, future, treatments for HAE will make a huge improvement in patients’ quality of life.

Lisa Smith is the Lead Immunology & Allergy Specialist Nurse at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.She qualified as a registered nurse in 1996 from the University of the West of England and worked in both Respiratory and Haematology before specialising in Immunology and Allergy in 2006.Lisa leads a team of nurses delivering the Immunology and Allergy service in Bristol, including caring for patients with HAE. The team run the home therapy service and train and support patients to manage their condition.Lisa is currently Chairperson of the Immunology & Allergy Nurses Group UK & ROI having served 18 months as Deputy Chair. She has been a member of INGID (International Nursing Group for Immunodeficiencies) for some years and HAE-INO (the international nurses group for HAE).

Christine Symons, MSc, BA (Hons), PGCE, RGN is a Nurse Consultant and Honorary Clinical Fellow. Christine has been working in Immunology at Derriford Hospital since her appointment as Immunology Specialist Nurse in May 1996. At that time she only worked for half a day a week: now the department has 5 Nurses and she works 4 days a week. They look after nearly 300 patients with an immune deficiency, including over 40 with HAE/AAE. Most of these people self-treat at home (C1 inhibitor and icatibant).Christine is fortunate to be supported by an excellent Nursing Team and she works alongside her Medical colleagues. They have held Patient Forums in comfortable surroundings, with special sessions for HAE. They invite representatives from HAE UK to attend their HAE clinics as they know their patients find it difficult to travel outside of the Westcountry.Christine keeps up to date with what is going on with the latest new information about HAE/AAE by attending regional, national and international meetings, very often contributing to them. She enjoys passing on what she has learned to Nursing and Medical Students to enthuse them about caring for people with HAE and have good links with Colleagues in the Peninsula.In addition to HAE UK, Christine sit on the Advisory Panel of UKPIPS and on the Steering Committee of UKPIN. She is a Founder Member of HAE-INO the International Nurses Organisation for HAE.