Steering Group

Prof Linda Ross, UK is a Professor in Nursing (Spirituality) at University of South Wales. She is Editor for ‘Health & Social Care Chaplaincy’, Executive Editor for “Journal for the Study of Spirituality” and Founding member/Member Secretary for the International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS, formerly BASS). She chairs ‘Spirituality Health & Wellbeing in NHS & Social Care Wales’, a Welsh Government advisory group.

Email: linda.ross@southwales.ac.uk

Elected as a member: July 2019
Due for re-election: July 2023

Elected as Chair November 2021
Due for re-election: November 2023

Dr. Josephine Attard, Malta, is Head of the Midwifery Department and  Lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. Her professional work as a midwife is centered around pregnancy, labour and birth. Her research interests are in the areas of normal birth, midwifery education, and competencies in spiritual care in nursing and midwifery.

Email: : josephine.attard@um.edu.mt

Elected as a member: July 2019
Due for re-election: July 2023

Dr Aliza Damsma-Bakker, RN, MScNursing and MScEducation is teacher, educational advisor and curriculum coordinator in the Bachelor of Nursing program at Viaa University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, Netherlands. She is researcher in the Research group Health Care and Spirituality of Viaa. Her research is about spiritually and sick children.

Email: a.damsma@viaa.nl

Elected as a member: March 2020
Due for re-election: March 2024

Prof Wilfred McSherry, UK, is Professor in Nursing in a joint appointment between Department of Nursing, School of Health and Social Care, Staffordshire University and the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and part-time Professor at VID Specialized University, Bergen, Norway.

Email: W.McSherry@staffs.ac.uk

Elected as a member: July 2019
Due for re-election: July 2023

Dr. Fazilah Twining, UK has worked as a Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing at Coventry University and as a Tutor-Practitioner at the Institute of Psychiatry. She also worked as a Mental Health Nurse. Her PhD was about ‘What does spirituality mean to Black and Minority Ethnic people with mental health problems? She is interested in developing the awareness of spirituality amongst nursing students in order to truly provide person-centred mental health care.

Email: hsx577@coventry.ac.uk

Elected as a member: March 2020
Due for re-election: March 2024

Dr Yanping Niu, RN, China, is a lecturer in Shulan International Medical College in Zhejiang Shuren University. Yanping’s PhD project is Meaning and experiences of spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds living in England: a grounded theory investigation, conducted in the UK. Her interest is developing spiritual care teaching tools to improve spiritual care in China.

Email: niuyanping2008@hotmail.com

Elected as a member: October 2021
Due for re-election: October 2025

Dr Linda Rykkje is an Associate Professor, working as Studyleader at VID Specialized University, Bergen, Norway. Her research interest is spiritual care for older people. She is co-leading the SEP project: https://www.spiritualcare.no/. She is a nurse with a PhD in Caring Science: Love in connectedness – a force in older peoples spirituality and dignity.

Elected as a member: October 2022
Due for re-election: October 2026

Maria Kyranou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing since 2017. She holds a Bachelors Degree by the Department of Nursing at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Master’s in Science Degree by the University of Athens and University of Piraeus, and a PhD by the School of Nursing at the  University of California San Francisco (UCSF) in the US.  She participated in the design and implementation of nursing studies in Intensive Care Units, Emergency, and Oncology Departments.

Her research interests include the facilitation of research implementation in nursing practice, the management of symptoms of patients with chronic illness and the holistic care of patients with complex problems. She envisions empowered patients assisted by interdisciplinary health care teams aiming at the restoration and promotion of their health.

Elected as a member: October 2022
Due for re-election: October 2026

Fiona Timmins is Professor of Nursing, Dean & Head of School at the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Systems, University College Dublin, Ireland. Her primary speciality is cardiovascular nursing, and she is a Nurse Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland & Nurse Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology. In 2013 she formed the Spirituality Research and Innovation Group (SRIG) at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin. Fiona is an active researcher within this field. She is widely published and she holds key positions including: Editor in Chief of the Journal of Nursing Management; representation on International Conference Committees (currently 3) and Editorial Boards/Advisory Panel (currently 10); Visiting Professor, University of Genova Italy, South East Technological University & the University of Maribor, Slovenia.

Elected as a member: October 2022
Due for re-election: October 2026

John Lukoye is a part-time Lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Departments of Physiotherapy & Human Rehabilitation and Human Nutrition Sciences. Currently he is pursuing his predoctoral degree in neuropsychology. Besides this, he has great passion for students, pupils and youth via Joedy Foundation. He is interested in understanding the holistic approach of scientific study project  approach embedded with spirituality aspect,

Elected as a member: October 2022
Due for re-election: October 2026

Dr Adam Boughey, worked as the EPICC Project Manager from March 2017 to completion of the project in summer 2019, and had a key role in the finalisation of the EPICC project report and key outputs, which have established the foundation of the EPICC Network. He is a full-time as a Lecturer in Adult Nursing and Post-Doctoral Researcher in the School of Health, Sciences and Wellbeing at Staffordshire University.  Previously, when working as a Research Associate and Trainee Health Psychologist, he also worked as a part-time Lecturer in Psychology at Staffordshire University.  Before retraining in psychology and then health psychology, he worked clinically as a Registered Adult Nurse.  Adam has maintained his registration with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), and has also registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) as a Graduate Member (MBPsS) and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol); and registered with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Health Psychologist.  He is also a Fellow of AdvanceHE/Higher Education Academy

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