Julia Manning BSc(Hons) MCOptom WCDC
Director

Julia studied Optometry and Visual Science at City University, graduating in 1990. She was a founder member of the British Association of Behavioural Optometrists, and both past visiting lecturer at City University and visiting clinician at the Royal Free Hospital, London. She is a Director of the Institute of Optometry and in 2004 set up her own specialist practice for people who are housebound. Her clinical interests are in diabetes and multiple sclerosis. She has campaigned for improved provision for people with visual impairment and set up a resource directory called MORE for people who have become isolated.

Julia is a founder and Director of 2020health.org which she set up in 2006. It is the first web-based, centre-right Think Tank for Health and Social Care and uniquely focuses on bottom-up policy development by front line professionals. Julia is married to Clive, ex-BBC producer and now an English teacher. They have two children ages 12 and 9.

Dr Paul Charlson MRCGP DRCOG DPD DOccMed
Council of Reference

Paul is a GP in East Yorkshire. He is also a GP Trainer and has special interests in dermatology, occupational medicine, acupuncture, GP education and health policy.

Paul is medical director of SkinQure Clinic providing cosmetic dermatology treatment and advice.

He has been involved in PCG and PCTs since their inception and was a Professional Executive Committee member of East Yorkshire PCT. He was also a Course Organiser on the Hull and East Yorkshire GP training scheme.

John O'Dowd
Council of Reference

John is a founder and executive chairman of the RealHealth Institute, London, a clinician-led and evidence-based organisation providing optimal non-operative care for patients with chronic back and other musculoskeletal pain.

A leading spinal surgeon in London, John has led the development of the new spinal surgery unit at Guys and St Thomas's Hospitals, and is also based at the National Hospital for Neurosurgery in London.

He is President of the AO Foundation in the UK, and has been director of education worldwide for this Swiss based Foundation, with a remit for training spinal surgeons. He runs the British Spinal Registry and is Secretary of the Society for Back Pain Research. He has a passionate interest in developing new ways of delivering high quality care for NHS patients.

Professor Nigel M de S Cameron
Council of reference

Nigel is Chair of BioCentre: the Centre for Bioethics and Public Policy, in London, as well as Research Professor of Bioethics and President of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he also directs the Center on Nanotechnology and Society. He has given expert testimony on ethical issues in medicine and bioscience to the European Commission's Group on Ethics and committees of the European Parliament and US Congress. His books include The New Medicine: Life and Death after Hippocrates (Hodders) and Nanoworld: the Agenda for Nanotechnology and Society (forthcoming from Wiley). He divides his time between the UK and the US. He and his wife Shenach have five children and five grandchildren.

Victoria Mather
Project Administrator

Victoria Mather is 27 years old and a part-time postgraduate student with the Open University, studying Social Policy. She has a first class honours degree in Social Sciences with Social Policy and Politics.