Education

Course Director and Head of the GRiT (Growth and Resilience in Trauma) Centre

Nazanin Derakhshan moved to the NCIO from her position as a Professor of Experimental Psychopathology in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at The University of Reading, UK. At NCIO she continues as the Founder and Director of The BRiC Centre (Building Resilience in Breast Cancer). Prior to joining Reading University in 2022, she spent 18 years in The Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck University of London, UK, where she was promoted to Full Professor in 2012. Bringing her unique perspective as a breast cancer survivor, she was voted a key transformational figure in 'Birkbeck Inspires, 200th anniversary', for transforming the lives of thousands of people through the research she conducts at BRiC, in 2022.

Nazanin has conducted extensive research into the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying anxiety and depressive vulnerability, as well as developing and applying neurocognitive interventions designed at reducing vulnerability and promoting resilience, especially in vulnerable populations. Naz has been the holder of prestigious fellowships such as The Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, as well as at The University of Oxford and St John's College Oxford. She was elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2016.

CEO of the NCIO (National Centre for for Integrative Oncology) and award-winning integrative oncology physician

MB BChir (Medicine) and MA Hons Natural Sciences (Cambridge) 

MSc Precision Cancer Medicine and PG Dip Health Research with Distinction (Oxford)

FBANT FRSA IFMCP DipIM DipAc DipCHM PGCert DipION RYT200

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is an award-winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. Dr Fuller-Shavel is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-chaired the BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology) over 2021-2023 and is the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) Global Ambassador to the UK and Chair of the SIO Global Committee, actively contributing to several SIO committees. Alongside her extensive scientific and medical training, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds multiple qualifications in nutrition, integrative medicine, health coaching, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yoga, mindfulness and other therapeutic approaches. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-authored the book ‘Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care’ with Dr Penny Kechagioglou published by Springer in March 2024. 

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is the founder and Director of Synthesis Clinic, an innovative multidisciplinary practice in Hampshire, specialising in women’s health and integrative cancer care (integrative oncology). Alongside her clinical work, Dr Fuller-Shavel is a guest lecturer in integrative medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and delivers independent educational courses for medical and nutrition professionals, including her Systems Approach to Cancer Programme. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel participates in research in integrative oncology and precision health, is an expert integrative and supportive oncology abstract reviewer for international conferences and journals, and contributes to journal editorial boards (NMJ and IJIO) and guideline development panels nationally and internationally. Finally, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds two integrative oncology non-profit roles as the CEO of the UK NCIO (National Centre for Integrative Oncology) charity and the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, supporting access to services and best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology. 

Senior nurse with a background in cancer education and oncology CNS roles, health and emotional wellbeing coach and clinical EFT practitioner

Aga deeply believes in human’s inherent abilities to move through life’s adversities, heal, grow and thrive in spite of the challenges life can throw at us. As a cancer coach, educator and now an integrative oncology nurse, Aga supports individuals who have experienced serious life challenges and other long-term health conditions.

Aga draws from her lifetime experience as a nurse and combines her oncology nursing experience with multiple techniques including Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Matrix Reprinting Technique (MRT) and NLP.