Luton and Dunstable University Hospital

Chair

Ruth James is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital. She is a member of the International Committee of the ABS.

Member

Dr Rose Alenyo is a Plastic Surgeon with Interest in Breast Oncoplastic surgery working at Makerere University School of Medicine, Kampala, Uganda

St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust

Co-opted Member

Miss Leena Chagla is the past-President of the Association of Breast Surgery and past-President of the Liverpool and Northwest Society of Surgeons. She heads the breast unit at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals which is actively involved in clinical innovation and trials. She continues to publish regularly in peer reviewed journals.

Leena qualified from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, with a gold medal in Surgery. Whilst in India, she trained at the Sir JJ Hospital and at the Tata Memorial Cancer Centre. Her passion for surgical oncology developed in those formative years.

She is a popular speaker both nationally and internationally and is involved in the development of guidelines for the management of breast cancer. She is passionate about MDT working and she launched the Anti-bullying Campaign (#CoreItOut) for ABS in alliance with RCSEd. She represented ABS on the pathology Big 18 and the organising committee of Symposia Mammographicum.

Leena was instrumental in setting up the International Committee at ABS with a view to sharing good practice globally.  She is committed to improving and standardising Breast cancer care through education and training. She is an Educational Supervisor for the National Oncoplastic Fellow and she is a Professional Clinical Advisor for screening to Public Health England.

Outside of work Leena is a keen sportswoman having played water-polo for Maharashtra, Liverpool and the Northern Counties at the highest level.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Member

Mr Rajiv V Dave is a Consultant Oncoplastic Breast and Endocrine Surgeon at the Nightingale Breast Unit, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester. He has completed a prestigious TIG Oncoplastic Fellowship in Manchester and an International Fellowship in Breast & Endocrine surgery in Melbourne, Australia. Rajiv  has also led national and international collaborative studies that have informed influenced clinical practice, such as B-MaP-C, IBRAnet Localisation studies and ASPIRE Breast Pain Project. His leadership roles include serving on the Association of Breast Surgery Academic and Research Committee and International committee. With a Master’s in Global Health Leadership, he founded the Kenya–UK Breast Cancer Alliance and works to address health inequalities, developing community-based strategies to improve breast awareness in minority groups and advancing breast cancer care through partnerships in the UK, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia

Member

Dr Amar Deshpande, MS, FRCS (Surgery in General ), FRCS (General Surgery ) is a 
Consultant Surgical Oncologist (Breast) and the head of the division of breast surgery at the 
Advanced Centre for Treatment, Education and Research in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre, 
Mumbai. An internationally trained oncoplastic breast surgeon, he brings over two decades of 
experience across the UK and India, with a strong focus on advancing breast cancer surgery 
through innovation, education, and service transformation. He currently serves as International 
Advisor to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He has been elected as an 
International Council Member of the Association of Breast Surgeons of Great Britain and 
Ireland.

During his tenure in the UK, Dr Deshpande held key leadership roles including Lead Clinician 
for Breast Services and Clinical Director of General Surgery. He is widely recognised for 
pioneering high-volume day-case breast cancer surgery and implementing enhanced recovery 
pathways, achieving significant reductions in hospital stay and improved patient outcomes. His 
work in service redesign has received national recognition, including commendation at the BMJ 
Awards.

A passionate educator, he has played a pivotal role in postgraduate surgical training. He was 
instrumental in starting MCh programme in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery at Edge Hill University, 
Ormskirk,UK, supervised higher surgical trainees, and served as an FRCS and MRCS examiner, 
contributing to curriculum development and standard setting. He is also an international advisor 
for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Dr Deshpande has an extensive academic portfolio with multiple peer-reviewed publications and 
international presentations at leading conferences. He is a regular invited faculty member at 
global breast surgery meetings, where he delivers lectures, conducts live operative workshops, 
and contributes to multidisciplinary discussions on contemporary oncoplastic and reconstructive 
techniques.

James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust

ABS President

Ms Downey qualified from Nottingham University in the last century and she undertook SHO training in Bristol, Research in Breast Cancer Oncology in Manchester and Registrar training in Yorkshire. Her first consultant post in Bradford for 4 years and moved to East Anglia in 2005. Sarah's first involvement in RCS was examiner for MRCS at time OSCE introduced. Acted on committee and then Chair of Court of Examiners for RCS England. Part of training committee since came to East Anglia in 2005. Undertook Divisional Director role in own hospital for 5 years – opened new daycase unit. Acted as regional Breast Screening QA Surgeon for 6 years. Joined SAC in 2015 and became regional TPD in 2018. Currently Chair of General Surgery SAC.  Undergraduate PBL tutor and online tutor for oncoplastic MS. Director of Screening for own Trust and also Clinical Appraisal Lead. Former TIG Chair and faculty on Advanced Breast Cancer Course. Currently President of ABS.

Castle Hill Hospital , Hull

Member

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Nurse Member

Dr Victoria Harmer qualified with an award for distinction in practice and is Consultant Nurse and lead nurse for the breast screening and symptomatic services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She acts as Key Worker to people with breast cancer, and has published widely, as well as editing the book ‘Breast Cancer Nursing Care and Management’. She has acted as medical adviser for radio, television and film and involved in many research trial e.g. OPTIMA. She has received Nursing Times Cancer Nursing award and was a finalist for the Public Health category in 2022. She has worked with Marks and Spencer designing swimwear for the post mastectomy body, is Trustee for Against Breast Cancer charity, on the Medical Advisory Board for CoppaFeel!, deputy Chair for Europa Donna UK and a member of the ABS International Forum. Dr Harmer has a degree in nursing from Kings College, an MBA from Westminster Business School, a doctorate from Kings and is an Associateship of Kings College.

Member

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Mammary Fold Representative

Miss Rachel Lee is a ST4 general surgery registrar with an interest in oncoplastic breast surgery. She graduated from St George’s University of London and has been training in the East Midlands deanery since F1. She currently serves as the social media representative of the Mammary Fold and is also part ofst the iBRA-NET committee.

Co-opted Member

Member

Monica Reeves commenced her career within nursing in 1990, gaining valuable experience in many varied fields, including A&E & theatre.

In 1999 she was fortunate to work in Tanzania, with Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), as a Clinical Instructor gaining an insight into heath care within a low-income country.

In 2016 she trained as an Enhanced Surgical First Assistant with Edge Hill University.

She successfully studied for a master’s degree at Edgehill University, Liverpool, in 2017 and Principles of Breast Cancer Care in 2021 at The Royal Marsden, Manchester. 

She is currently employed as a Surgical Care Practitioner within the breast team at Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

She works independently within triple assessment and review clinics. Her role also includes assisting in theatres as well as supporting the training and mentoring of Junior Doctors. 

Member

During surgical residency in the US, Mr Yannis Reissis worked with the CUGH to advocate for investments in surgical care in LMICs, and recently completed a MSc in Global Health Policy at the LSE, exploring barriers to early diagnosis of breast cancer in South Africa with the RCS-LSE Global Surgery Policy Unit. Yannis joined the ABS International Committee in 2025 - the culmination of his journey in global health - where he will contribute to the Committee’s research, policy and training initiatives. He is passionate about reducing global inequities in breast cancer care and will be an international ambassador for the Committee when he returns to the US upon completion of his surgical training in London. 

Member

Amy is currently a TIG fellow. She has an interest in Global Health and contributes to a number of projects in East Africa that aim to improve Breast Cancer outcomes. She is the creator of the website bobresource.com, a collaborative online platform for Breast Cancer practitioners.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Member

Fiona is a Consultant Breast and Reconstructive Surgeon at Wycombe Hospital, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS, and appointed to the senior management position of Trust Cancer Clinical Director in 2021. She is a committee member of the ABS International and Education Committees, and a co-director of the ACE Course (Accelerating the Consultant Experience). She is committed to medical education and holds roles as a panel member for the Oxford Deanery Higher Surgical Trainees, a tutor and examiner for the University of Oxford and the University of Buckingham Medical Schools and an Assistant Professor at St Georges University, Grenada. 

Fiona graduated from King’s College London, and completed her higher surgical training in the North West London Deanery. She has an interest in using innovations for her patients and introduced the MagTotal approach for breast cancer localisation, the Concentric digital consent platform, as well as encouraging her patients to be enrolled in relevant trials. She has an active role in quality improvement projects and her team were a finalist at the HSJ Awards 2024.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

ABS Trustee

Dr Raghavan Vidya is a Senior lecturer at Birmingham University and Consultant Oncoplastic breast surgeon at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. She graduated from University of Madras, India followed by Postgraduate training in General Surgery. She completed her MD (Research) on aromatase inhibitors from University of Edinburgh. She has introduced and mentored new innovations including muscle-sparing implant-based breast reconstruction.  

She serves as a Trustee of the Association of Breast surgery and actively contributes to its working. Dedicated to teaching and training, she contributes actively as a Higher Surgical Trainer, delivers lectures, and runs workshops as invited faculty for national and international meetings. Through her role as Royal College, International Surgical Training Programme Lead for Breast Surgery, she is committed to advancing breast training. She has a strong focus towards clinical research exemplified by over 150 publications. She has published two books on breast reconstruction and an ebook on Global Breast Training in collaboration with RCS and ABS. She promotes clinical application of Genomics in NHS as Associate Director of Genomics in West Midlands.  She is actively involved in clinical trials and have a special interest in new technology and advances in breast surgery.

Member

Mina Youssef is a consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. He is a member of the International Committee of the Association of Breast Surgery.

Alongside the clinical training, he completed an MSc and MD in Surgical Oncology, and he was awarded the European Board of Breast Surgery in 2015. He recently completed MBA at the UEA.

He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia, a faculty member of the FRCS exam question writing group. He is an educational and clinical supervisor for higher and basic surgical trainees and the Surgical Foundation Program Director for NNUH.

He has been a faculty member of the Breast Awareness Course in Chandrapur, India in 2023 and is an alumni Surgeon of the Mercy Ships charity.