Magdalena Milewska, PhD, Clinical Dietitian (Poland)
Magdalena studied Dietetics and Public Health at the Medical University of Warsaw. Graduated in Swallowing Disorders at the University of Barcelona. She teaches courses for the Degree of Dietetics and specializes in the field of swallowing disorders, frailty syndrome, nutrition in elderly, oncology and neurology. She has published numerous articles on this area of study and collaborates as an adviser in Poland’s National Health Programme for 2016-2020 and ADVANTAGE JA project for 2019-2023. She is a member of European Society of Swallowing Disorders and Polish Society of Parenteral, Enteral Nutrition and Metabolism.
Mershen Pillay, Professor, SLP (South Africa)
Mershen is an associate professor in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), keen on dysphagia service delivery in resource constrained contexts, globally. Currently, he researches multisensory eating especially food acoustic properties. Clinically, he promotes the use of novel and efficient diet modification/preparation methods.
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Preston Walker & James Ball, Chefs (United Kingdom)
(www.oakhouse-kitchen.com) Preston and James have been developing ideas in healthcare catering for over 10 years. Their collaboration has led to the establishment of Oak House Kitchen, based at Preston’s family residential home in Greetham, England. Oak House Kitchen aims to improve the practical application of nutrition across many different diet restrictions. For many years they have been training chefs, care workers and healthcare professionals in how best to modify foods for dysphagia. Their focus in this field now is on the transition to the IDDSI standards and have been working on how best to achieve this.
Tibor Paller, Consultant Chef (Australia)
(www.tiborskitchen.com) Tibor is a chef, educator, mentor, blogger and food photographer with hospitality experience that spans across multiple roles and national boundaries over three continents. Through his hugely successful Facebook page, Tibor’s Kitchen, over 57,000 people have been engaged on improving meals for the health and aged care industries. Working nationally and abroad with health, aged care and retirement village providers on the re- design of catering operations and training chefs in food preparation, presentation and texture modified meals – changing culture, building skills, and mentoring innovators.
Matthias Kraemer, MD, Neurologist, rehabilitation specialist (Germany)
Matthias studied Medicine in Mainz (Germany) and Zurich (Switzerland). He is head physician of the department of neurological and neurosurgical early-rehabilitation in Kempen, Germany. He has more than 15 years of experience in the treatment of severely affected neurological and neurosurgical patients. Matthias has specialized in applying texture-modified food and thickened liquids for the treatment of patients suffering from swallowing disorders due to neurological illnesses like stroke and many others. Since 2015, he has been part of the ‚Kempen pilot’ project aiming at implementing IDDSI as a standard for texture-modified food and thickened liquids in a hospital and early-rehabilitation environment for the first time. Matthias aims at establishing evidence-based methods as a standard for the treatment of critically-ill neurological patients.