Pre-Congress Symposium

Pedro Martins is the Physical Exercise Programme Manager at NephroCare Portugal (Fresenius Medical Care).He has studied at the Nursing School of Coimbra, completing his bachelor of science in nursing, a postgraduate specialization degree in Rehabilitation Nursing and a Master degree in Rehabilitation Nursing.

He is a PhD student in Sports Sciences at the University Institute of Maia, studying the applicability of intradialytic exercise for hemodialysis patients.

Ellen Castle is a specialist Renal Physiotherapist at King's College Hospital London. In 2015 she completed her NIHR Masters research fellowship investigating the effect of exercise on arterial stiffness in kidney transplant recipients. She is currently undertaking her KRUK PhD Fellowship looking at Weight Management in kidney transplant recipients.

She is the current chair of the British Renal Society Rehabilitation Network and has a keen interest in exercise and behavioural change interventions for patients across the Chronic Kidney Disease Trajectory.

Jennifer Cooney is a clinical exercise physiologist working at Bangor University, UK. Jennifer completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Exercise Physiology at Bangor University in 2013. Her research and teaching interests include the beneficial effects of physical activity on older adults and people with chronic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and chronic kidney disease.

Jennifer has worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Officer on the national UK PEDAL Trial, PrEscription of intra-Dialytic exercise to improve quAlity of Life in patients with chronic kidney disease. Jennifer is also interested in the promotion of exercise as part of routine care and has recently completed the MOVE project. This impact project has resulted in the production of resources designed to help dialysis patients increase their physical activity and the production of resources designed to up-skill health professionals and to help them make exercise part of routine care for dialysis patients.