Chairman, Pallium India, and Director, Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences Trivandrum, Kerala, India

E-mail: mrraj47@gmail.com, info@palliumindia.org
Skype: mrraj47

Dr M.R. Rajagopal feels strongly that the needless pain and suffering from life-limiting diseases in the developing world is scandalous, and works at identifying barriers and strategies to overcome them. He was one of the founders of the pioneering Pain and Palliative Care Society in Calicut in Kerala, India which made palliative care a popular movement in that state and the founder of Pallium India (www.palliumindia.org) which works towards improving access to palliative care in India.

Other Appointments

• International Associate Faculty, The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice, San Diego, California, USA, 2012 to present
• Coordinator, Post-graduate Board on Palliative Medicine, Medical Council of India.
• Vice-chair, Asia Pacific Hospice Network (APHN)
• Member of Developing Countries Task Force, International Association for Study of Pain (IASP)
• Lifetime advisor, and member of Task Force on Access to Medicines, International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC)
• Member, International Experts Committee, WHO Collaborating Center at Madison-Wisconsin, USA
• Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
• Visiting Professor, Department of Palliative Medicine, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne, Australia. 15-30 April 2011

Key Accomplishments

• Prime mover in the development of “National Standards for Palliative Care in India”, 2006-2008
• Founder of Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Trivandrum, Kerala, India, 2006
• Started the first university-recognized postgraduate course in Pain and Palliative Medicine in India (in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi), 2004
• Founder of a charitable trust by name “Pallium India” which aims at improving coverage with quality in palliative care in India, concentrating mostly on areas inadequately addressed by existing organizations, particularly education and rehabilitation, 2003
• Worked with the WHO Collaborating Center at Madison-Wisconsin and with Government of India to improve opioid availability in India. The work has so far resulted in simplification of narcotic regulations in 13 states in India as well as in uninterrupted availability of oral morphine from the Government Opium and Alkaloid factories in India, 1996-current
• One of the founders of Pain and Palliative Care Society (PPCS) in Medical College, Calicut, in 1993. In 1995, it was recognized as a model demonstration project by the World Health Organisation, known for its suitability to the socio-cultural needs of the country, for its novel training programs and for its roots in the community. Over ten years, it developed into the biggest Palliative Care Centre in the country incorporating a major “Institute of Palliative Medicine” (IPM). Today, it has more than 100 link centres in various parts of Kerala.

Education / Honors

• 10 weeks’ Certificate Course in Palliative Care, International School for Cancer Care, Oxford, U.K. – September-November, 1993
• Membership of National Academy of Medical Sciences (MNAMS) in National Board of Examinations in Anesthesiology; 1987
• Doctor of Medicine – Post-graduate Medical Degree in Anesthesiology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
• Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Medical College, Trivandrum, 1971
• Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) from St Berchman’s College, University of Kerala in First Class with Professor John Memorial Gold Medal, 1965

Key Publications
Journal articles

• Rajagopal MR, Joranson DE. India: opioid availability – an update. J Pain Symptom Manage 2007; 33:5: 615-622.
• Harris JT, Sureshkumar K, Rajagopal MR. Intravenous morphine for rapid control of severe cancer pain. Palliative Medicine, 2003; 17:248-256.
• Joranson DE; Rajagopal MR; Gilson AM. Improving access to opioid analgesics for palliative care in India. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2002; 24(2):152-9.
• Rajagopal MR, Joranson DE, Gilson AM. Medical use, misuse and diversion of opioids in India. The Lancet. 2001. 358: 139-143.
• Rajagopal MR, Sureshkumar K. Organisation of a palliative care service – the calicut experiment. Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 1997; 3(2); 15-19.

Books & chapters in books:

• Rajagopal MR, Twycross RG. Providing palliative care in resource-poor countries. . In: Hanks G, Cherny NA, Fallon M, Kaasa S, Portenoy RK (eds), Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine 4th (ed). Oxford University Press, Oxford; 2009.
• Rajagopal MR, Mazza D, Lipman AG (ed) Pain and Palliative Care in the Developing World and Marginalized Populations: A Global Challenge. Haworth Medical Press, New York, 2003.

Key Presentations

• Pain in the developing world. Plenary Lecture. World Pain Congress: International Association for Study of Pain (IASP), Glasgow, UK, 18-22 August 2008
• India: Successes, Limitations and Lessons to Learn. Plenary lecture. Bi-annual conference of International Association for Pain and Chemical Dependency. New York. 21-24 June 2007
• Distinguished lecture series, University of British Columbia, Vancouver and Victoria. May 2007.

Resources

• Pallium India (Trust)
• International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care.
• Asia Pacific Hospice Network.
• New York Times. In India; A Quest to Ease the Pain of the Dying.
• Interview by Sanjay Gupta in CNN International
• Interview in Channel News Asia; 02 February 2012.
• Lamas D; Rosenbaum L. Painful Inequities – Palliative Care in Developing Countries. New England Journal of Medicine 366:3; 19 January 2012.
• Doctor’s Pain Relief Mission for Terminally Ill: The Sunday Times. Straits Times. Singapore. 05 Feb 2012.
• Helping Face Death in Dignity. Times of India. Trivandrum.01 Feb 2012.

Chair of Palliative Medicine
University of Bonn, Germany

E-mail: lukas.radbruch@malteser.org
Skype: lukas.radbruch

Professor Lukas Radbruch is the Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Bonn, in the Western part of Germany. He has been the first Chair of Palliative Medicine at the RWTH Aachen University in Aachen from 2003-2010. Professor Radbruch attended medical school in Bonn, Germany, specialized in anaesthesiology and completed his habilitation (the German equivalent of a PhD) in 2000 in Cologne. His main research interests include symptom assessment, opioid treatment, fatigue, cachexia and ethical issues in palliative care. Professor Radbruch is involved in European palliative care research collaboratives and coordinates the project Access To Opioid Medication in Europe, which is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission.

Other Appointments

• International Associate Faculty and Mentor, International Palliative Care Leadership Development Initiative, The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice, San Diego, California, USA, 2010 to present
• Head of the Department of Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Bonn, Germany
• Head of the Centre of Palliative Care, Malteser Hospital Bonn / Rhein-Sieg, Germany, present
• Member of the Board of the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, present
• Past-President of the European Association for Palliative Care, 2010-2011
• Member of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Board, 2004-present
• Member of the Expert Commission of the German Narcotic Control Agency, 2004-present
• Editor of the journal Der Schmerz (Impact factor 1.4)
• Member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC)
• Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Key Accomplishments

• Coordinator of the ATOME consortium (Access to opioid medications in Europe) funded by the 7th Framework programme of the European Commission, 2009-present

Education / Honors

• Habilitation in Anesthesiology and Palliative Medicine at the University of Cologne, 2000

Key Publications
Journal articles

• Caraceni A, Hanks G, Kaasa S, Bennett MI, Brunelli C, Cherny N, Dale O, De Conno F, Fallon M, Hanna M, Haugen DF, Juhl G, King S, Klepstad P, Laugsand EA, Maltoni M, Mercadante S, Nabal M, Pigni A, Radbruch L, Reid C, Sjogren P, Stone PC, Tassinari D, Zeppetella G; for the European Palliative Care Research Collaborative (EPCRC); on behalf of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC). Use of opioid analgesics in the treatment of cancer pain: evidence-based recommendations from the EAPC. Lancet Oncology 13 (2012) e58-e68
• Radbruch L, Trottenberg P, Elsner F, Kaasa S, Caraceni A: Systematic Review on the Role of Alternative Application Routes for Opioid Treatment for Moderate to Severe Cancer Pain: an Epcrc Opioid Guidelines Project. Palliative Medicine 25 (2011) 578-96
• Ries A, Trottenberg P, Elsner F, Stiel S, Haugen D, Kaasa S, Radbruch L. A systematic review on the role of fish oil for the treatment of cachexia in advanced cancer: An EPCRC cachexia guidelines project. Palliat Med (2011) online first
• Cherny N, Baselga J, De Conno F, Radbruch L: Formulary availability and regulatory barriers to accessibility of opioids for cancer pain in Europe: a report from the ESMO/EAPC Opioid Policy Initiative. Ann Oncol 21 (2010) 615-26
• Peuckmann-Post V, Elsner F, Krumm N, Trottenberg P, Radbruch L. Pharmacological treatments for fatigue associated with palliative care. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010 , Issue 11 . Art. No.: CD006788. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006788.pub2
• Radbruch L, Payne S, Bercovitch M, Caraceni A, de Vlieger T, Firth P, Hegedus K, Nabal M, Rhebergen A, Smidlin E, Sjögren P, Tishelman C, Wood C, de Conno F: White paper on standards and norms for hospice and palliative care in Europe part 1– recommendations from the European Association for Palliative Care. European Journal of Palliative Care 16 (2009) 278-89
• Radbruch L, Payne S, Bercovitch M, Caraceni A, de Vlieger T, Firth P, Hegedus K, Nabal M, Rhebergen A, Smidlin E, Sjögren P, Tishelman C, Wood C, de Conno F: White paper on standards and norms for hospice and palliative care in Europe part 2– recommendations from the European Association for Palliative Care. European Journal of Palliative Care 17 (2010) 22-33
• Walsh D, Caraceni A, Fainsinger R, Foley K, Glare P, Goh C, Lloyd-Williams M, Nunez-Olarte J, Radbruch L: Palliative Medicine. Elsevier, Philadelphia 2009 (ISBN 978-0-323-05674-8)

Key Presentations

• Radbruch L: Current Highlights of European Palliative Care Developments. Symposium “Palliative Care in Europe – Challenges and Current Developments”, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, 16. February 2011
• Radbruch L: Diversity in palliative care needs, delivery and outcomes in Europe. 11th Australian Palliative Care Conference, Cairns, 29. August – 2. September 2011
• Radbruch L: Neues aus der Opioidtherapie. Symposium ” Innovative Therapien in der Palliativmedizin” der Paul Martini Stiftung , Berlin, 25. November 2011
• Pogany-Wnendt P, Radbruch L, Ruben S, Wagner G: 60 Years after the Holocaust – Repercussions into the Germany of Today (Paneldiskussion), Tagung der International Working Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement, Bergisch-Gladbach, 11. Mai 2010
• Radbruch L: Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide: where is the research frontier today? A topical review. 6th Research Congress of the European Association for Palliaitive Care, Glasgow, 11. Juni 2010
• Radbruch L: Die Notwendigkeit nationaler Standards und internationaler Netzwerke zur Palliativversorgung. Präsentation der Charta zur Betreuung von schwerkranken und sterbenden Menschen in Deutschland, Berlin, 8. September 2010
• Radbruch L: What doctors contribute – team work in palliative care. 35th ESMO Congress, Mailand, 9. Oktober 2010
• Radbruch L: A European Palliative Care? Cultural differences between the member states. Forum Against Cancer Europe, European Parliament, Brüssel, 16. November 2010

Resources

• www.eapcnet.org
• www.eapcnet.wordpress.com
• http://www.ukb.uni-bonn.de/42256BC8002AF3E7/vwWebPagesByID/05F2A0B5515A510BC12578110050053F
• http://www.malteser-krankenhaus-bonn.de/01.Patienten/01.02.Fachbereiche_Zentren/Zentrum_Palliativmedizin/Zentrum_Palliativmedizin.htm