Professor Nicola Thomas is Professor of Kidney Care at London South Bank University in the UK. She is a registered nurse with more than 40 years’ experience in renal nursing practice, education, and research. Her clinical and research work has focused on prevention and self-management of kidney disease, with a specific interest in health inequalities. She is experienced in patient and public involvement initiatives and is a founder member of the Kidney Patient Involvement Network (KPIN). She is a past Executive Board member of the Association of Nephrology Nurses UK and past Editor of the Journal of Renal Care. She was President of the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses’ Association/European Renal Care Association (EDTNA/ERCA) in 2000-2001.
Professor Helen Noble is Professor of Nursing at Queens University Belfast in the UK. As a registered nurse and with extensive experience in renal nursing practice and education, her international, collaborative research is aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of people with kidney disease. She has developed novel collaborations with creative artists and kidney patients, leading the inaugural UK Renal Arts Group for which she was awarded the prestigious 2023 Donna Lamping MDT Researcher Award by the UK Kidney Association, the leading professional body for the UK renal community. She has helped deploy original creative arts approaches to improve health and wellbeing in renal healthcare staff, patients and their carers. She was previous Chair of the inaugural European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses’ Association/European Renal Care Association (EDTNA/ERCA) Research Board (2017-19) and subsequently a Scientific Board Committee (SPC) member (2019-2024).