Who we are
PSC Support is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) registration number 1175427
Paula joined PSC Support as its first Chief Executive in May 2022. Her charity background has primarily been in fundraising and business development for a range of charities including Marie Curie and Children Today. Prior to joining PSC Support she was Head of Income Generation and Fundraising at National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) responsible for generating all of the charity's income.
Before joining the charity sector Paula worked in international and domestic high profile events working with leading global companies including Infosys Technologies, IBM and Cisco Systems as well as other organisations including London Fire Brigade, London Stock Exchange and the Department of Media, Culture and Sport.
A mother of twin boys, Paula is an avid reader, amateur football fan, intrepid traveller and loves beaches whatever the weather.
Paula brings a wealth of experience from both the charity and commercial sectors including people management and strategic planning. She is delighted to be PSC Support's Chief Executive and looks forward to taking the charity to the next level in supporting people living with PSC.
Tim Waterson - Legal Trustee
Tim is a Senior Associate in the London office of a US law firm, working with global banks and financial institutions on a day-to-day basis.
Having spent eight years practising law, Tim was appointed to the Board of Trustees to bring guidance, legal advice and strategic direction to PSC Support at this stage in its development.
Diagnosed with PSC in 2010, Tim underwent a liver transplant at King's College Hospital, London in December 2019 after just three months on the waiting list.
'Following my transplant, I am determined to become more involved with causes close to my heart and cannot think of a more fitting way to focus my dedication and passion than with PSC Support that has helped me so enormously. I am particularly excited at the prospect of being further involved with the charity at this critical juncture in its history and assisting the charity’s fight for a world without PSC. I believe the charity’s heavy focus on research offers a credible route to achieving the charity’s ambitions.'
Tim is a big football fan and spends a number of his weekends travelling around the country to watch his team, Derby County. He lives in London with his wife, child and French Bulldog.
David Adams - Trustee
After initial training in hepatology in Birmingham he continued his immunology training with Dr Stephen Shaw at the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA before being appointed to the Chair of hepatology in Birmingham in 1997. He has a long-standing interest in understanding how the immune system causes liver disease and how inflammation in the gut can lead to liver disease in the form of PSC. His group have defined molecular mechanisms used by disease causing white blood cells to enter the liver from the blood.David Adams is Professor of Hepatology, Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit for Liver disease at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Head of College of Medical and Dental Sciences and Dean of Medicine and Director of NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. His clinical interests are transplant hepatology and autoimmune liver disease including PSC. Laboratory research interests are focused on mechanisms of immune-mediated liver disease.
As a consequence of the funding from NIHR to support the Biomedical Research Unit in Liver Disease in Birmingham, they are developing new treatments for liver disease by targeting pathways involved in the recruitment of damaging effector cells or by promoting the recruitment of therapeutic cells that promote repair and resolution of inflammation.
More about David Adams
Birmingham NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
James Brown - Trustee
James is the Director of Local Support and Partnerships at Yorkshire Sport Foundation. He is passionate about the physical and mental health benefits that being active can bring and works for a charity that believes in the power of sport and physical activity to transform people’s lives.
Throughout James’ professional career he has gained a vast amount of experience and knowledge working for small and medium-sized charities and provides expertise to the Board of Trustees on governance, strategic planning, and income generation.
Following a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in 2007, James was diagnosed with PSC in 2017. James currently has few physical symptoms but struggled more with his mental health following diagnosis.
He is therefore a big advocate for promoting the requirement for psychological and wellbeing support for people diagnosed with long term conditions, particularly when faced with the uncertainty around PSC.
‘I join PSC Support during its 25th Anniversary year. The organisation provided a huge amount of support and reassurance when I received my own diagnosis. Now is the time to be able to share some of my own knowledge and experiences to help build the capacity of the charity and to ensure that we can continue the brilliant, and vital, work for future years to come.’
A proud Yorkshire man, James was born and raised in Sheffield and now lives in Leeds with his wife and two daughters. He can usually be found running, walking, or cycling around his local area, taking trips to the amazing surroundings of the Yorkshire Dales or Peak District, and exploring new destinations with friends and family.
Rick Dallaway - Trustee (Data Protection)
Rick is a CIPP/E and CIPM certified privacy professional and works in the field of data governance and data protection at the London branch of a global bank.
Previously, Rick has worked with organisations including Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, UBS, Sainsbury’s and British Airways both in the field of data protection and as a senior account manager.
“There is a need for PSC patients to receive support and accurate information at every stage along their journey from diagnosis onwards and PSC Support is the leading charity able to provide these valuable resources. Not only this, but PSC Support does so much more including being the voice for PSC patients in the medical/research community and they lead in the research drive in the UK to look for suitable therapies to slow down the progression of PSC, manage its symptoms and ultimately cure the disease.”
When Rick isn’t dealing with data protection, he enjoys listening to music, watching films, reading and with any other spare time he has, learning Turkish!
Mark Dean - Digital Trustee
Mark first started working in IT as a teenager, and he currently works in the innovation function of a global law firm, where his team focus on creating and applying digital solutions to transform the way legal services are delivered.
When not behind a computer screen, he equally enjoys getting outdoors up in the mountains and sitting on the beach with a good book!
As Digital Trustee, Mark works to make sure PSC Support is maximising the opportunities to leverage technology to support the charity's objectives.
Helen Elder - Communications Trustee
Helen is Marketing & Communications Manager at a software company based in London and has a decade of experience in marketing, brand messaging and communications both offline and online.
Helen is passionate about PSC Support having found the charity to be a great resource when she was diagnosed with PSC in 2019. Since then, she has enrolled on the NUC-5 clinical trial and is over one year into the programme.
‘Dog mum’ to a three year old golden retriever/labrador cross, Helen spends a lot of her time walking in Hertfordshire, going to the theatre and travelling with her wife.
Nick Kane - Finance Trustee
Nick is Head of Locality Finance for NHS England and NHS Improvement, in the North East of England, and has over a decade of experience within finance departments. He has worked on a number of key projects throughout the North East and Tees Valley to improve healthcare provision to the local population. In June 2020, Nick was appointed as PSC Support’s Finance Trustee.
Nick’s wife has been diagnosed with PSC. Together they have two young children and two Golden Retrievers, and spend a lot of their time as a family visiting National Trust parks throughout the country.
Nick has used his passion for running to complete a number of endurance challenges to raise money for PSC Support, such as the Berlin, London and New York City Marathons. He aims to complete the remaining World Marathon Majors in the coming years.
Nick is excited to be a part of the future of PSC Support, and looks forward to the charity going from strength to strength over the coming years.
Harry Moller - Young Trustee
Charlene Oke - HR Trustee
Charlene (BSc Hons, MA Merit FCIPD) is currently Senior Diversity and Inclusion Partner at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. She is an established global HR practitioner with over 15 years driving HR strategy, programs and providing HR leadership across several industries in technology, media, travel, and leisure.
Charlene was appointed to the Board of Trustees in an HR capacity to help combine her passion for creating robust people strategies with her personal enthusiasm in giving back and supporting PSC charitable ambitions.
“PSC patients and carers are at the forefront of PSC Support. I am excited to be part of an organisation that values its mission to proactively develop research opportunities, improves care and gives PSC patients a sense of belonging. Since I have a deep understanding of what it is like to manage a life impacting condition having been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition, I hope to add value to PSC Support objectives”.
Aside from flying the flag for all things HR and D&I, Charlene lives in London and spends her spare time trying new cuisines, enjoying spa days & culture, travelling, and making memories with her husband and two children.
Mark Chatterley, Administration Manager
Mark is bringing his skills in business management and production to the charity. Having been through an unsuccessful transplant assessment in 2013 following his initial diagnosis, he spent the next decade setting up and running his successful business until he finally had a transplant in 2023. He is very excited to share his experience and skills with PSC Support. His eclectic background and community involvement makes him a multi-skilled asset to the charity.
Loren Smith - Helpline Nurse
Loren is a hepatology clinical nurse specialist and has been working in Oxford for over 7 years with a specialism in autoimmune diseases. She is due to finish her Masters degree next year in Advanced Clinical Practice.
After being diagnosed with PSC in 2019, she found PSC Support was a really helpful resource for sharing information about her condition with family and friends. She is extremely excited about working with PSC Support as the charity has been an amazing support for her since her diagnosis.
Maxine Tapp - Fundraising and Events Officer
Maxine was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 2006 at the age of 17. She studied dance at the University of Chichester whilst her condition was under control and graduated in 2010.
Seven years after her diagnosis, Maxine’s condition progressed unexpectedly and significantly. She was added to the liver transplant waiting list in 2013 and had her transplant 15 months later.
Maxine started volunteering for PSC Support shortly after her transplant in 2014 and was appointed as Programme Development Officer in 2018, becoming the charity’s first ever employee, providing support to the charity. Maxine is passionate about advocating for people with PSC at all levels, working with stakeholders to ensure PSC research is patient-centred and making sure anyone affected by PSC has accurate information and support whenever it’s needed.
‘There is huge unmet need for people living with PSC and PSC Support is continually working to address that. I am dedicated to fulfilling the objectives of PSC Support and ensuring the charity continues to move forwards and help even more people.’
Maxine is also a freelance dance practitioner in Somerset and is interested in dance for health and wellbeing.
Martine Walmsley - Head of Research Strategy
Martine started volunteering for PSC Support after her diagnosis with the disease in 2007, when she found very little information about PSC or any hope of a treatment.
She’s advocated for PSC patients globally and been closely involved in developing national and international care guidelines to help ensure people with PSC get the best care possible, wherever they live. Martine set up the PSC Support Research Programme, accredited by the Association of Medical Research Charities, to enable PSC Support to fund only the highest quality research and is passionate about accelerating research progress.
My vision is to see real treatments for people with PSC, or dare I say it, an actual cure. To get there we must not only support and drive the right PSC research, but also make sure that research results and new data are not left gathering dust on shelves or in silos. Good research should lead to more good research and to scientific advances that can be used to improve our medical care and our everyday lives. The burning question for me now is not, ‘Will we see treatments?’, but, ‘How soon will we see them?’
In her spare time, Martine enjoys going to the theatre with her teenage daughter and finding new places to walk her two dogs, Luna and Bradley.