Dr Federico Semeraro, MD, is an Adjunct Professor of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at the University of Bologna, Italy. He is President of the European Resuscitation Council and a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, with expertise in cardiac arrest management, resuscitation science, and advanced CPR training. His research focuses on innovation in emergency care education, including the use of artificial intelligence, simulation, and virtual reality to improve resuscitation performance and patient outcomes. He is actively involved in international scientific and educational initiatives in resuscitation and critical care.

Dr Lott is a specialist in Anaesthesiology, Intensive care and prehospital emergency medicine. He completed a Masters in Medical Education at Heidelberg University in 2018. He is currently the medical director of the EMS in Mainz Germany and is involved in the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Director Training and Education. He is one of the contributing authors of ERC guidelines in 2015, 2021, 2025 and is the project lead for the “Get trained Save lives (GTSL)” campaign. Dr Lott also represents the ERC as board director for the European Trauma Course Organisation (ETCO).

Patricia Conaghan is a Senior Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Manchester and a passionate advocate for high-quality resuscitation education. She is an Honorary Member of the European Resuscitation Council, recognising her long-standing commitment to improving how life-saving skills are taught and shared across Europe.

Patricia’s work focuses on developing and supporting European Resuscitation Council educators and instructors, helping turn guidelines into confident teaching and real-world practice that truly saves lives. She is known for her practical, engaging style and her ability to make complex resuscitation guidance clear, relevant, and usable for busy clinical teams.

When she’s not teaching or developing faculty, Patricia is also a Guinness World Record holder, reflecting her love of teamwork, preparation, and pushing boundaries; values that sit at the heart of Heart Smart: From Guidelines to Lifelines.

​Dr Djärv is a professor and senior consultant in Emergency Medicine at Karolinska University Hospital and head of division for Clinical medicine at the Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. She is passionate about getting first things right, such as evidence-based first aid and prevention of cardiac arrests.  Dr Djärv  is the chairperson of ILCOR’s first aid task force and the Swedish Resuscitation Council. She is also a member of ERC’s steering committee for 2025 guidelines.

Sander van Goor is a paramedic and educator-trainer, and an active faculty member within the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). He serves as Co-Chair of the Science & Education Committee for Basic Life Support (SEC BLS) and is an author of the ERC Basic Life Support Guidelines 2025, as well as a co-author of the ERC First Aid Guidelines 2025.

Within the ERC, he contributes to the scientific development, educational translation, and implementation strategy of resuscitation guidelines, with a strong focus on didactics, human factors and real-world applicability.

In addition to his international role, he is actively involved in pre-hospital emergency care education, supporting healthcare professionals through evidence-based training and curriculum development. His work aims to strengthen the link between science, education, and clinical practice to improve the quality and effectiveness of resuscitation care.

Dr John Madar has worked as a Consultant Neonatologist & Paediatric Cardiologist in Plymouth since 1996, having trained in Newcastle & Glasgow. John has a long-standing interest in newborn resuscitation. He is the Emeritus education chair of the ERC NLS science and education committee and helped develop the recent European guidelines for newborn resuscitation. He is a member of the ILCOR NLS task force, a Fellow of the ERC, an honorary member of the Resuscitation Council UK and member of the RCUK Newborn Life Support (NLS) and Advanced Resuscitation of the Newborn Infant (ARNI) subcommittees. He helped develop the first NLS & ARNI courses and establish NLS outside the UK in Europe and the Middle and Far East. He works with charities to deliver training in newborn care in low resource settings in Africa and Vietnam. John has a particular interest in the equipment used in newborn resuscitation and training and has published on manikin behaviour, design and application. He has an interest in systems to recognise infants at risk to prevent collapse and was responsible for developing the first newborn early warning charts.

Dr Adam Bartolo graduated as a dental surgeon in 2001 and obtained his MSc in Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacology in 2004 from the University of Malta. He obtained the MFGDP(UK) and the MJDF(FDS) from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2008, and subsequently completed his oral surgery speciality training. He later pursued an MClinDent in Implantology and in 2019 he was certified as a Fellow of the European Academy of Oral Surgery and Implantology. He is certified in cone-beam computerised tomography (CBCT), conscious inhalation sedation, laser dentistry and as a CEREC CAD/CAM user and trainer.
Dr Bartolo is also a European Resuscitation Council-certified BLS & AED Instructor, Course Director & Instructor Trainer and regularly teaches on resuscitation courses run by the Malta Resuscitation Council and the Dental Association of Malta.
In 2008 he opened his private multidisciplinary group practice in Ħamrun, Malta, where he practices as a specialist oral surgeon and as a surgical implantologist, and until 2013 he was also working in the Oral Medicine and Oral Surgery section of the Dental Department at Mater Dei Hospital.
Dr Bartolo holds a Visiting Senior Lecturer post with the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the University of Malta. He taught Restorative Dentistry for 10 years and then moved on to lecture in Oral Diagnosis, Dental Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Oral Medicine & Surgery.
Dr Bartolo is the Chairperson of the Dental Specialist Accreditation Committee of Malta and the Vice-President of the Dental Association of Malta. He is also a Fellow of the International College of Dentists, the European Academy of Oral Surgery and Implantology and the College of General Dentistry (UK), and a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the International Team for Implantology, the Malta Resuscitation Council and the Malta Dental Specialists Association.
His main academic and professional interests are Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Implantology, CAD-CAM and CBCT imaging. Adam is also a Technical Diver, a Master SCUBA diver and a Recreational Skipper, and in his free time he likes to enjoy the company of his family and friends, good food and the sea.

Dr.Michael Buttigieg completed the UK dual accreditation programme for both Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine in 2005 to start his career as a Consultant Intensivist in the West of Scotland. He returned to Mater Dei Hospital in 2008 and was appointed Lead Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine in 2019. He has a particular interest in the clinical governance of intensive care medicine,  bioethics in acute medicine and neurocritical care.

​Prof Matthew Montebello is a full professor and the head of the Artificial Intelligence Department at the University of Malta’s Faculty of ICT. As a senior academic and maritime expert, Matthew Montebello blends a distinguished career in Computer Science and AI with over three decades of professional diving leadership. While holding a professorship at the University of Malta, he has concurrently established himself as a prominent figure in the diving industry, specializing in high-level safety, technical instruction, and underwater forensic analysis. As a TDI Certified Instructor Trainer and PADI Master Instructor, Matthew’s expertise extends from elite diver education to serving as a Court-Appointed Expert for underwater accidents. Since 2002, he has served as a Senior Trainer for the national search and rescue fire-fighters (Civil Protection Department), where he bridges the gap between advanced first-aid protocols and specialized diving operations. With an M.A. in Maritime Archaeology and a portfolio of AI research focused on underwater object identification, he offers a unique, multidisciplinary perspective on maritime safety, rescue, and investigative technology.

Dr Petramay Attard Cortis is a consultant anaesthetist and is the lead clinician for obstetric anaesthesia in Malta. Together with obstetric anaesthesia, her clinical practice includes anaesthesia for major vascular surgery, as well as emergency anaesthesia and resuscitation. 
She is a European Resuscitation Council Instructor on ILS, ALS, EPILS, EPALS, and NLS courses, as well as an Educator and Instructor on GIC. She is a certified Course Director for ILS, ALS, EPILS, EPALS and GIC.
Petramay has completed a Master Degree in Medical Education with Distinction at the University of Dundee, holds a Senior Visiting Lecturer post at the University of Malta, and is an international EDAIC Part 2 Examiner.
She has published two book chapters; together with peer reviewed material in Medical Teacher, the International Journal of Obstetric Anaesthesia, the Journal of Perioperative Practice, and the Malta Medical Journal. She is the National Coordinator for both MaCriCare and ACCESS European obstetric anaesthesia studies.

Dr Schembri Agius is a Consultant Anaesthetist specialising in Neuroanaesthesia. As National Course Director and Basic Life Support Coordinator within the Malta Resuscitation Council (MRC), she plays a pivotal role in advancing resuscitation skills locally.  With 16 years of experience, Velitchka has directed and taught numerous resuscitation courses in Malta and the UK, empowering individuals with life-saving skills.

Notably, she collaborated with artist Clyde Haber on "Call 112 Fibrillu", an innovative initiative bringing resuscitation education to primary and secondary schools across Malta, equipping the younger generation with essential skills to respond in emergencies.

Dr. Hunter is a fifth‑year Higher Specialist Trainee in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. She has been teaching ALS and ILS for the past four years. She has a keen interest in resuscitation, as it blends technical skills with human factors and teamwork, reflecting her daily clinical practice in the management of deteriorating patients.

Mr Calleja qualified as a teacher in 1994 and has held various teaching positions across Malta. He currently serves within the Health and Safety Unit of the Education Resources Directorate at the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, contributing to health and safety initiatives within the national education sector.

He became a Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider with the Malta Resuscitation Council in 2008 and subsequently qualified as a BLS Instructor and Course Director. He is presently pursuing certification as a Paediatric Basic Life Support Instructor, further expanding his involvement in resuscitation education and training.

Alongside his professional role in education, Nello is the General Manager of ParaVolley Europe, the continental governing body for volleyball for persons with disabilities. His combined experience in resuscitation training and adaptive sport has led to a growing interest in inclusive resuscitation practices, particularly the exploration of foot-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques as an alternative method for rescuers unable to perform standard manual compressions.

Dr Giordimaina serves as a consultant in Emergency Medicine at both Mater Dei Hospital and Gozo General Hospital. Since 2019, he has been gathering data for Malta's National Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Register. Additionally, he is the National Co-ordinator for EuReCa THREE for Malta and is also passionate about teaching resuscitation courses such as Advanced Life Support and the European Trauma Course.

Dr Mary Rose Cassar is a consultant Emergency Physician and Deputy Chairperson at the Emergency Department of Mater Dei Hospital. Throughout her career she has worked and held posts in various areas related to Emergency Medicine , Trauma and Resuscitation. She is a founder member and past President of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta and a founder member and past President of the Malta Resuscitation Council.

Between 2007-2011, Dr Cassar represented Malta on the European Resuscitation Council and was key to the organisation of the international European Resuscitation Council Symposium in Malta in 2011. In 2012 she was the first Maltese person to be awarded an Honorary Fellowship with the European Resuscitation Council for her work in the foundation and promulgation of the European Trauma Course across Europe and beyond. In fact she was the first ERC International European Trauma Course Co-ordinator between 2006-2010.

Dr Cassar is very keen on medical education. She is an ETC course instructor and a trainer in Emergency Medicine. She has published articles in local and International medical journals and is a Visiting Senior Lecturer with the Department of Surgery at the University of Malta

In her free time, she likes to read, listen to classical music, and whenever the opportunity to travel crops up, she does not hesitate to take it!

Dr Bianchi is a senior lecturer in healthcare law at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Laws. He is the author of the book ‘Medical Law in Malta’, which was published by Kluwer Law International in 2023, and his broader work on health care law has been published in major academic journals such as the Medical Law Review and the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry.

Dr Bianchi is licensed to practice law as an advocate in Malta and he is the national contact point for Malta at the European Association of Health Law as well as one of the convenors of the mental health and mental disability law stream at the Socio-Legal Studies Association in the United Kingdom. He has furthermore worked in Malta’s diplomatic corps, including a posting to Malta’s mission to Tunisia, as well as at the University of Edinburgh where he tutored European health law and policy at postgraduate level from 2012 to 2024. Most recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) engaged Dr Bianchi in 2025 on a consultant contract as a senior legal expert on long-term care to provide specialized legal advice and guidance to the WHO technical team on gaps in existing legislation on long-term care financing, organization and provision in Malta and to develop recommendations for improving legal protections, clarity of roles, responsibilities and accountability mechanisms.

Academically, Dr Bianchi graduated Bachelor of Arts in Legal and Humanistic Studies and Doctor of Laws from the University of Malta. As a Chevening Scholar, he was awarded the degree of Master of Laws in International Law from the University of Edinburgh. With the support of a Wellcome Trust studentship in bioethics and biolaw, he was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts in Healthcare Ethics and Law at the University of Manchester. Supported by the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme, Dr Bianchi was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Bioethics and Medical Jurisprudence by the University of Manchester.

Prof Simon Attard Montalto graduated MB.ChB from the University of Liverpool Medical School in 1985. He completed postgraduate training in Paediatrics in various hospitals in the UK, including The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, Guy’s and St. Bartholomew’s Hospitals in London. He obtained the DCH (1987), MRCP (1988), and was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (1997), Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (1998), and Fellow of the European Resuscitation Council (2022). He was awarded a doctorate (MD) from Liverpool University in 2000, for his thesis on ‘Nutritional and Metabolic changes in Children undergoing treatment for Malignant Disease’.

Prof Attard Montalto was Chairman of the Department of Paediatrics, Malta from 1996-2014, and has been Head of the Academic Department of Paediatrics at the Malta Medical School since 1998. He was appointed Associate Professor of Paediatrics, UOM, in 2007 and full Professor in 2010. He is a founder member and past Chairman of the Malta Resuscitation Council and is the National Course director for EPALS, and course director/instructor for EPALS, EPILS, PBLS, NLS, BLS, BIC and GIC. He has published numerous scientific papers and several textbooks for undergraduate and postgraduate training in Paediatrics. He has covered General, Intensive, Oncology and Renal Paediatric Subspecialties, and has an interest in Resuscitation training and Medical Adoptions.

Dr Christopher Gauci is a consultant anaesthetist and intensive care specialist working at Mater Dei Hospital and Gozo General Hospital in Malta.

He obtained his medical degree from the University of Malta, is a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and holds the European Diploma in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EDAIC). His professional experience spans Malta, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, and Libya — including service during the Libyan war of 2019.

Dr Gauci has previously worked extensively as a locum consultant anaesthetist across multiple NHS trusts in the UK, including Poole, Yeovil, Cornwall, and North Tees hospitals, gaining broad experience in anaesthesia, critical care, and trauma.

He also has a strong background in expedition and field medicine, having served as Expedition Doctor on Mount Kilimanjaro in 2008 during a Marie Curie charity ascent, and later as Expedition Medic and Safety Diver for the University of Malta’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Operations, supporting underwater archaeological missions identifying World War II wrecks off Croatia and Malta. His fieldwork includes medical support for ultra-endurance events such as Neil Agius’s 100-mile swim attempt and freediving world championships around the Maltese Islands.

Dr Gauci’s expertise in aeromedical and transfer medicine stems from his tenure as Chief Medical Officer for Rescue Wings Malta Aeromedical Ltd, where he coordinated ICU-level patient repatriations across Europe and North Africa. He is also a long-standing instructor and course director with the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the Resuscitation Council UK, and he contributes to international education in resuscitation and emergency medicine.

He is currently completing a Masters degree in Extreme Medicine with the University of Exeter, focusing on clinical leadership and performance in austere and expeditionary environments.

Dr Sammut is a 4th year trainee in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. She is a Basic Life Support instructor and is also involved in coordinating the Advanced Life Support Recertification Courses.

Dr. Marius Caruana is the co-Chair of the Malta Resuscitation Council and Chair of the Primary Health Care Resuscitation Committee. He has instructed and directed on adult ALS/ILS courses since 2009, being active both locally and abroad and has occupied the role of ILS Course Organiser since 2012.

He has sought to diversify resuscitation courses for medical specialities outside hospital, carrying courses within primary health care establishments, psychiatric hospitals, social care homes, prison medical facilities and immigration detention centres.    

He is also Chair of the Primary Health Care Generic Preparedness Committee, University of Malta Council member and an expert on Migrant Health and prevention of ill-treatment and torture at Council of Europe level.  

Kieron Galton is an experienced paramedic and clinical educator with over 14 years of experience in pre-hospital emergency medicine. Born in Poole, Dorset, he developed an early interest in emergency care and public service. He began his professional journey by completing an Access to Higher Education course before progressing to study Paramedic Science at Bournemouth University, where he gained the clinical knowledge and practical skills required to work in frontline emergency medical services.

Following his qualification, Kieron joined the Southwestern Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, where he spent six years working as a frontline paramedic. During this time, he gained extensive experience managing a wide range of medical and traumatic emergencies across both urban and rural environments. His time within the ambulance service allowed him to develop strong clinical decision-making skills and a passion for patient-centred care, particularly within the challenging and unpredictable pre-hospital setting.

Ms Marilyn Gauci is a Senior Staff Nurse currently working within the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. She graduated from the University of Malta in 2010 and began her nursing career in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit. Ms Gauci pursued further academic specialization and obtained a Master’s degree in Cardiac Rehabilitation from the University of Chester in 2016. Her postgraduate training strengthened her focus on holistic cardiac recovery, secondary prevention, and patient-centered rehabilitation. In addition to her clinical role, Ms Gauci is an accredited Immediate Life Support (ILS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) instructor. She is currently collaborating with the Malta Resuscitation Council to establish a cardiac arrest survivor support group, an initiative aimed at providing ongoing psychosocial support, education, and community integration for survivors and their families.

Mr Duncan Briffa graduated with a Degree in Nursing in 2001 from the University of Malta and has a Masters in Disaster Medicine from Universita’ del Piemonte Orientale, Novara. He spent the first 15 years of his career at the Emergency Department at Mater Dei hospital, Malta. In 2015 he became a Practice nurse in Resuscitation at Mater Dei Hospital, focusing mainly on in-hospital resuscitation. He has set up an organised structure of life support courses that are specific to different areas within hospital. He has organised cadaveric airway and intraosseous courses, difficult airway courses and Adult and Paediatric airway and ventilation courses. In the past 3 years, he was fully immersed in the development of the hospital’s rapid response system including the implementation of NEWS2, escalation pathways and the setting up of a Rapid Response Nursing Team. He is currently working on improving both the operational as well as the clinical role of the rapid response nurses.

In his free time, Duncan loves spending time outdoors on foot, on two wheels as well as on 4-wheels. He also loves a barbecue!

Dr Anne Marie Camilleri Podesta is a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. She is a Board Member of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) and Chair of its National Anaesthesiologists Societies Committee (NASC), where she promotes collaboration and harmonisation among national anaesthesiology societies across Europe and contributes to ESAIC’s strategic direction. She also serves as an EDAIC Part 2 Examiner and is an active member of several ESAIC committees, including Sustainability, Patient Safety and Quality, Guidelines, and Train the Trainer.

At the national level, Dr. Camilleri Podesta is President of the Association of Anaesthesiologists and Intensivists of Malta (AAIM). She contributes to specialist accreditation and training, organises the annual Recognition and Acute Care Treatment (ReACT) course, and chaired Malta’s first international anaesthesia conference, Focus on the High Risk Patient, in February 2025. She has also organised a Research Masterclass in Malta.

She leads Research and Audit in Anaesthesia at Mater Dei Hospital and serves as a Foundation Training Programme Director and Educational Supervisor for Malta’s Foundation Programme. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Malta and a tutor with Queen Mary University of London.

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Kurt is a consultant in Diving & Hyperbaric Medicine and a rescue SCUBA diver. He currently works as Lead Clinician at the Mater Dei Hospital Hyperbaric Unit. For the last 9 years, he has been involved in the treatment of diving and hyperbaric emergencies in Malta and Gozo. The pathophysiology of decompression sickness is his area of special interest. He has published a novel study regarding the acute effects on the peripheral human blood transcriptome of decompression sickness.

Dr Katya Azzopardi is a medical doctor undertaking training in paediatrics. She is a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Malta Resuscitation Council, and the Maltese Paediatric Association - Trainee in Child Health Subcommittee. She also forms part of the Paediatric Guideline Committee and the Continuous Medical Education team.

Dr Azzopardi serves as the National Course Director for the GOAL (Go and Save a Life) programme and is an instructor on several resuscitation courses delivered by the Malta Resuscitation Council. Through these roles, she is actively involved in promoting paediatric education, resuscitation training, and the development of clinical guidelines.