Mimi McCord
Chairman, Trustee & Director
Mimi is the founder trustee of the McCord Oesophageal Cancer Fund which is now known as Heartburn Cancer UK (HCUK). She set-up the charity in memory of her husband Michael, who died from oesophageal cancer in 2002, a death that could have been prevented had he known of the dangers of long-term persistent heartburn. HCUK raises awareness and educates the general public and medical profession of the link, and risk factors between heartburn, Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer, to try to reduce the increasing number of deaths from this cancer through prevention and early diagnosis.
Over the last ten years Mimi has been a lay member on NICE and British Society of Gastroenterology guideline committees focusing on Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer, and has advised the Department of Health on their public awareness campaign on oesophago-gastric cancer.
Mimi is also involved in a number of trials to improve diagnosis treatment and management of Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophageal cancer, from design through to publication of research results. Currently she is Patient Advocate for a major research project funded by CRUK as part of their Grand Challenge venture. The project, called Mutographs of Cancer, is led by Professor Sir Mike Stratton and seeks to fill in the missing gaps to identify the unknown cancer-causing factors and reveal how they lead to cancer.
Mimi is the mother of two grown-up children and the grandmother of four. She’s a very hands on grandmother, and frequently juggles two or three grandchildren during the week with school runs or no school at all, plus her computer when something charity related needs an immediate response. She’s a very keen runner and frequently to be seen running around Bosham where she now lives. She’s also in the gym three times a week to remain fit and reasonably de-stressed thanks to so much exercise, including dog walking.
Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald OBE
Clinical Trustee & Director
Rebecca is Professor of Cancer Prevention at the University of Cambridge and a Research Professor for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). She trained in clinical Gastroenterology and started doing research into cancer of the oesophagus in 1995. Over the years she has looked after many patients, some diagnosed with Barrett’s oesophagus and some with cancer of the oesophagus. More recently she has had the privilege of seeing how patients with oesophageal cancer can be cured through simple endoscopic treatments when their disease is diagnosed early.
Rebecca is Director of the newly established Early Detection Institute, which is part of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre, and also leads the Cambridge member centre for the CRUK International Alliance in Early Detection (ACED). She thinks that it is vital that we improve awareness amongst the general public and doctors about heartburn and the link with Barrett’s oesophagus and cancer, which is why she’s keen to be involved with the charity.
Her work to develop and implement the Cytosponge™ and related biomarker assays for detection of Barrett’s oesophagus and associated dysplasia has been awarded a number of prizes including the Westminster Medal, the BMJ Gastro team of the year, an NHS Innovation prize, the CRUK Jane Wardle Early Detection Prize, the Don Listwin Prize and recently the CRUK Horizons Impact Award. In 2013, she was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in 2021 elected a Member of EMBO. Rebecca is committed to teaching and is a Fellow of Medical Sciences at Trinity College Cambridge.
In addition to her work in early detection, Rebecca practices medicine as Hon. Consultant in Gastroenterology and Cancer Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
People sometimes think that working in the area might be depressing but it is very fulfilling to be able to work on something so important and her husband and four young sons ensure she keeps perspective on life!
Beryl Huntingdon
Trustee & Director
Having suffered with persistent heartburn Beryl Huntingdon, a successful businesswoman, knows exactly the importance of being alert to the symptoms, which could ultimately lead to oesophageal cancer.
Beryl had a laparoscopic fundoplication in 2001 and for her the surgery was a welcome, positive, life-changing experience. She was delighted to be approached by Mimi McCord to become a Trustee of HCUK. Since becoming a Trustee one of her main aims is to raise public awareness and understanding of this potential condition.
Oliver Stovin
Trustee & Director
Oliver is a retired GP and also a Barrett’s sufferer. He has been involved with HCUK predominantly around the DELTA Cytosponge project and was nominated trustee to the charity in May 2022.
Having retired as a full-time rural GP in 2015 he took on a role as Cancer lead for Cambridge and Peterborough Clinical commissioning group. This was a part time role funded by Macmillan. His role was to improve cancer care in Cambridgeshire in any way he could; to influence decision making and funding and to involve patients, carers, primary, secondary and tertiary care. He found this work both incredibly rewarding and at times very frustrating and has learnt a lot about delivering improved care pathways and encouraging cooperation between primary and secondary care. It is this insight that he feels he brings to HCUK.
Michael Farrier
Trustee & Director
Michael is an English solicitor and partner with MPM Legal Solutions Limited. His practice area is employment law and mediation. He has practised in private practice all his professional career.
Having lost Joan, his step mother to cancer recently, he joins the Charity with a resolve and commitment to contribute in whatever way he can, to improve the lives of all sufferers of this unrelenting, unforgiving disease.
He was nominated a trustee to the charity in November 2023.
Michael lives in Newbury and is married with two grown up sons and with Ali, his wife and rock of 36 years, has become a very proud grandparent recently. Michael loves cycling, swimming, walking his mad Cocker Spaniel pal, Chester and all things music – playing, songwriting/ composing and listening.
Jo Stevenson Timini
Trustee & Director
Jo works as Executive Head of Sales and Marketing at The Lanesborough, part of Oetker Collection – a collection of 12 ultra-luxury hotels located around the world. Jo is a luxury hospitality specialist with skills spanning marketing and communications, revenue and people management, customer experience & loyalty, execution of brand strategy. She is a member of the executive committee with a proven track record in leading high-energy/performance sales & marketing teams, at property, regional & global corporate level. Previous roles include Dorchester Collection, Accor, InterContinental Hotels Group.
Jo lost her husband Dean Timini to Stage 4 adenocarcinoma oesophageal cancer with secondary spread to the stomach and lung. He was diagnosed in December 2019 and died the following year in October. He had a persistent cough, and continuous heartburn for all of his adult life. He was 49 years of age.
Sheraz Markar
Trustee
Sheraz is a Professor & Director of the Surgical Interventional Trials Unit, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, and a Consultant Oesophago-Gastric Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The focus of Sheraz’s clinical practice and research revolves around the surgical management of patients with malignant and benign (including gastro-oesophageal reflux) oesophageal and gastric disease.
He has undertaken two PhDs concerning the diagnosis and management of oesophageal and gastric cancer and his current primary research interests are concerning survivorship and surveillance following oesophageal and gastric cancer treatment, and standardisation of surgical quality assessment in upper gastrointestinal surgery.
Sheraz was awarded the prestigious Rising Star award by the United European Gastroenterology in 2019, and in the following year was awarded the Hunterian Professorship by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Sheraz is Associate Surgical Specialty Lead in Oesophago-Gastric Surgery, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons for Great Britain & Ireland (AUGIS), Chairman of the Research Education Committee, European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) and Deputy Chair of the NIHR pre-application support fund panel.
Rowena Somerville-Cotton
Trustee
Rowena worked in Community Affairs in the City for many years developing charitable and volunteering partnerships in East London with a focus on education. She started her career in communications working on a number of well known household brands.
Joining HCUK as a trustee in 2026 she hopes to put these skills to good use in helping to raise awareness of the dangers of persistent heartburn and fundraising to support the broader work of the charity.
Heartburn was an unknown entity until meeting her husband Fabian who had persistent heartburn for all of his adult life. Fabian died of oesophageal cancer aged 57. Looking for an organisation to support financially in his memory Rowena came across HCUK and their practical and vocal approach to helping facilitate early diagnosis immediately resonated.
Fabian’s family asked for donations at his memorial service to support the capsule sponge work through the HCUK mobile diagnostic unit. Family and friends have continued to raise funds through a wide variety of activities and ADM, the company where Fabian worked, has also become a significant and much appreciated donor to HCUK.
Rowena has two daughters and two stepdaughters, as well as a wonderful spaniel!