WICN Mentoring Pilot Scheme Mid-point meeting
Friday, 17 October 2025, 11.30am to 3pm
Seminar rooms A + B, Level 6, West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital.
Register nowPurpose: To share feedback on the mid-point evaluation of the WICN mentoring pilot scheme.
Meeting Schedule:

11:30 Refreshments: Tea, coffee, juice
12:00 Introduction, mentoring survey & feedback
12:45 Lunch & networking: Damascus Rose
13:15 Women in Academia: Reflections on Mentoring.
- Melanie Fleming
- Andrea Kusec
- Manjiri Gokhale Joshi
14:45 Panel discussion/Q&A
15.00 Close
To confirm your place, please register to help us meet any dietary or accessibility needs.
Please note that places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to register as soon as possible.
WICN Mentorship Committee:
Michele Hu, Eugenie La Grange, Betina Ip, Alexander Davies, Jarlath Brine, Maddalena Comini, Susan Downes, Samantha De Silva, Ben Seymour, Jasmina Kapetanovic, Carol Delamere
Speaker biographies
Melanie Fleming - Associate Professor & Academic Lead for Patient Involvement and Public Engagement, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford
Melanie Fleming is an Associate Professor in NDCN, where her primary interest is in the investigation of potential strategies for improving rehabilitation after stroke and brain injury. She is particularly interested in the role of sleep in learning and recovery, findings ways to improve sleep after stroke and testing novel treatments such as brain stimulation. Alongside this, Mel is the Academic Lead for Patient Involvement and Public engagement for the Medical Sciences Division and the vice Chair of the Medical Sciences Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee. She has had numerous informal mentors over the past 20 years, in addition to taking part in one formal mentoring scheme through the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Andrea Kusec - Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
Andrea Kusec is a postdoctoral research and NIHR DSE Fellow in NDCN. Her research focuses on the relationship between cognitive impairment and mental health after stroke and brain injury specifically identifying pre- and post-brain injury cognitive vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety, and how to augment psychological therapies in light of cognitive impairment. Andrea specialises in complex intervention and using both advanced quantitative and qualitative methodology to conduct her research. Andrea has had mentors from clinical psychology and neuropsychological backgrounds in Canada and in the UK from a range of career stages and institutions.
Manjiri Gokhale Joshi - Mentoring Coordinator, Radcliffe Department of Medicine (RDM), University of Oxford
Former Diversity and Inclusion Head at Said Business School, Oxford University and former CEO of Global Talent Track, Manjiri nurtures leaders through her company Elephant Connect through structured managerial development programmes and outcome-focussed coaching. She won the She Inspires "Agent of Change" UK National award for nurturing a team of disabled leaders who manage the charity she co-founded - Maya CARE. Manjiri has worked as a newspaper, magazine and TV journalist for a decade. Among her past roles have been – Head, Project Management, Primal Pictures, A division of Informa PLC, London, Head of Contact Centre, Head of HR, Zensar BPO and Vice President, Marketing, ICICI Lombard, General Insurance. Manjiri has just begun her PHD in “Disability, Leadership and Management” on a three-year scholarship awarded by Queen Mary University London (QMUL).