tRAINING COURSE OFFICERS
2023/2024
The Training Course Officers are elected officials of the KCL Wilderness Medicine Society.
They are responsible for organising the Training Course, recruiting speakers and teaching delegates.
Priyanka Asodaria
Priyanka is a 4th year graduate medical student at King’s College London. Prior to her medical degree she graduated from Edinburgh University with honours in Biomedical Sciences. She has recently been awarded a merit for academic achievement during medical school. Priyanka has authored several publications within the field of ophthalmology and infectious diseases. She has also presented research on anaesthetic trends internationally. Priyanka has recently completed the FAWM accredited King’s College London Wilderness Medicine Training Course.
Whilst at Edinburgh she was team captain of the University of Edinburgh netball club and continued playing whilst at King’s College London. Outside of academia, Priyanka is a keen skier and has worked as a ski instructor in New Zealand. She also enjoys hiking and has spent time in the Himalayas, New Zealand, and the Atlas Mountains. Priyanka has pursued her interest of working abroad through engagement with the Rural India Health Project, a non-for-profit hospital located in the remote region of Kodagu in southern India.
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Amelia Johnston
Amelia is a third-year graduate entry medical student at King’s College London where she is heavily involved in the Graduate Entry Medical Society, acting as the treasurer for the committee. She has a previous first-class degree in Medical Sciences from the University of Edinburgh where she received the Mike Porter prize for most distinguished scholar. During her time at Edinburgh, she also received the Edinburgh award for her contributions to the Students as Change Agents project. Amelia’s research interests include delirium detection and management.
Amelia is also an outdoor enthusiast and keen traveller. In particular, she enjoys hiking and was a member of Edinburgh University’s Hill Walking Club. Her passion for hiking has led her to explore trails around the world ranging from the Scottish Highlands to Norwegian Fjords to Northern America. She is also a graduate of last year’s King’s College London Wilderness Medicine Society Training Course, which she enjoyed so much she took on the role of training course officer for this year’s iteration.
Anton Beka
Anton, an accomplished rock-climbing instructor and devoted mountaineer, has excelled not only in these pursuits but has also demonstrated remarkable proficiency in calisthenics and cycling. Notably, he completed a demanding 800km cycle tour through the Balkans, showcasing his endurance and teamwork skills, which are essential in mountaineering. In addition to these achievements, Anton successfully summited Mont Blanc and numerous other iconic peaks in the Alps, further solidifying his mountaineering experience.
As a medical student, Anton's dedication to the field is evident in his pursuit of a Pre-hospital medicine programme at Bart's. He is currently using this as an intercalated year to gain comprehensive knowledge in emergency response and treatment. His academic journey has been marked by outstanding achievements, ranking among the top 3% in his recent major exam as well as earning two merits. As the president of the Extended Medical Degree society, he displayed strong leadership and organisational skills, overseeing various events and managing the society's finances.
Pablo Fuentes Medrano
Pablo Fuentes Medrano is a 2nd year medical student and one of your new TCOs this year. Before he was tackling textbooks and stethoscopes, he completed a BSc in Biomedical Sciences. When he’s not in London learning about anatomical anomalies, you can find him riding the wildest waves while windsurfing, venturing deep into the greatest hiking tracks, or shredding the slopes since he was knee-high to a snowman. Back in his undergrad days, he used to row competitively for Lancaster University Boat Club. So, I guess you could say he takes his yearly dose of adrenaline quite seriously.
His love for wilderness medicine began just last year during the training course. He realised that treating patients outdoors isn't so different from navigating a black diamond ski run, it's all about staying cool under pressure and knowing when to take the plunge. He’s thrilled to be on this wild journey once more, and can't wait to meet all of you.
Shanthavi Wijayakumar
Shanthavi is currently a 4th year medical student at King’s College Medicine interested in pursuing Humanitarian Medicine. As the former president of KCL Friends of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), she helped organise the national conference for Friends of MSF and received a Gold Award for her commitment and leadership skills. Moreover she has spent time in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Chennai, India, shadowing various medical departments and understanding the drastic differences in healthcare settings. Shanthavi has also been involved as a committee member for KCL MedLife and the Orange Trust, which are societies that promote and support medical volunteering opportunities globally in remote locations.
Attending the virtual talks by the World Extreme Medicine Conference sparked her initial interest in Expedition Medicine and since then Shanthavi has been an elected member of the KCL Wilderness Medicine Society for the past three years. Upon successfully completing the FAWM accredited KCL WMS Training Course, she is looking forward to organising and empowering others as a training course officer for the upcoming year.
Javier Estevez Cores
Javier is a 4th year graduate medical student at King’s College London. He has a Master’s in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford. He has led several audits in general surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital and was a Summer Anatomy Scholar at GKT in 2022. He was also Deputy Chair for Finance of the Medical Student’s Committee for the BMA in 2022/23 and developed guidance on financial support for medical students in England. He is currently one of the organisers of BMA at GKT. Javier joined KCLWMS as part of last year’s training course. He has over three years experience as a first aid responder for large sporting events as part of St John’s Ambulance.
Javier was Treasurer of the KCL Mountaineering and Climbing society in 2022/23 and led several expeditions to Weymouth, Wydncliff, Stanage, Plas y Brenin, Ailefroide and Fontainebleau in France. He is part of the KCL chapter of Students for Global Health. Javier is an avid climber and mountaineer, sailor and surfer. He is a member of the BMC Students, Alpine Club (UK), Not so Trad and Outdoor Lads and has an interest in making the outdoors more accessible.