Brief Resume
Dr Despoina Denaxa-Kyza is a Paediatric allergy consultant trained in the United Kingdom.
Dr Denaxa finished her basic education in Syros, Chios island and Serres where she graduated first among her peers in all settings. She was awarded the Adamantios Korais award for graduating first among her classmates in Junior High school in the island of Chios.
She studied medicine at the Medical school of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She was admitted after completing successfully the university entrance exams in 1997 and graduated with Merit (7.98/10) in 2003.
From year 2 till end of her studies she received scholarship from Papadakis foundation after competition.
She then completed her rural medical service in Ioannina and started her training in paediatrics at Voula General hospital in Athens between June 2006-November 2007.
Dr Denaxa pursued paediatric training in the United Kingdom where she started her career in February 2008. In August 2009 she was subsequently successful in being admitted into the UK run through training program in paediatrics in North West England and specialised in allergy in Royal Manchester Children’s hospital.
She completed her paediatric membership exams and became a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) in 2011.
Dr Denaxa was also awarded the Certificate of Completion of Training in paediatrics by the Panhellenic Medical Association after successful completion of the Greek specialty exit exams in 2012.
She was awarded the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) for paediatrics by the General Medical Council (GMC), after completing her training in the UK and passing all her exams and training requirements in 2020. She was also awarded the certificate of Special interest in allergy (SPIN) by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 2020 after completing all the requirements of the allergy module.
She has undertaken and completed successfully a postgraduate diploma in Child Health from Leeds University in 2015 with Merit. This was funded by Yorkshire and Humber Deanery after completion of her MRCPCH exams. She also successfully completed the postgraduate allergy module in the University of Newcastle in 2019. Dr Denaxa completed a Masters in Science in Child health in the University of Leeds in 2023 with distinction. Her research project was the analysis and presentation of results of a home peanut desensitisation program in a cohort of patients in the North West of England. She later presented the findings in educational meetings in North West as well as the annual European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology conference in Hamburg in 2023.
She was employed briefly as general paediatric consultant with special interest in allergy in Royal Oldham Hospital in 2021. She was subsequently appointed as permanent paediatric allergy consultant in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital which is one of the biggest paediatric hospitals in the UK. The department of allergy provided secondary and tertiary allergy service. Dr Denaxa was the lead for immunotherapy for aeroallergens in children. She was employed until she resigned from her post in 2024 after her relocation to Cyprus. She specialised in the management of food allergies, drug allergy, allergic rhinitis, asthma, eczema and venom allergy. During her employment as paediatric allergy consultant she offered advice and guidance to paediatric consultants with interest in allergy in district hospitals in the area of Liverpool and North Wales.
Dr Denaxa has 17 years experience in wide range of paediatrics in the UK including emergencies, neonatal and paediatric intensive care and paediatric subspecialties such as oncology and cardiology. During that period, 6 years were committed to paediatric allergy, where she was trained in asthma and paediatric allergy and worked as a paediatric allergy consultant. She has worked in multidisciplinary team within Alder Hey and with other hospitals in the North West.
She has been qualified as instructor for Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) course. She also developed a passion for breastfeeding and after passing the certification exams she was awarded International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 2015 which she maintained until 2020.
Dr Denaxa has been involved in medical research particularly in the area of evidence based medicine and allergy. She has published her work in peer reviewed journals and presented her work in national and international conferences. Since her employment as paediatric allergy consultant she has been actively involved in the activities of the North West Paediatric Allergy Network. She co-organised and chaired the study day in 2024, reviewed and revised guidelines and has presented her research work in peanut allergy desensitisation. She has been involved in teaching medical students, nurses and junior doctors throughout her career and has been rota and teaching co-ordinator in many departments she has worked.
Dr Denaxa is a registered specialist with the General Medical Council (UK) and the Cyprus Medical Association. She is member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). She is also member of the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI), European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and Greek Paediatric Allergy Society.
Dr Denaxa has been involved in volunteer work in her life particularly related to Greek culture and tradition.
Her favourite quote is the one from Alexander the Great ‘’I am indebted to my parents for living and to my teachers for living well’’. She is grateful to her parents Angeliki and Eleftherios for the values they have brought her up with.