My name is Maria Die Trill and I have  been involved with IPOS since it was created by Dr. Holland in the 80s. I studied psychology in Madrid, Spain and trained in clinical psychology on a Fulbright fellowship at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital/NY University, after which I became a research assistant at the Pediatric Department at Memorial Sloan-Ketering Cancer Center (MSKCC) under the mentorship of Dr. William Redd and completed pre and post doctoral fellowships at the Psychiatry Department at MSKCC under the mentorship of Dr. Jimmie Holland where I also had supervisers whose teachings I will never forget: Drs. W Breitbart, M Lederberg, J Barbuto, N Straker, etc. After 7 years in NY, work took me to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Children´s Hospital and Harvard University in Boston, as part of the medical staff, where I had the opportunity to work with Drs Andrea Patenaude, Gerry Koocher and Joanna Breyer. As much as Boston is a beautiful city, I am a warm weather person and being burried in snow for most part of the year isn´t exactly what I look forward to! After 10 years in the US, I created the first PsychoOncology Unit in Spain at the university hospital Gregorio Marañón in Madrid. I´ve always had an interest in increasing the presence of Spanish-speaking professionals in IPOS, one of the reasons for which I organized IPOS´ X World Congress in Madrid, which expanded the participation of many Latin American countries. As IPOS President I created the Latin American and Spanish-Speaking SIG. I received the Cornelia Perry Award in Public Speaking & the Meaning of Life (1992) and the First Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence (IPOS, 2008). I have published two Psycho-Oncology manuals in Spanish and as a clinician, I am interested in cross-cultural issues that influence the experiences of health, illness and death. I currently direct a privately run center in psychooncology in Madrid and collaborate with numerous scientific entities: Ulm University, Spanish Medical Oncology Society, European Society of Medical Oncology; European CanCer Organization, etc.

My most valued treasures are my family, especially my Russian-born 19-year old son Dima (despite the fact that he has almost finished with my energy reserve!) and my numerous close friends. All have supported me in the past years, which have not been easy ones. I have many hobbies for which I hardly have time (travelling, bookbinding) and I find special calm when I go to the opera and classical music concerts, or when I escape to a family-owned  old water mill turned into a country house outside the city. My beliefs help me find meaning in what I do, something for which I consider myself quite fortunate. Having lost three very close family members to COVID-19 (my father among them) in less than a year, I now hope that we all come together, specially to help those without resources, to end with this terrible pandemic.