Council

Tim Mitchell studied medicine at Brasenose College, Oxford before training in otolaryngology in Oxford, London, Cambridge and Sydney. He was awarded the inaugural Graham Fraser Memorial Fellowship to work with Professor William Gibson in the field of cochlear implantation. He was appointed as Consultant Otolaryngologist in Southampton in 2000 and has a subspecialty interest in cochlear and other auditory implants with the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service. He has been an RCS Regional Specialty Professional Advisor, member of Council of ENT UK, Vice Chair of the Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Ear Services and a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee for Otolaryngology. He has been an MRCS examiner since 2004 and was Chair of the Court of Examiners from 2014 to 2017. He was elected to Council in 2017. He is a trustee of ENT UK and an honorary member of the Medical Women’s Federation. He was appointed Vice President in 2020 and President in 2023.

Fiona Myint is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon based at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Having qualified at Guy’s Hospital, she trained in General and Vascular Surgery in London. She has a keen interest in surgical education having been a Surgical Tutor, Trust Divisional Director of Education, Trust Undergraduate Teaching Lead, Core Surgery Training Programme Director, General Surgery Training Programme Director and General Surgery SAC member. Fiona has been involved in undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum development and has been an examiner for MB BS and the MRCS for many years. She has sat on the National Selection Boards for both Core Surgery and General Surgery and holds a Masters in Clinical Education and SFHEA. She is keen to encourage undergraduates into surgical training and is the patron of the UCL Surgical Society. More recently she has developed the Harvard Surgical Leadership Program for Harvard Medical School. She was most honoured when the late Professor Jerry Kirk asked her to update his book ‘Basic Surgical Techniques’ and was pleased that he lived to see the book win the BMJ Book Prize for Surgery in 2019. Above all she is a full-time practicing vascular surgeon serving the populations of the Royal Free and the Whittington Hospitals.

Consultant Plastic Surgeon Professor Vivien Lees was elected to College Council in 2014 and was re-elected by membership in 2020. She has been elected by Council as a Trustee in 2020 and as Vice President from 2023. She is Professor of Plastic Surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, where she has clinical interests in hand surgery including wrist and the rheumatoid hand. Her principal scientific interests are in functional anatomy of the distal radioulnar joint/forearm biomechanics (Hunterian Oration 2010) and peripheral nerve injury. She is past joint Editor of the European Journal of Hand Surgery. Professor Lees was an undergraduate in Oxford and undertook clinical studies in Cambridge qualifying in 1985. She underwent plastic surgery training in Cambridge, Billericay and Leeds/Bradford Louisville, Kentucky. Professor Lees has served previously as SAC Chair Plastic Surgery, FRCS(Plast) examiner and member of BAPRAS, BSSH and BAAPS Councils. She has been President British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) for 2015. She has particular interests in the development of educational programmes and led the development of the Postgraduate Diploma in Hand Surgery and MSc Hand Surgery and developed the Plastic Surgery Curriculum in its current modular format. On Council she has had particular involvement with Emerging Leaders, SAFE OR, Cosmetic Certification/credentialling programmes and HandsFirst QI initiative. Professor Lees is highly committed to patient safety, engaging the ‘overlooked’ members of our College and is working to ensure a sustainable future both for the College and for surgery. Recreations include pottery, fell walking, lake swimming, and history.

Peter Friend is Professor of Transplantation at the University of Oxford, Fellow of Green Templeton College, consultant in Transplant and Hepatobiliary surgery at Oxford University Hospitals, and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He trained at the University of Cambridge and St Thomas’ Hospital, London and carried out junior hospital posts in London and East Anglia. After specialist training, he worked as Visiting Assistant Professor of Surgery, Indiana University, USA, returning to the UK as Lecturer in Surgery, University of Cambridge, where he was also Fellow and Director of Studies in Medicine at Magdalene College. He moved to Oxford in 1999, where in addition to clinical activities, he heads a translational research group focusing on organ preservation/reconditioning and novel immunosuppressive strategies. He is author of more than 300 papers on clinical and scientific aspects of transplantation and general surgery. As Director of the Oxford Transplant Centre, he has introduced new clinical programmes including pancreatic and intestinal transplantation. Previously he has served as President of the British Transplantation Society, Thames Valley Training Programme Director (General Surgery) and Council member (Europe) of the Transplantation Society. In 2008 he co-founded OrganOx Ltd, a spin-out company from the University of Oxford, established to translate University research in the area of normothermic organ perfusion into clinical practice. He was appointed Vice President in 2023.

Dr Eckhardt is a highly experienced Consultant Orthodontist and Aesthetic Practitioner. Her particular orthodontic interest is in the management of facial deformity working with maxillofacial surgeons and is the lead orthodontist for cleft lip and palate in Wales. She has an interest in facial aesthetics and also has a master's degree in aesthetic medicine with distinction from Queen Mary University of London. She is a clinical senior lecturer on the aesthetic medicine master's degree at Queen Mary University of London. Dr Eckhardt lectures nationally and internationally in the fields of orthodontics and aesthetic medicine. She also has a particular interest in postgraduate training and assessment and was appointed as an MOrth examiner in 2008, following this she was elected as the Chair of the panel of MOrth examiners and is currently the Chair of the Board of MOrth examiners for RCS England and RCPS Glasgow. In this role she has established overseas MOrth examinations in Kuala Lumpur, Chennai and Cairo. In addition, she is the director of assessments for the Aesthetic Medicine MSc at Queen Mary University of London. She was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery in June 2023.

Mr Ahmed Ahmed is a Consultant Bariatric Surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT). After qualifying from UCL Medical School, he trained in general and upper GI surgery in London and at Stanford University (surgical resident) and the University of Rochester (MIS Fellowship) in the US. His main areas of interest are in complex revisional bariatric surgeries. He trains other surgeons in the field of bariatric surgery, runs the RCS England senior clinical fellowship in bariatric surgery at ICHT and is on the faculty of numerous courses on bariatric surgery. Ahmed is actively involved in bariatric surgery research having completed a PhD degree in mechanisms of complications after gastric bypass surgery at Imperial College London. He is a clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London and has more than 200 publications in peer reviewed journals. His research interests include bariatric embolisation (EMBIO trial), low pressure surgery, the OR Black Box, tele-monitoring of patients post discharge and internal hernias. He was recently awarded a NIHR EME grant for his EMBIO trial. He is the clinical specialty lead for surgery for NW London and is a member of council of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS).

Keith is a consultant Plastic Surgeon with substantive, full time appointment in Middlesbrough since April 2005. His main surgical practice is in microsurgery, trauma and burns, breast reconstruction and skin oncology. He has conducted a busy private Plastic Surgery / Cosmetic Surgery practice from 2005 until 2018 and subsequently he has started a medical expert witness practice offering advice to bodies such as the GMC, medical protection societies and solicitors over personal injury and negligence cases. He is a GMC approved educational and clinical supervisor for our trainees. Keith has held various managerial roles such as Chair of Northern Deanery Plastic Surgery training scheme and Chair of National Oncoplastic Training Interface Fellowship Group. He has been a lead clinician for skin cancer, burns, trauma and breast reconstruction and clinical director. He is a RCS England consultant post assessor and Independent Review mechanism panel member when required. He has examined senior plastic surgery trainees on behalf of the Joint Committee Intercollegiate Exam for more than 10 years.

William Allum was elected to Council in 2017. He is Consultant Upper GI surgeon at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London. Following undergraduate and postgraduate training in Birmingham, he spent time at MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, Texas. His main area of clinical interests is in oesophageal and gastric cancer, with a focus on perioperative multimodality therapy and has written and lectured extensively on upper GI cancer. He is the past President of the Association of Upper GI Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS). He is currently Chair of NHS England Specialist Cancer Surgery Clinical Reference Group. He is a member of the Board of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and Council member of the International Gastric Cancer Association as joint coordinator of the European chapter. He has had a career long interest in training and has been Chair of the General Surgery SAC, Director of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) and latterly Chair of the Joint Committee on Surgical Training. He is the Council lead for the Improving Surgical Training pilot project. He has recently been appointed visiting Professor at the new Kent and Medway Medical School. He has also worked with the GMC Education division and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, jointly chairing the working group on the implementation of the GMC Generic Professional Capabilities and currently chairing the Flexibility and Transferability in postgraduate medical training working group.

Professor Farah Bhatti OBE is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Morriston Hospital, Swansea and the Equality and Diversity Director and Careers Lead for Graduate Entry Medicine at Swansea University Medical School. She read Medicine at Somerville College, Oxford and completed her clinical training at Jesus College, Cambridge. She trained at a number of prestigious units including The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and has an MD in Transplantation from Cambridge. Farah is passionate about teaching, training and equality. She is an Examiner for the FRCS(CTh) and Chair of the Women in Surgery Forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Ginny Bowbrick is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust. She trained at Bart's, qualifying in 1989, and trained in General and Vascular Surgery in the Southeast and London prior to being appointed as a Consultant in 2005. She has been involved in Medical Education from the start of her consultant career when she joined the SE Thames General Surgery Specialty Training Committee of which she later became the Training Programme Director. As a Liaison Member of the Vascular Surgery Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC), she was the ST3 National Selection Lead in 2021 and was instrumental in separating the Vascular from General Surgery ST3 recruitment processes prior to becoming Chair of the Vascular Surgery SAC later that year. She also became the Head of School of Surgery for Kent, Surrey and Sussex in 2021 and a Clinical Advisor to the Medical Workforce Alignment Programme, NHSE WTE in 2022. She has been an MRCS examiner since 2016. Diversity and inclusivity are extremely important to her and she is the Chair of the RCS England Pride in Surgery Forum (PRiSM) for LGBTQ+ surgeons and allies of which she was a founding member in 2021. She is the mother of four children, two of whom are autistic with severe learning disabilities and has been involved in regional and national projects promoting recognition and help for Neurodiverse trainees and better understanding of Autism and Learning Disabilities in patients. She was elected to Council in 2023.

Professor Peter Brennan is a NHS Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Portsmouth, specialising in head and neck oncology with a personal chair for his research and education achievements. He is a committed trainer and educator, collaborating across specialties and disciplines. Peter is Lead Editor of the new Gray’s Surgical Anatomy textbook and supervises important MRCS predictive validity and differential attainment research for the four Surgical Colleges. He has been Surgical Specialty Association (BAOMS) President, Chairman of the English College Court of Examiners and Intercollegiate Committee Chair for MRCS and DOHNS. He has recently led the MRCS major review. Peter is interested in human factors (HF) and patient safety, establishing unique collaborations with airline pilots, National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (Red Arrows). His work improves practice across surgical and medical specialties and includes reducing hierarchy, enhancing team working and raising awareness of many personal factors to reduce medical error. In 2019, he was awarded a PhD entitled ‘Applying HF to Improve Patient Safety.’ He promotes equality, women in surgery, trainees and SAS grades at every opportunity. Peter says that he 'is humbled, honoured, slightly daunted but excited at this great opportunity to join College Council'.

Andrew Carr is the Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Worcester College. He trained at Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford, Seattle and Melbourne. He established the shoulder surgery service in Oxford and is past President of the British Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Society (BESS). His research has focused on the development and evaluation of surgical implants. Whilst working with John Goodfellow he defined the use of the Oxford Knee as a partial knee replacement which has been implanted in over 2 million people worldwide. He pioneered the importance of patients’ views in assessing the outcome of surgery and the Oxford Scores, which he co-invented are now used globally to assess patient outcomes and direct health policy. He has improved the infrastructure for clinical trials of surgery in the UK, including the controversial use of placebo controls.  He co-founded the Surgical Trial Unit in Oxford in 2012.  He is author of over 450 publications, including more than 25 in the Lancet and BMJ, which have been cited over 42,000 times. He led the development of the Botnar Research Institute complex which houses over 300 multidisciplinary researchers. He was Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Oxford from 2008-2017 and was instrumental in the relocation of the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology to Oxford in 2013 which accommodates 250 scientists. He was a Non-Executive Director and then Divisional Director of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre during the formation of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, an NIHR Senior Investigator and has received an honorary doctorate of medicine from the University of Copenhagen.

Jonathan Epstein (Jonny) qualified from Oxford medical school after pre-clinical training in Cambridge. His SHO training was in London before moving back home to Manchester where he completed an MD thesis before registrar training in the North West of England. Post CCT he undertook a fellowship in Leeds. He was appointed a consultant general surgeon at Salford Royal Hospital in 2013 where his clinical practice is focused on surgery for intestinal failure and inflammatory bowel disease alongside a full role in emergency general surgery. He represents ASGBI on College Council having previously been regional representative in the North West, serving on the EDI committee and now sitting on their executive council. He has had previous roles for the College as regional specialty advisor and college tutor. He has a history of interest and involvement in education and training have served as Trust Specialty Training Lead, RCS college tutor, associate director of education for surgical specialties and Trust Postgraduate Dean (DME).

Detail coming soon

Laura Hamilton attended state school in a small village near St.Helens in the North West. She was educated at Oxford University before finishing her medical degree at St. Georges Hospital Medical School in London. She trained all over the South East before becoming a T&O Registrar on the London Training Rotation. Laura completed her training in hand surgery as a Hand Fellow at King’s College Hospital, London. This was supplemented with secondment to Wrightington Hospital and an RCSE Travelling Fellowship in Hong Kong. She was appointed substantive Orthopaedic Consultant in hand and wrist surgery in Brighton in 2017. She loves to draw and teach, and is passionate about supporting trainees and encouraging minorities into surgery. She regularly teaches medical students from Brighton University Medical School, and supports them with their research projects. She enjoys teaching doctors of all levels, including volunteering on T&O FRCS revision courses. She has published and presented extensively about encouraging diversity into surgery, particularly orthopaedics. She is the founder of the Women in Orthopaedics (W.ORTH) group on facebook and twitter, and is an active member of multiple panels encouraging diversity in surgery in the UK. She is also a member of Women in Orthopaedics Worldwide (WOW) and the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance (IODA).

Rachel Hargest is an academic colorectal surgeon at the Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative. Her clinical interests include anal cancer and AIN, advanced colorectal cancer, polyposis and other familial cancers and intestinal failure, for which the team in Cardiff won the BMJ Gastroenterology Team of the Year Award 2015. She is an expert teacher and trainer of students and junior surgeons. In 2019 she was awarded the inaugural FST Medal by the Faculty of Surgical Trainers of RCS Edinburgh in recognition of exceptional and long-standing contribution to surgical training. In 2017 she was presented with the Silver Scalpel Award, given by ASIT to the best surgical trainer in the UK. Her research interests include genetic changes in colorectal, gastric and lung cancer metastases, early diagnosis of colorectal cancer, gene therapy, anal fistula and the role of guidelines in controlling surgical practice. She supervises both MD and PhD students in Cardiff and Beijing. She is a trustee of SARS, and a member of many professional associations, including ACPGBI, ASGBI, BSG, Royal Society of Medicine (Past President of Surgery Section 2016-17, and former Trustee 2012-19) and The British Society of Gene and Stem Cell Therapy.

Mr Hellier is a Consultant ENT Surgeon at University Hospitals Southampton and The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, and also Consultant Otologist to the Southampton Auditory Implant Centre. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton. His ENT surgical training was in London, and he spent Fellowship periods further training in Adult and Children’s ENT in Australia, America and France. He is currently Treasurer and a Trustee of ENTUK and sits on the ENTUK Executive Council. He is an examiner for the Intercollegiate Examination in Otolaryngology, and he sits on the Intercollegiate Otolaryngology Examination Board. He has sat on the Council of the British Association of Paediatric Otolaryngology for over 10 years, and was Treasurer for 3 years. He is the NHS England ENT Lead for the South East England Region, and ENT Lead for the Hampshire and Isle Of Wight ICB. He regularly teaches on National courses and has written an ENT textbook and also a number of chapters on Paediatric and Adult Ear disorders in the Major ENT Textbooks.

Sarah Howells FDSRCS

Sarah Howells qualified from UCH in 1982 and gained her FDS in 1999. She additionally gained a DDPH and an MSc in Dental Public Health. She has worked in the Head and Neck Unit Royal Marsden Hospital for over 20 years as an Associate Specialist. During this time, she has also worked in primary, secondary and community care with her practice limited to oral surgery. She has been involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the Eastman Dental Institute and King’s College London. She is keen to provide appropriate care to oncology patients within the Head and Neck Unit and other units at the Royal Marsden Hospital. She is involved in the provision of oral surgery services at Charing Cross Hospital.

Ian Kamaly-Asl is a full time paediatric neurosurgeon based at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. His neurosurgical training was in the North Western Deanery followed by fellowships at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He was appointed to his current post in 2005. He holds an honorary chair from The University of Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre. Ian is the neurosurgical lead for the paediatric neuro-oncology and paediatric neurovascular services and receives national and international patient referrals for these conditions. For his leadership roles, Ian is an elected member of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons Council, is the national lead for tackling bullying, undermining and harassment and has introduced the neurosurgery national mentoring scheme. He is a past chairman of the British Paediatric Neurosurgical Group and member of the NHS England Paediatric Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group. Ian has undertaken various national roles in surgical education including member of the Neurosurgery Specialist Advisory Committee and national lead for simulation in neurosurgery, introducing the neurosurgery national ST1 boot camp. He was previously secretary to the Neurosurgical National Selection Board and training programme director of the North Western Deanery. Ian has an active programme of clinical and basic science research. He is the principal investigator for several national/international studies and has extensively published in peer reviewed journals, book chapters and national guidelines.

Omer Karim qualified from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in 1982. He became a fellow of this college in 1987. After two and a half years research at The Brady Institute of Urology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA and completing his urological training, he was appointed Consultant Urologist to Wexham Park Hospital, East Berkshire in 1995. He has a particular interest in robotic assisted urological surgery which he has been performing since 2004. He is a proctor in robotic surgery having taught surgeons all over the UK, South Africa, Germany, Turkey and Kuwait. In 2015, he left East Berkshire to work in Portsmouth and now is a Locum Consultant at Charing Cross Hospital and the Royal Marsden Hospital. Omer was born in the Sudan of Irish and Sudanese parents. He was brought up in the Sudan, Germany and the UK.

Dorothy Kufeji is a consultant neonatal & paediatric surgeon at Guys & St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust, Evelina London Children’s Hospital. She is passionate about surgical safety and ensuring equity in healthcare delivery. She is a strong advocate for trainees, ensuring that they work in a safe and supportive environment. She has a strong background in medical leadership as well as undergraduate and postgraduate surgical education. She has been Training and Education lead for paediatric surgery, Royal College surgical tutor, chair of the STC in Paediatric Surgery, Training programme director and served on the board of the London postgraduate school of surgery. She was also a member of the specialty advisory committee (SAC) in paediatric surgery serving as Liaison member for Yorkshire and Humber as well as National Lead for less than full time training. She currently sits on the Intercollegiate Board of paediatric surgery as member of JCIE, on the Board of KHP Academic Surgery and is The Trust Guardian of Safe Working for GSTT. She is EMCC accredited Coach and Mentor where she works with the GSTT network of Coaching and Mentoring, NHS Leadership Academy and RCSEng Emerging Leaders Programme. She served two terms as Regional Director of the Royal College of Surgeons providing practical support to members and fellows during a particularly challenging period. She was particularly effective in working to widen access to surgical careers and working collaboratively to deliver the College response to the Kennedy report

Chris Lavy is Professor of Orthopaedics and Tropical Surgery at the University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow at Green Templeton College Oxford, and honorary consultant spine surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, where he has been since 2006. He initially trained as a GP then moved to surgery, and trained in orthopaedics in Bath, Norwich, Cambridge, Oxford, London, Cape Town and Paris. His first consultant post was at The Middlesex and University College Hospitals in London in 1993. He then went to Malawi working for the Christian charity CBM and as professor at the new Malawi College of Medicine. While in Malawi he built a children’s orthopaedic hospital and training centre and was also one of the leads in setting up in 1999 the regional college of surgeons, COSECSA (the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa). Subsequently he has also built hospitals in Zambia and Zimbabwe, both run by Cure International. He was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to orthopaedics. He has published widely and is co-author of the spine surgery and global surgery chapters of Bailey and Love. His research interests include cauda equina syndrome, nerve regeneration, and surgical service delivery systems in low and middle income countries.

Professor Ian Loftus was trained as an academic vascular surgeon in Leicester and moved to London to help develop a regional complex aortic surgery programme. He is now Professor of Vascular Surgery at St George’s, University of London. He is President of the European Society of Vascular Surgery from 2023-2024. He is also Past-President of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Society for Endovascular Therapy. He has been involved in the development of the UK National Vascular Registry (NVR) including publication of outcomes and is Chair of the NVR Programme Board. He is currently a member of the National Clinical Reference Group for vascular surgery, Caldicott Guardian, and Chair of the Research Committee for RCS England. Other past roles include Regional Director of the National Aneurysm Screening Programme, Clinical Tutor for Critical Care at RCS England, past Chair of the UK Vascular Society Committee for Audit and Quality Improvement, and member of the Department of Health working party on peri-operative care. Professor Loftus has published over 250 articles, is co-author of the 2018 European guidelines for the management of aortic aneurysms and co-editor of the Companion to Specialist Surgical Practice, ‘Vascular and Endovascular Surgery’. He cares passionately for the profession of surgery and the wellbeing of those that work within it.

Details coming soon.

Fergal Monsell graduated without distinction from the Welsh National School of Medicine. He completed higher surgical training at the University of Manchester and fellowship training at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney. He has been a Consultant at the Royal Hospital for Children, Bristol since 2004 and is involved in the management of paediatric patients with a special interest in limb deformity and trauma. He has made a greater than average contribution to the canon of lower-level evidence and has been awarded degrees at Master and Doctorate level. He has a longstanding interest in education and is Director of the Avon Centre for Musculoskeletal Education and Visiting Professor at Cardiff University.

Narain Moorjani is a Consultant Cardiac Surgeon at Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, where he is Clinical Lead for Cardiac Surgery. He forms part of the structural valve group and specialises in performing complex mitral valve repair surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He has previously worked as a consultant cardiac surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London and Assistant Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery in Philadelphia, USA. Prior to that, he completed a research doctorate of medicine (MD) at the University of Oxford and National Heart and Lung Institute, London, investigating the genes involved in the development of heart failure. He has been appointed Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, where he teaches in the Department of Anatomy, and has published 6 cardiothoracic surgery textbooks, including 'Key Questions in Cardiac Surgery', 'Cardiac Surgery: Recent Advances and Techniques' and ‘Operative Mitral and Tricuspid Valve Surgery’. From an educational point of view, he has developed a unique portfolio of 12 simulation-based, curriculum-aligned, cardiothoracic surgery training courses, which are run in Great Britain and Europe. He previously sat on the NICE guideline writing committee on Atrial fibrillation and has represented the specialty on the ST1/3 National Selection Interview Panel and JCIE FRCS (C-Th) MCQ Writing Group. He is currently the President of the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) in Great Britain & Ireland, having previously been National Cardiac Surgical Tutor, Education Secretary and Honorary Secretary of the SCTS. More recently, he has developed the widening participation and equality, diversity & inclusion (EDI) strategy for the SCTS, set up 2 mentorship programmes (for Women In Cardiothoracic Surgery and Trust Appointed Doctors) and is co-chair of the SCTS EDI Sub-committee.

Mr Ram Moorthy was educated at Dulwich College and qualified from United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals, London. Following house jobs, he undertook basic surgical training at Poole Hospital and Charing Cross Hospital. He started higher surgical training in ENT in West Midland before transferring to complete his training in South East Thames, including posts at Great Ormond St Hospital and Guy’s Hospital. He undertook a National Interface fellowship in Head & Neck Surgical Oncology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. He was appointed a Consultant ENT/Head & Neck Surgeon at Wexham Park Hospital, now part of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, in 2011. He has a special interest benign head and neck surgery including thyroid and parathyroid surgery. He led the team that undertook the UK’s first scarless (transoral endoscopic vestibular approach) thyroid and parathyroid procedures in 2022/23. He has developed an innovative service integrating community and secondary care. He has an interest in medical education and is a current member of SAC in ENT and ENT content expert for Brunel Medical School. Previous roles include ENT Training Programme Director for Thames Valley, Associate Foundation School Director, Oxford Foundation School and Foundation Training Programme Director, Wexham Park Hospital. He holds several representative roles including the BMA UK Consultants Committee, where he is a member of the contract negotiating team and surgical specialties lead. He is a member of ENTUK Council and Executive Committee member for British Association of Endocrine and Thyroid Surgeons.

Professor Pete Sagar qualified from Leeds Medical School with Honours, after initially gaining a First Class Honours degree in Pathology. He trained in Leeds completing an MD in IBD surgery, for which he won the Patey Prize at the Surgical Research Society, Liverpool and the Mayo Clinic where he was Chief Resident before joining the staff at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds where he has enthusiastically developed laparoscopic surgery as well as a tertiary practice in advanced/recurrent colorectal cancer. He has previously been Hon. Secretary of ACPGBI, Director of Emergency Surgery ASGBI, Regional Director for Royal College of Surgeons of England and on the Specialist Advisory Committee for General Surgery. He was President of the ACPGBI and the Specialist Society (ASGBI) Council Member at the Royal College of Surgeons. He is a Consultant Surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Professor of Colorectal Surgery at The University of Leeds and has published over 200 papers and 30 book chapters. He was elected to Council in 2023.

Rob Sayers is the George Davies Chair of Vascular Surgery at University of Leicester and Honorary Consultant Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon at Leicester Vascular Institute, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester. He trained in Birmingham, Leicester and Adelaide and was a Senior Lecturer and then Reader in Vascular Surgery in Leicester. He is a Past President of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2016-17) and former Chair of the Research Committee of the VSGBI. He has an extensive research portfolio in the fields of AAA and CLTI. He has been a council member and chair of the programme committee for SARS and council member and chair of the fellowship committee for BSET. He was a member of the Intercollegiate Examination Board and has examined in Vascular and General Surgery and Anatomy at both MRCS and FRCS level. He is the current chairman of the National Clinical Reference Group (CRG) for Vascular Services as part of NHSEI Specialised Commissioning and has led a number of service reviews into reconfiguration and commissioning of vascular services including advising on national delivery of services during the COVID pandemic. He is now a National Specialty Advisor for Vascular Services as part of NHSEI and serves on the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England as specialty lead for Vascular Surgery.

Shailinder is a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon based at University Hospital, Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham since 2001. He holds the following qualifications: MBBS, MS, DNB, MCh (Paediatric Surgery), FRCS (I), FRCS (Eng.) FRCS (Paediatric Surgery), DM (Nottingham), MBA (Warwick). He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP). He has worked in Paediatric Surgery at Consultant Level in India, UK, Kuwait, Australia and the USA. He has served as Service Lead for Children's Surgery and Critical Care (Surgeon in Chief) and Service Lead for Children's Surgery and Gastroenterology (Surgeon in Chief) at Nottingham University Hospital. He has been a program director for Paediatric Surgery for Nottinghamshire. He worked as the Chief of Paediatric Surgery at the West Virginia University Hospital USA, and Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Paediatric Urologist at Children’s National Medical Centre Washington DC (USA). He is local Representative of Royal College of Surgeons of England for the East Midlands and represents the College in the interviews to recruit new paediatric surgical consultants in England. He represents Paediatric Surgery at the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Ombudsman deals with clinical negligence complaints all over the country. He is representative of British Association of Paediatric Surgeons at The Royal College of Surgeons in England Council. He is member of SAC for Paediatric Surgery. His main interests are Trauma, Neonatal Surgery and Gastrointestinal Surgery in children. He is a member of the Court of Examiners for MRCS for the College and he regularly taught on the Course for War Surgeons of UK. He is an examiner for the Intercollegiate Board in Paediatric Surgery, representing all four Royal Colleges in the UK (England, Ireland, Glasgow and Edinburgh). He is also an instructor for the Advanced Trauma Life Support Course. He has 41 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is a reviewer for the Journal of Paediatric Surgery, Archives of Diseases of Childhood, The Journal of Paediatric and Child Health, and Journal of Urology. He has written six book chapters and 18 patient information sheets on surgical procedures.

Naeem Soomro studied medicine at King Edward Medical College Lahore, Pakistan, before undertaking basic training in surgery and urology in the UK at London, Nottingham and Newcastle. He was appointed as Consultant Urologist at Freeman Hospital Newcastle in 1998. His subspeciality interests are in Kidney and Prostate cancer. He was held a chair in Urology from Newcastle University since 2012.He has been a national leader in the wider adoption of robotic assisted surgery across the UK. He was appointed RCS co director in robotic and digital surgery. He is a member of RCS quality assurance and governance committee. He holds a number of research grants from NIHR and EPSRC as a chief investigator. Naeem has previously served as an examiner and a board member for Joint committee on intercollegiate examinations (JCIE) in Urology. He has also served as a board member and a chair for Joint surgical colleges fellowship examination (JSCFE) in Urology. He has been on the council of the BAUS and the RCSE regional speciality professional advisor. He is a member of National Clinical Impact Awards Committee. He has been Associate Medical Director for Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust. He has been actively involved The Urology Foundation in training surgeons delivering robotics and minimally invasive surgery courses nationally and in the Europe.

Professor Frank Smith is Emeritus Professor of Vascular Surgery and Surgical Education at the University of Bristol. He trained in Vascular Surgery in the West Midlands, Edinburgh and the South-West, undertaking travelling fellowships to Boston, Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle. He was a recipient of an RCS England research pump-priming grant and College Tutor for Basic Surgical Skills before becoming the South-West Regional Specialty Advisor for General and Vascular Surgery (2008-10). He has been a member of Council for the Vascular Society, ASGBI and the SRS, and of both General and Vascular SACs. He was Lead for National Vascular Trainee Selection (2015-18), and President of the Section of Surgery at the Royal Society of Medicine (2012-13). He chaired the South-West (Severn and Peninsular) Regional Surgical Training Committee. (2014-18). From 2008 – 23, he was Programme Director for the Confidential Reporting System for Surgery (CORESS). His interests in surgical safety have since included roles with NCEPOD; NHS England Never Events Task Force; developing the National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs); as member of the NICE Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee, and as editorial advisor to RCS England Safety Bulletins. He was Chair of ICBSE (2017- 20) and is an Assessor for the Intercollegiate MRCS on behalf of the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons, is JCIE Examiner for the FRCS (Vasc), and Examiner / Assessor for the UEMS FEBVS examination. His interests away from surgery include his family and triathlon. He has over 1,200 hours as a fixed wing, seaplane and helicopter private pilot, and around 1,800 skydives.

Stella Vig is a Consultant Vascular and General Surgeon at Croydon University Hospital. She was born in Bangor, North Wales and trained at the University of Wales College of Medicine, undertaking an intercalated BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and qualifying in 1991. She undertook research culminating in an MCh at St Georges Hospital, London. She was appointed as a consultant in 2006. Stella has a strong interest in training and encouraging medical students and foundation years to pursue a career in surgery. She is keen to ensure that all trainees, whether male or female, are able to develop a harmonious balance between family and career. She has been the Foundation Program Director at Croydon Univesity Hospital for 10 years and holds many roles including those of Core Surgery and Higher Surgery Training Programme Director, JCST Chair for Core Surgery and General Surgery SAC member. Stella was awarded the NHS Leadership Academy London Mentor of the Year in 2015. She was also named as one of the Women of the Year. She is one of three Clinical Directors for Croydon and is keen to see efficiency and excellence in patient care within the NHS. She is passionate about foot problems in patients with renal and diabetic disease and won the BMJ Leadership Award in 2010. She Co-Chairs the London Diabetic Foot Network within the Diabetes Strategic Clinical Network and is a trustee for the College of Chiropodists and Podiatrists. She was elected to Council in 2016.

Bhavin Visavadia is a Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with a specialist interest in Head and Neck Cancer and Facial Reconstruction. He is based at Northwick Park Regional Maxillofacial Unit in Harrow, a surgical centre he developed with excellent colleagues. He has built a great reputation for speciality training and education and has overseen the expansion of the Regional OMFS Network in London. He has been a senior medical leader in his Trust as Clinical Director and Assistant Divisional Director. Bhavin trained at King’s College London in Dentistry and Medicine and holds both FDS and FRCS. His specialty OMFS training was at King’s College, Royal Surrey County Guildford, and Queen Victoria Hospital East Grinstead. He was an assistant TPD at the Deanery and subsequently served on the SAC for OMFS. He has supported higher surgical trainees, trainers, and programme directors with his active engagement. Bhavin is also a Coach and Mentor and has continued to help clinical colleagues at all stages of their career. Bhavin has worked with the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons since he was a trainee and eventually became Chair of the Consultants and Specialists Group serving on Council for 6 years. He was a founder and President of the OMFS Section at the Royal Society of Medicine bringing together experts in the field for training and education. Bhavin has most recently served as a Regional Director in London for RCS England and has actively facilitated the college's work in quality, training and support whilst embracing diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Lasantha Wijesinghe (known to friends and colleagues as Wije) was born in Sri Lanka and graduated from Cambridge University in 1989 where he was awarded the Lewin Prize in Surgery. His House jobs were in Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. He went on to work at the Accident Hospital in Birmingham followed by a year as Demonstrator under Prof. Harold Ellis. An SHO rotation in Addenbrooke’s Hospital led to his FRCS in 1994, followed by a Calman Registrar rotation in Yorkshire. Here he cemented his interest in vascular surgery having worked in York, Scarborough, Hull and the two major centres in Leeds. He subsequently won the Gold Medal of the ASGBI in the FRCS (Gen) examination and was awarded his MD Thesis from Leeds University. In 2002 he was appointed to his post as Consultant Vascular Surgeon in Royal Bournemouth Hospital. Wije has served on the Council of the Vascular Society, as Regional Professional Advisor for the RCS and examines for the FRCS and FEBVS examinations. Wije is married with three adult children, none of whom have the remotest interest in surgery. He has a strong interest in the training and education of junior doctors, physician’s associates, nurses, and is a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University. In his spare time he is a volunteer and sponsor of several Christian and secular organisations, an enthusiastic cricketer and a fair-weather walker.

Nuha Yassin is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and has been on the staff of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust since September 2018. After qualifying from the University of Manchester in 2003, she trained in the North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands regions. Her postgraduate research experience was based at St Mark's Hospital in London where she obtained her PhD from Imperial College, London. Her research into Crohn's anal fistulae has won several prestigious awards and was short-listed for the Patey prize and the John of Arderne medal. Her research also won the prestigious Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellowship, and the inaugural Professor John Nicholls award for best research project at St Mark's Hospital in 2014. Nuha was awarded the ACPGBI (Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland) travelling fellowship, the Richard Cobb fellowship (West Midlands region) and the ESCP (European Society of Coloproctology) short fellowship, where she undertook some periods of surgical training at high profile European centres (Amsterdam, Milan and Barcelona). She was the Dukes' club Education and Training representative for several years and the first surgical trainee to join the Young-ECCO (European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation) committee which, after three years of membership, she chaired for one year. As an early years consultant, Nuha has developed surgical research locally and after a period of being a successful principal investigator for collaborative research studies, she was awarded an NIHR clinical research scholarship, based at Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, with the aim of development as a future chief investigator for surgical research studies. Nuha was the West Midlands regional representative for the ASGBI and an RCS England RSPA for the region prior to taking up a position of Director of Inclusivity at the ASGBI. She is passionate about all aspects of her work and personal life and truly believes that everyone has something amazing to contribute if given the chance.

Yasser Mohsen is a full-time NHS Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at the Hillingdon and Mount Vernon Hospitals in London, appointed in 2000. He trained in Liverpool, Birmingham, London, and did research at the Royal Free Hospital where he was awarded Masters of Surgery, University of London. He specializes in laparoscopic Colorectal and General surgery. He is a member of ASGBI (Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland), ACPGBI (Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland), RSM (Royal Society of Medicine) and ESCP (European Society of Coloproctology). He has held a variety of positions including trust Lead Colorectal Cancer Surgeon, Clinical Surgical Lead and Caldicott Guardian for many years. He is a teacher and trainer of nurses, medical students and junior surgeons with a keen interest in surgical education. He has been a Surgical Tutor, and continues to be MRCS Examiner at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is a committee member of the Quality Assurance Operational Group (QAOG) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Always looking for new ways to use his skills to make a difference and is excited and humbled to be elected Chair of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Vinita Shekar is an SAS surgeon in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Ninewells hospital, Dundee. She is an international medical graduate, having graduated from India. She arrived in the UK in 2000 and completed her junior doctor training in London while undertaking International Qualifying exams and Membership of Faculty of Dental Surgery exams at RCS England. She joined Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust as a specialty doctor in 2008 and moved to Scotland in 2014. During her junior doctor training years, she completed her master’s in law (LLM in Legal Aspects of Medical Practice) at Cardiff law school in 2010. She was awarded Fellowship by Assessment by Faculty of Dental Surgery, London in 2021. Alongside her main clinical role, she holds titles of honorary tutor at Dundee University and an educational advisor for SAS doctors and dentists in NHS Tayside. She is passionate about equal opportunities for education and training of SAS doctors and dentists. Her past roles include being an investigator officer for doctors in difficulty, a whistle-blowing advocate, clinical audit lead and clinical governance lead. She is an elected member on the council of the British Association of OMFS representing SAS surgeons and an invited Council member of RCS England. In addition, she is current co-chair of the SAS Forum. Furthermore, she represents SAS fellows and members of RCS England on the SAS committee of Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

Esther McLarty is a consultant urological surgeon, with an interest in kidney cancer, bladder cancer and the urological aspects of renal transplantation at University Hospitals Plymouth. Esther's experience in surgical education includes CS, AES, RCS England College Tutor at UHP and Training Programme Director for Core Surgical Training in Peninsula. Esther is currently Head of Peninsula Postgraduate School of Surgery and Chair of the Confederation of Postgraduate Schools of Surgery UK.

Professor Summerton is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and an Honorary Professor at the University of Leicester Graduating from Leicester Medical School in 1987, Duncan undertook general surgical and urological training in Plymouth, Southampton and Portsmouth, obtaining Reconstructive Fellowships in the USA (Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas) and at the Institute of Urology in London, with a further Fellowship in advanced Andrological surgery, also at the Institute of Urology, including prosthetic surgery. A Consultant since 2001 he moved to Leicester in 2005 on leaving the Royal Navy as a Surgeon Commander after 19 years of active service with numerous deployments, both on land and at sea, to areas of unrest and conflict throughout the world. His major interests are in surgical andrology and the structure/provision of surgical services and workforce. He leads the East Midlands Penile Cancer Supra-network (6.5 million population) and has chaired the East Midlands Regional Training Committee since 2009. He was Chairman of the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines Panel in Urological Trauma 2009-2015 and has examined at his local Medical School and for the FRCS (Urol) for over 12 years (now an invited assessor of examiners) and sat on the Intercollegiate Board of Urology until 2017 He was the president of the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) from 2018 to 2020 after 15 continuous years of service in various peer-elected positions (Regional Representative, Secretary and Chairman of the Section of the Andrology and Genito-Urethral Surgery, Honorary Secretary and Vice President) within BAUS. He was elected president of the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations (FSSA) in September 2020 and enjoys the challenges of representing the breadth of surgical practice.

Abhinav is an Orthopaedic Registrar within the North West Thames rotation and a PhD Student at the University of Oxford. His research, funded by the NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship, focuses on improving newborn screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). As BOTA President, he champions effective engagement between training regions and professional bodies. He works closely with RCS England, RCS Edinburgh, BOA, ASiT, JCST, AoMRC ATDG and the chairs of T&O SAC/SDG to address trainee concerns and implement targeted improvements. He also facilitates a talented committee to work with industry partners, junior colleagues and BOA/BOTA Diversity Champions to ensure orthopaedics remains inclusive for all.

Srin is an ST5 in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery working in the Oswestry-Stoke Rotation. Srin was elected to the Council as the ASiT West Midlands Representative, subsequently Executive Council member as Yearbook Lead and then Vice President, before taking up Presidency in March 2023. He graduated from Imperial College London where he also completed a BSc in Surgery and Anaesthesia. He returned to the West Midlands region of the UK as an Academic Foundation Doctor, Core and now Higher Surgical Trainee. In addition to surgery, Srin has graduated with a Masters of Law from the University of Edinburgh specialising in Medical Law. He wishes to see a heightened attention to education and training opportunities.  Accessibility to surgical education is essential, whereby every region and specialty is represented with high quality courses, seminars, and skills events. 

Details coming soon.