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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 a 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.

I am a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon who has been a consultant since 1993. Currently I split my time between the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Great Ormond St Hospital for Children. I contribute to the 3 major facets of consultant practice namely, clinical care, education and research. Training is an important aspect of my work and I have been ‘runner up’ national Trainer of the Year on two occasions. I am an Associate Professor in the Division of Surgery at University College London with a research portfolio that is clinically based. I have undertaken leadership roles in both institutions in which I work. I am a past President of EPOS (European Paediatric Orthopaedic Society, 2014) and the BOA (British Orthopaedic Association, 2023). I am the incoming President of IODA (International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance, 2025). I was on the Council of Management for the British Editorial Society for Bone and Joint Surgery for 10 years and I continue to review for the Bone and Joint Journal (amongst other journals). In my role as BOA President, I was at the forefront of developing and maintaining innovative and sustainable solutions for training, research and clinical care with diversity, inclusion, equity and engagement at the forefront of our plans. I continue to pursue these interests.

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 was chair of the Women in Surgery Forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. She is the lead for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the College.

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 before becoming Chair of the Vascular Surgery SAC for three years up until to July 2024. She was appointed the Head of School of Surgery for Kent, Surrey and Sussex in 2021 and a Specialist Education Advisor to the NHSE WTE Flexibility Education Reform in 2024. She has previously been a Clinical Advisor to the Medical Workforce Alignment Programme, NHSE WTE from 2022 to 2024. 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.

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

Francisca Ferreira is an academic run-through Neurosurgery trainee with expertise in connectomic surgery, computational anatomy and disease phenomics, and AI. She has completed her PhD in Functional Neurosurgery at UCL/Queen Square and is an incoming NIHR Clinical Lecturer at Cambridge. She is a proud part of the RCS England Emerging Leaders programme and recognises the systemic roadblocks in the career. She believes it is urgent to modernise surgical training pathways to better utilise the diversity of our workforce, which she believes truly constitutes a strength in serving our patients. Having been elected to the Royal College of Surgeons of England Council she aims to protect and advocate for recruitment of female and minority surgeons. She aims to work with RCS England to ensure fair training opportunities for all and towards the democratisation of research opportunities. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring juniors and medical students. She will vouch for the establishment of formal pathways of mentorship and will work to address the factors contribution to attrition in all surgical grades. Other interests include playing the piano, creative writing, art and travelling.

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 southeast 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 X, 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 chair 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.

Dorothy Kufeji is a consultant neonatal and 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.

Tim Lane is a Consultant Urologist and Robotic surgeon and has spent the last 20 years as a full-time NHS Consultant at the regional urological cancer centre in Hertfordshire. His clinical work centres predominantly in the field of pelvic oncology. He has been a former Chair of the Court of Examiners and Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of the RCS England and of Urology News. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Surgery International. His research interests focus on the role of chromosomal translocations and fusion genes in urological cancers for which he has been awarded the BARD Medal from the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and the C.E Alken Prize. He has authored numerous book chapters and academic papers. He has taken a keen interest in surgical training and has held a wide range of educational roles including Clinical Tutor, Unit Training Director, Foundation Programme Director and Curriculum Lead for Urology Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC). Outside of work he is a keen ornithologist and naturalist and is a member of the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

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 a 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.

With over 20 years of experience as a consultant surgeon in Essex and Medical Director for Surgery at Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust, I have held roles as an MBBS and MRCS Examiner, Court Chair, RCS Human Factors Tutor, WIST Council member, ASiT President, and as elected Council member since 2023 have oversight of professional standards for exams. I am able to lead the profession through unprecedented challenges including backlog, workforce, and financial pressures; promote surgical careers, teaching and training, and advance patient care, research, and innovation globally; and support multidisciplinary team collaboration, diversity, and technology. I studied medicine at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and The London Hospital, completing my Registrar training with a Masters in Surgery at the Royal Free Hospital. I was a lecturer in surgery at UCL/Royal Free before being appointed as a consultant in Basildon in 2001. As ASiT President I have represented trainees on RCS Council, participated in exam committees, and supported the Silver Scalpel award for excellence in surgical training. I was Human Factors Tutor at RCS England and remain an ATLS Course Director. I was elected Chair of the Court of Examiners in 2020 and now chair the Dental and Surgical Exams Committee. I attend the Court Executive, Finance and Investment Group, Ad Eundem Group and Global Policy Subcommittee. I am the MRCS Convenor for the Intercollegiate MRCS exam in Sri Lanka. I am dedicated to promoting surgical careers across diverse backgrounds, enhancing patient care, teaching, training, research, and innovation.

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 significant contribution to the canon of lower-level evidence and has been awarded degrees at Master and Doctorate level. He has a long-standing 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 six 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 two 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 and Neck Surgical Oncology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. He was appointed a consultant ENT/head and neck surgeon at Wexham Park Hospital, now part of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, in 2011. He has a special interest in 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 ENT UK 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 The 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 College 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 chair 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 Paediatrics (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 The 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 has 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 Europe.

Clara is a Trauma and Orthopaedic ST8, based in Liverpool, with an interest in Limb Reconstruction Surgery, Complex Trauma and Global Orthopaedics. She has a wealth of experience in the field of expedition medicine having covered expeditions across the world as well as participating in numerous of her own. Clara has lived and worked in LMIC’s and champions trainees taking the opportunity to spend time out of training to explore both medical and non-medical related interests. Clara is passionate about driving inclusive and impactful training environments and strives to champion key issues in the training of surgeons. Her priorities include, the development of work and research links with low and middle income countries. The promotion and development of ‘Time out of training’ and in-post sabbatical pathways for both medical and non-medical exploits. Encouraging personal and professional development and improving the retention and well being of surgeons. Promoting inclusivity and diversity within our surgical specialties.

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 six 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.

Lynda is a honorary consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Sheffield. Her main interests include high quality training and assessment in breast surgery and seeing oncoplastic breast surgery develop as a speciality. To this end she is an experienced clinical trainer having overseen the training of numerous specialty registrars, TIG fellows and SAS doctors. She is an examiner for the intercollegiate FRCS and is the secretary and President Elect of the UEMS European Breast Exam board. In this role she has developed the rigour and quality of the exam, launching an online MCQ and refining the process of standard setting. She is a trustee of the Association of Breast Surgery and past chair of the ESSO education and training committee where she oversaw the delivery of numerous international training courses during her tenure and continues to lead a European advanced breast course. In her academic role she has research interests in geriatric oncology, psycho-oncology and the biology of ageing. She has supervised numerous doctoral and masters degrees, has over 160 peer reviewed publications, has written 30 book chapters and edited several textbooks.

Nuha Yassin is a consultant colorectal surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham and has taken up the role in April 2023. She is an associate clinical professor at the University of Birmingham. Her clinical and research interests are in colorectal cancer and IBD with a focus on technology, minimally invasive and robotic surgical techniques. She is the lead for robotic colorectal surgery at her new trust and the first female national proctor for robotic colorectal surgery in the UK. She was previously on the staff of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust from September 2018 to March 2023. She was born in the Sudan and spent some of her childhood there before being brought up in London. She qualified in Medicine from the University of Manchester in 2003, 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 developed surgical research at her previous trust 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. Miss Yassin is a Council member at RCS England since her election in 2021. She was the first early years consultant to be appointed to council. She is the chair of Future of Surgery (FoS) as well as Robotics and Digital surgery (RADAR) groups. 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 a 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. He is 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.

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Ian graduated from Medical School in 1985. Ian always knew he wanted to be a surgeon and, after periods in Orthopaedics and Urology, stumbled across Neonatal and Paediatric Surgery in Southampton, where his career choice completely changed. Over the ensuing years Ian trained in Paediatric Surgery, but also in Neonatal and Paediatric Medicine, before finishing his training at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Ian became a Consultant Neonatal and Paediatric Surgeon in Leeds in 1999 and has remained there to 2024. In the department Ian subspecialised in Paediatric Colorectal Surgery. He, with colleagues have developed joint clinics covering patients with inflammatory bowel disease, Spina Bifida and other neuropathic conditions and transition clinics. He has now established transition clinics in Bradford where there are Paediatric Colorectal Nurse Specialists. During his time as Lead Clinician, he became Lead Clinician for the Paediatric Gastroenterology Department and led the development of this to a thriving department with Consultants, Nurse Specialists, Pharmacists, Dieticians, Psychologists and Social Workers. Whilst research is not Ian’s greatest strength, he has had over 40 papers published, 19 chapters published and has taught and presented work nationally and internationally. Ian has been part of the Yorkshire and Humber Operational Directive Network since October 2020 and is presently Lead Clinician for the ODN. Ian has been heavily involved with British Association of Paediatric Surgeons since 2008, initially as webmaster, but then as Honorary Secretary and then Honorary Treasurer, before being elected as President, which he has held since July 2022. Over the years, Ian helped develop the first BAPS Specialist Interest Group (of which there are now four), that being in Paediatric Colorectal Surgery. Ian is the first Paediatric Surgeon to be elected President of FSSA. Ian is married to Rachel, a Consultant Pathologist, and they have three daughters. In his free time, he enjoys walking the beaches of Northumberland, photography and is a season ticket holder for Leeds United.

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Raiyyan is a ST3 Plastic Surgery in the Wessex and Thames Valley Deanery. He joined ASiT in 2021 as the Wessex Representative, continuing on as the Director of Education and Yearbook Lead subsequently. In March 2024, he was elected as Vice President, and as of March 2025, Raiyyan is the new ASiT President. Raiyyan graduated from Newcastle University in 2019, with an intercalated MRes in Transplant Sciences. Following this, he completed an Academic Foundation Programme, with research interests looking at perioperative risk stratification. Through his time on executive, he has represented the views of his colleagues at multiple national fora.

Sue’s professional background includes a full-time career in social work with leadership, systems thinking and management roles working with adults in the community, managing an adult care referral team and as a learning and development officer (safeguarding and mental capacity) in Wiltshire. Sue has personal experience of both caring and living with a long-term condition. She was a carer for many years and her experience led her to become an Ambassador for Carer’s UK and Trustee and Chair of Wiltshire Carers. In 2009, Sue was diagnosed with M.S. in addition to arthritis so needed to adapt and change her working opportunities. Since then she has developed a part-time working portfolio using both her professional skills and patient/carer experience locally and nationally. Roles have included working with the Coalition for Collaborative Care on person centred care and coproduction with patients, carers and the public and promoting the health coaching approach with Dr Penny Newman and Dr Andrew McDowell. Sue has been a speaker/presenter at numerous health and care events and conferences in the UK. In a voluntary capacity Sue is Chair of Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living and tutor for the RFU Safeguarding Team. Currently Sue is working with NHS England’s Diversity and Inclusion team as the Coordinator for the Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Programme. Sue’s wider interests include creative art and craft activities and supporting her local community and supporting local community action.

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