Members of Cohort Studies Sub-Committee

Thomas Pinkney (Chair)

Thomas Pinkney

Current position

Senior Lecturer and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, Academic Department of Surgery, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK

Medical school

University of Birmingham (graduated in 2000)

General surgical and colorectal training

Trained in West Midlands, UK. Laparoscopic Colorectal Fellowship (Ethicon), QMC Nottingham 2011. IBD Surgery Fellowship, QEHB Birmingham 2012

Main clinical and research interests

• IBD surgery
• Clinical trials
• Surgical site infection

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2014

Additional information

• Member Research and Audit Committee, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI)
• Member IBD Sub-committee, ACPGBI
• Associate Editor, Colorectal Disease

Angel Bhangu*

Aneel Bhangu

Current position

Clinical Lecturer in Colorectal Surgery, University of Birmingham

Medical school

University of Birmingham, 2004

General surgical and colorectal training

PhD in Rectal Cancer, Royal Marsden Hospital, Imperial College London. Higher Surgical Trainee, West Midlands Deanery.

Main clinical and research interests

Aneel Bhangu is a clinical lecturer in colorectal surgery at the University of Birmingham.

He is a committee member of the West Midlands Research Collaborative and a co-founder of GlobalSurg (www.globalsurg.org). GlobalSurg is a collaborative group developing research leaders in surgery around the world, focusing on low and middle income countries, and is an example of how the NHS can work beyond its borders. He is chief investigator of the developing GlobalSurg-RCT and was successfully awarded an MRC-Wellcome-DFID Joint Global Health Trials Development grant (2016).

Aneel undertook a Cancer Research UK funded PhD Fellowship at the Royal Marsden Hospital. His research interests are in pragmatic, multicentre surgical clinical trials for patient benefit.

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2015

Additional information

Committee member: West Midlands Research Collaborative; STARSurg; EUROSurg; GlobalSurg Collaborative at the NIHR Unit on Global Surgery

Sue Blackwell

 Sue Blackwell

BA (Hons) Modern History, MA Peace and Conflict Studies

Sue Blackwell is an experienced PPI representative, with a particular interest in PROMS and parastomal hernia.

She is the Patient Co Chief Investigator on the @PROPHER study, an international prospective cohort study on parastomal hernia treatment.

She is also the first patient to receive a research grant from the Bowel Disease Research Foundation for the @PAPooSE study looking at patient experiences of pregnancy following stoma formation.

Her current colorectal PPI work includes the NIHR funded @PoPSTER_Study; and @ROSSINI2Trial the first surgical MAMS RCT. She is also a member of the Patient Liaison Group of ACPGBI.

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2019

Nicolas Buchs

Nicolas Buchs

Current position

Colorectal Consultant, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland (since 2017)

Medical school

Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland (graduated in 2005)

General surgical and colorectal training

• General Surgical training, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland (2005-2009) Research Fellowship, Robotic surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA (2009-2010)
• General Surgical and Colorectal training, University Hospitals of Geneva (2010-2014) Colorectal Training, Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, UK (2014-2016)

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal Cancer and IBD
• Surgical education
• New surgical technology

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2018

Additional information

• FMH in Surgery (2012)
• EBSQ in Coloproctology (2016)
• Privat Docent, University of Geneva, Geneva Switzerland (2015)
• Executive member of the CRSA (Clinical Robotic Surgery Association), SALTS (Swiss Association of Laparoscopic and Thoracoscopic Surgery)
• Member of the Editorial Board of World Journal of Clinical Oncology

Christianne Buskens

Christianne Buskens

Current position

Staff colorectal surgeon, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam , The Netherlands (since Januari 2012)

Medical school

Medical Studies, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (MD since December 1999)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Dec 2009- Dec 2011: Colorectal fellow, Radcliffe Hospitals, Oxford, England (prof. dr. N. Mortensen) and Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (prof. dr. W.A. Bemelman)
• April 2003-Nov 2009: Surgical registrar (Gelre Ziekenhuizen, Apeldoorn; Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam; Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
• July 2000-March 2003: PhD research fellow, department of surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• Dec 1999-June 2000: Senior house officer, Department of surgery, Medisch Centrum Haaglanden, The Hague, The Netherlands

Main clinical and research interests

• IBD-surgery
• Clinical and fundamental IBD-research
• Clinical epidemiology

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2018

Additional information

As a clinical doctor, I strongly believe that daily practice should be connected to research work, to constantly improve patient care. As qualitative research can only be performed with the correct background knowledge, I have completed a masters program in clinical epidemiology.

During my PhD fellowship, I developed an enthusiasm for translational research projects. I have defended my PhD-dissertation with distinction in October 2004 (Title: The development of new treatment strategies for oesophageal carcinoma), and have combined clinical work with (fundamental) research projects ever since.

After finishing my surgical training in 2009, I have been working as a colorectal fellow specialising in proctology and laparoscopic surgery at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, funded by the KWF (Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds). This Dutch organisation on medical oncology supports medical specialists by providing a 2-year budget for clinical specialization, and stimulates the development of collaborative research programs. Here I analysed the predictive value of isolated tumour cells and circulating cells in colorectal cancer patients.

Since January 2012, I am working as a staff surgeon at the AMC. Here, my field of interest changed from oncology to IBD. Nowadays, I am a specialized IBD-surgeon treating this fascinating disease in all its complexity, in a multidisciplinary setting. I still combine clinical work with translational research, which is currently funded by an innovative research incentive grant from The Netherlands organization for health research and development. My research group has a long-standing history in performing cutting edge research. This varies from international multicenter RCT’s directly comparing surgery to medical treatment (LIRIC, PISA, ACCURE), to basic laboratory science (where we currently analyze the role of the mesentery in Crohn’s disease, and the role of the appendix in ulcerative colitis). The collaboration with gastroenterologists, pathologists, and specialists from the laboratory, including biobanking of biopsies and surgical resection material, ensures that we are truly delivering bench-to-bedside research lines.

To improve the collaboration with other European IBD-experts, I am also a member of the S-ECCO guideline committee.

Sanjay Chaudhri

Sanjay Chaudhri

Current position

Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester United Kingdom (since Oct 2009)

Medical school

Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India (graduated in 1987)

General surgical and colorectal training

Armed Forces Medical College (University of Pune, India)
Liverpool and Birmingham Higher Surgical Training Program (United Kingdom)

Main clinical and research interests

• Rectal cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Parastomal hernias and abdominal wall reconstruction

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2014

Additional information

Royal College of England Surgical Tutor for Leicester General Hospital

Alaa El-Hussuna (2017 snapshot audit lead)

Alaa El-Hussuna

Current position

Consultant surgeon, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark

Medical school

Saddam College of Medicine, Baghdad, Iraq (graduated in 1996)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Hvidovre, Hillerød and Herlve University Hospitals in Copenhagen - Denmark (training in general surgery from 2007-2013)
• Aalborg and Randers University Hospitals, Denmark (training in colorectal surgery from 2016-2019)
• ESCP training fellowship in colorectal surgery, St. Vincent Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (2017)

Main clinical and research interests

• Pre-operative optimization in IBD patients
• The effect of biological treatment on post-operative outcome in patients with IBD
• Surgical stress response
• Chronic stress and development of colorectal cancers
• Perianal fistula in Crohn’s disease
• Surgical wound healing

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2014

Additional information

• Ph.D Thesis: The effect of pre-operative biological treatment on post-operative outcome in patients with Crohn’s disease (preparation phase)
• Master degree in information technology, IT-University, Copenhagen, Denmark (2003)
• Member of expert panel in Danish autoimmune disease association
• Foundation of Danish Collaborative Research Network (2014)
• Member in editorial board: Current Updates in Hepatology and Gastroentrology, SciTz Gastroenterology and SM Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
• Reviewer in many surgical journals: British journal of surgery, colorectal diseases, world journal of gastroenterology, Langenbeck's archives of surgery, International journal of surgery, Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology and reviewer of ESCP-ECCO guidelines
• Invited speaker in many international conferences among them ESCP and ECCO meetings
• Supervisor of many research projects in Copenhagen and Aalborg University Hospitals
• Physician/surgeon in different missions, Doctors without borders (MSF) in Africa 2004-2005

Matteo Frasson

Matteo Frasson

Current position

• Associate Professor, University of Valencia
• University Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain

Medical school

'Vita e Salute' University, Milan, Italy (graduated in 2003)

General surgical and colorectal training

• General Surgical Training: San Raffaele University Hospital, Milan, Italy
• CR Training: University Clinico Hospital, Valencia, Spain

Main clinical and research interests

Colorectal Cancer, IBD

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2014

Additional information

• Coordinator of the Research Group in Digestive Surgery of 'La Fe' research Institute, Valencia, Spain
• PhD-thesis in 2013 on rectal cancer treatment
• Chairperson of Young ESCP group
• Junior Editor of Colorectal Diseases
• Editor of Cirugía Española

Gaetano Gallo 

Gaetano Gallo

Current position

Resident in Colorectal Surgery, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy (since August 2013)
Resident in Colorectal Surgery, Department of Colorectal Surgery, S. Rita Clinic, Vercelli, Italy

Medical school

University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy (graduated in Medicine and Surgery)

General surgical and colorectal training

• AC Camargo Center, Department of Colorectal and Pelvic Surgery, Sao Paolo, Brazil
• Nouvel Hopital Civil, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
• S. Rita Clinic, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Vercelli, Italy
• Clinic Parioli, U.O. of Colorectal Surgery, Rome, Italy
• Careggi University Hospital, Department of Surgery and Traslational Medicine, Florence, Italy

Main clinical and research interests

MiRNA and Metalloproteinases in colorectal disorders, Translational research, Rectovaginal Fistula, Haemorrhoids, Retro-rectal tutors, Low anterior resection syndrome, TAI (Transanal irrigation)

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

September 2017

Additional information

National Coordinator of the Young Group of the Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR)

James Glasbey

 James Glasbey

Current position

NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Colorectal Surgery, Academic Department of Surgery, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK

Medical school

Cardiff University, Wales (graduated in August 2013)

General surgical and colorectal training

Current Core Surgical Trainee in the West Midlands Deanery

Main clinical and research interests

• Clinical trials
• Surgical site infection
• Global surgery

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2017

Additional information

• Committee member of the West Midlands Research Collaborative, Student Audit and Research in Surgery UK, GlobalSurg Collaborative and the Association of Surgeons in Training
• Trial management group member in the FALCON, ROSSINI-2, ROCSS and SUNRRISE NIHR-funded surgical clinical trials
• Currently undertaking an MRes Health Research Metholodology at the University of Birmingham with focus on medical statistics, global health and clinical trials

Ana María Minaya Bravo 

Ana Minaya

Current position

Colorectal Surgeon,MD, Henares Teaching Hospital, Coslada, Madrid, Spain. From April 2018.

Medical school

Autonomous University of Madrid, UAM, Spain

General surgical and colorectal training

• June 2003 - June 2008: General and Digestive Surgery, La Princesa Teaching Hospital, Autonomous University of Madrid, UAM, Spain
• May 2007: John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. Colorectal Surgery Department with Professor Neil Mortensen - working and participating in colorectal surgery, lectures, office and meetings
• February 2014: Churchill Hospital, Oxford University, UK - observer with Professor Neil Mortensen, colorectal surgery

Main clinical and research interest

• Laparoscopic colorectal surgery
• Malignant colorectal process
• Neuroendocrine tumours of colon
• Diverticulitis
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Hereditary polyposis
• Ischemic colitis
• Endoanal ultrasound
• Fistula, sinus and hemorrhoids

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

September 2017

Additional information

• II Master Laparoscopic Surgery, Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Madrid, Spain
• Member of Mortality Committee of Principe de Asturias Teaching Hospital, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
• Editorial board member of:
  • General Surgery Reports
  • International Journal of Surgery and Surgical Techniques (IJSST)
  • Surgery: Case reports
• Collaboration as reviewer with:
  • British Medical Journal Case Report
  • American College of Gastroenterology, Case Report Journal
  • Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and treatment
  • World Journal of Surgical Oncology, Manuscript 
  • Journal of Surgery and Surgical Research

Dion Morton (ex-officio, Research Committee Chair)

Dion Morton

Current position

Professor Morton is Barling Professor of Surgery and Head of the Academic Department of Surgery at the University of Birmingham in the UK. He was given an honorary consultant appointment at the University Hospital Birmingham in 1996, and was appointed Professor of Surgery in 2006. In 2015, he was appointed Barling Professor of Surgery.

Medical school

He received his degree in Medicine from Bristol University, UK in 1985.

General surgical and colorectal training

He undertook his surgical and colorectal training at University Hospital Birmingham and in the West Midlands region of the UK.

Main clinical and research interests

His primary research interests are clinical and translational research for colorectal cancer and the development of clinical trials in surgery.

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2012

Additional information

He is Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, Director of Clinical Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Deputy Head at the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at University of Birmingham. He is past President 2015-17 of the Society for Academic and Research Surgery.

He is currently Director of the West Midlands Genomics Centre.

He has had a leading role in developing trainee led surgical research, first establishing the West Midlands Research Collaborative in 2009, and subsequently helping to establish a national network of trainee collaboratives across the United Kingdom. He has led the RCS (eng) Clinical Research Initiative, establishing 12 Surgical specialty leads and 8 Surgical Trials Centres across the country.

Ionut Negoi

Ionut Negoi

Current position

Senior Lecturer of Surgery, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, Romania, 2016. Attending Surgeon, Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania, 2013.

Medical school

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, Romania, graduated in 2006

General surgical and colorectal training

• 2006-2012: Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania
• 2017: Observer Fellowship in Colorectal Surgery, St. Mark’s Hospital, London, UK
• 2015: Observer Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Department of Surgery, L'Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l'Appareil Digestif / European Institute of Telesurgery, Hôpitaux Universitaires, Strasbourg, France
• 2014: Observer Fellowship in Surgical Oncology, Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Main clinical and research interests

• Colon and rectal cancer
• Minimally invasive surgery
• Liver metastasis
• Global surgery research

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2017

Additional information

• Ph.D. thesis, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, 2012
• Reviewer: Oncotarget, World Journal of Gastroenterology, BMJ Open, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases International.

Dmitri Nepogodiev

Francesco Pata

Francesco Pata

Current position

Staff Surgeon at Sant’Antonio Abate Hospital, Gallarate, Italy (since July 2012)

Medical school

'Magna Graecia' University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy (graduated in 2004)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Policlinico 'S. Venuta', Germaneto, Catanzaro, Italy
• Ospedale N. Giannettasio, Rossano, Italy
• Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy
• Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, UK
• Santa Rita Clinic, Vercelli, Italy
• Sant’Antonio Abate Hospital, Gallarate, Italy

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• Obstructed defecation syndrome and haemorrhoids
• Surgical site infections
• GlobalSurgery
• Pruritus ani

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2016

Additional information

• University master in Health Management (Rome, 2015)
• Founder and Chair of ItsURG (Italian Surgical Research Group) 2016-current
• Co-Chair of EuroSurg Collaborative 2017-current
• GlobalSurg trial consortium member
• National Coordinator (Italy) in GlobalSurg 1, GlobalSurg 2, RIFT and IMAGINE studies

Luis Sánchez-Guillén (Young ESCP)

Luis Sánchez- Guillén

Current position

Colorectal Consultant, University Hospital La Fe, University of Valencia, Spain

Medical school

University of Salamanca, Spain. Graduated in 2009.

General surgical and colorectal training

• University Hospital Ferrol-La Coruña, Spain
• University Hospital La Fe Valencia, Spain
• European Colorectal Fellowship FAECP 2016

Main clinical and research interests

• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Colorectal cancer
• Innovation in surgery

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2017

Additional information

Luis Sánchez-Guillén was educated at Salamanca University and then trained in General and Gastrointestinal Surgery in La Coruña. He was Honour Clinical Fellow at St Mark´s Hospital in 2013 and at Centre Hépato-Biliaire Hôpital Paul-Brousse in 2014.

In 2016 he became European Colorectal Fellowship FAECP at the University Hospital La Fe in Valencia. In 2017 he took up a new post as Consultant Colorectal Surgeon.

He is currently finishing his PhD in colorectal cancer from the University of Valencia and has published and presented work both nationally and internationally.

He sits on ESCP Cohort Studies and Guidelines committees. He is part of several innovation programmes, reviewer in Cirugía Española and co-leads the Spanish IBD Surgery Group.

Baljit Singh

Baljit Singh

Current position

Consultant Surgeon and Honorary Senior Lecturer, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester, UK (since 2009)

Medical school

Oxford University, UK (Graduated in 1992)

General surgical and colorectal training

• 2001-2004: Specialist Registrar, Oxford region, UK
• 2005-2009: Clinical Lecturer and Surgeon Scientist, Nuffield Department of Surgery, Oxford, UK

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• New technologies
• Biomarkers
• Anal fistula
• IBD

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2013

Additional information

Posts in professional societies:

• 2014-today: Member of the ESCP Cohort Studies Group
• 2014-today: Member of the New Technology Committee American Society of Colorectal Surgeons (ASCRS)
• 2014-today: Member of the National Bowel Cancer Audit (NBOCA) Clinical Advisory Group
• 2013-today: Member of Council Coloproctology Section, Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and Treasurer
• 2014-2017: Treasurer Association of Coloporctology GB&I (ACPGBI) and Executive member of the ACPGBI
• 2013: Deputy and now Acting Director of the Scientific Committee of the Association of Surgeon GB&I (ASGBI)
• 2010-2016: Member of the Research and Audit Committee ACPGBI

Reviewer:

• British Journal of Surgery
• World Journal of Surgery
• Techniques in Coloproctology

PHD Thesis:

Oxford University (UK) in 2004

Emre Sivrikoz (Young ESCP)

Emre Sivrikoz

Current position

Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine, Yeni Yuzyıl University

Medical school

İstanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul (graduated in 2006)

General surgical and colorectal training

• 2007-2013: Istanbul School of Medicine, Istanbul
• 2013-2015: Taksim Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul
• 2015-2016: Okmeydanı Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul
• 2016: St Mark’s Hospital, London
• 2016: European Board of Surgery Qualification in Coloproctology

Main clinical and research interests

• Colon and rectal cancer
• Anal fistula disease
• Proctology

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2017

Oded Zmora

Oded Zmora

Current position

Chair, Department of Surgery, Asaf Harofe Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

Medical school

Hebrew University - Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel. Graduated in 1993.

General surgical and colorectal training

• Residency in general surgery - Department of Surgery and Transplantation, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel
• Residency in general surgery - Department of Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
• Clinical fellowship in Colorectal Surgery - Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
• Research fellowship in Colorectal Surgery - Department of Colorectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Main clinical and research interests

• Surgery for IBD
• Colorectal Cancer
• Anorectal disorders

Member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee since

2014

Additional information

• Past president of the Israel Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery
• Chair, S-ECCO committee
• Co-editor, Techniques in Coloproctology