Charles Knowles is Chair of ESCP's Research Committee and Professor of Surgery at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Current position and hospital: Professor of Surgery, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
ESCP Executive position: Research Committee Chair
Main clinical and research interests: Pelvic floor, functional coloproctology, enteric neuroscience, trial design
What made you want to specialise in colorectal surgery?
Sir Norman Williams told me to!
What is the best part of the job?
The fact that no two weeks are alike - science moves on and I am still learning.
How long have you been involved in ESCP and what made you want to become involved?
I am a relatively late entrant - circa 2012 and I am now honoured to hold executive office. ESCP is the foremost global educational and research society in colorectal surgery and quite possibly the most ambitious in any surgical specialty.
What do you value most about being involved in ESCP?
My main interest is in research and within that I am most proud of the audit/cohort and trial programme that is being rolled out globally.
Tell us your best ESCP conference anecdote?
I once passed Dion Morton a note at dinner asking if I could book a time to say something.
What would your one bit of advice for younger surgeons starting their career in colorectal surgery be?
Clinically my advice would be to remember that we are here to make people happy and this may or may not involve treating disease. From a research perspective, remember that if you test a hypothesis and you don’t get the results you expect, then your hypothesis is wrong. Also join ESCP of course!