Members of Research Committee

Tom Pinkney (Chair)

Tom Pinkney

Current position

Professor of Surgery 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 Research 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

Erman Aytac (Communications Committee Chair)

Erman Aytac

Current position

Professor, Gastrointestinal Oncology Unit and Chief, Department of Surgery, Acibadem University Atakent Hospital, Istanbul/Türkiye.

Medical school

Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey (graduated in 2006)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey (graduated in 2011)
• Research/clinical research/clinical fellowship, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA (graduated in 2016)

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Pelvic floor and intestinal motility disorders
• Minimally invasive and complex abdominopelvic surgery

Member of the Research Committee since

2019

Additional information

• Primary and co-investigator in numerous national or international research studies. His studies have received awards from the Eczacıbaşı Scientific Research and Medical Award Fund, the Turkish Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and the American College of Surgeons.
• Involved in numerous national and international medical/surgical meetings as a member of organising committee (including chairperson) and as an invited speaker or presenter.
• Works as an editorial board member or reviewer in many prestigious national/international journals.

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 Research Committee since

2020

Pamela Buchwald

Pamela Buchwald

Current position

• Associate Professor in Surgery Lund University since 2013
• Consultant Colorectal Surgeon Skåne University Hospital since 2016

Medical school

Uppsala University, Sweden 2000

General surgical and colorectal training

• Helsingborg Hospital, Sweden
• Skåne University Hospital, Sweden including pelvic floor unit
• St Mark's Hospital (ESCP fellow)
• Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• Exenterative surgery
• Diverticulitis

Member of the Research Committee since

2020

Additional information

Pamela Buchwald has been the Swedish national representative of ESCP and has been on the board for the Swedish Colorectal Surgical Society. She is currently on the national board for colorectal surgical training for consultant surgeons and is involved in research collaborations such as SCANDIV-trials, PelvEx and 10Ten. She is part of a regional working group to improve IBD surgical pathways. She currently supervises five PhD students and her main fields of clinical and scientific work are colorectal cancer and diverticulitis.

Niki Christou (Guidelines Committee Rep)

Niki Christou

Current position

• Professor and Consultant in Digestive surgery, Department of Digestive, General and Endocrine Surgery, Limoges University Hospital, France, since September 2022
• Researcher with habilitation/accreditation to direct research (HDR) at Laboratory INSERM U1308 – CAPTuR “Control of cell Activation in Tumor Progression and Therapeutic Resistance"

Medical school

• Medical Doctor with Digestive surgery specialisation, Limoges University, France since November 2015
• Oncological surgery specialisation, since November 2017

General surgical and colorectal training

• Digestive surgery department, Limoges University Hospital, France
• Colorectal surgery department, University Hospital Birmingham, United Kingdom

Main clinical and research interests

• Mini-invasive colorectal surgery
• Clinical and translational research for colorectal cancer
• Fundamental research in colorectal cancer initiating cells
• Surgical site infections

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

• PhD Thesis on colorectal cancer initiating cells, 2017, Limoges University
• Head of the “Chaire of Excellence of colorectal cancer research”, since 2019, Limoges University, France
• Coordinator of the membership committee of #OpenSourceResearch
• Coordinator of the French report on surgical site infections under the aegis of the “French Association of Surgery” (AFC).
• Member of the French Academy of Surgery

Dragomir Dardanov

Dragomir Dardanov

Current position

Senior Assistant Professor of Surgery, University Hospital Alexandrovska, Medical University - Sofia, Bulgaria. Since 2014.

Medical school

Medical University - Pleven, Bulgaria. Graduated in 2002.

General surgical and colorectal training

• General surgical training - University Hospitals in Pleven and Sofia, Bulgaria (2003-2008)
• Clinical fellow in colorectal surgery - St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (2012)

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer surgery
• Surgical anatomy
• Complex abdominal and pelvic cancer surgery
• Proctology - perianal fistula, pilonidal disease

Member of the Research Committee since

2020

Additional information

• President of Bulgarian Society of Coloproctology since 2019
• ESCP National representative of Bulgaria (2013-2015)
• ESCP Eastern regional representative (2016-2018)
• European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) on Coloproctology 2015
• European Board of Surgery Qualification (EBSQ) on Surgical Oncology 2012
• Specialty anatomy, histology and cytology 2014
• PhD degree (with dissertation 'Clinico-anatomical investigations on connective tissue structures surrounding the rectum in relation to rectal cancer surgery') 2008
• Specialty general surgery 2008

Alaa El-Hussuna (Chair of Cohort Studies)

Alaa El-Hussuna

Current position

Associate professor of surgery, consultant surgeon, Aalborg University Hospital/ Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

Medical school

Saddam College of Medicine, Baghdad, Iraq (1996)

General surgical and colorectal training

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

Main clinical and research interests

• Measuring surgical outcome
• 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 Research Committee since

2020

Founding member of the Cohort Studies Sub-Committee (2014)

Additional information

• Ph.D Thesis: The effect of pre-operative biological treatment on post-operative outcome in patients with Crohn’s disease (2018)
• Master degree in information technology, IT-University, Copenhagen, Denmark (2003)
• Lead #OpenSourceResearch collaboration
• Lead 2017 ESCP snapshot audit
• Member of expert panel in Danish autoimmune disease association (FAIM)
• 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 and many other journals
• 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

Caterina Foppa (Education Rep to Research)

Caterina Foppa

Current position

• Colorectal Surgeon at IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy (since March 2019)
• Assistant Professor at Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy (since May 2022)

Medical school

• Florence University, Italy (graduated in Medicine and Surgery)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Residency in General Surgery at Florence University Florence Italy (end July 2018)
• PhD in Surgical and Anesthesiology Sciences at Florence University, Florence Italy (end April 2021)
• Training during the residency at the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Stony Brook University, New York, USA

Main clinical and research interests

• Early onset colorectal cancer
• Management of early colorectal cancers, transanal transection and single stapled anastomosis (TTSS)
• New technologies and techniques in colorectal surgery
• Treatment and management of rectal cancer

Member of the Research Committee since 

2023

Additional information

PhD in Clinical Sciences (Curriculum Anesthesiology and Surgical Sciences) - Thesis: minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of gastrointestinal and endocrine tumors

Editorial experience:

• Junior Editor, Techniques in Coloproctology (2014-2015)
• Junior Editor, Colorectal Disease (2016-2017)
• Junior Editor, Techniques in Coloproctology (2016-2017)
• Junior Editor, Diseases of Colon and rectum (2018-2021)
• Reviewer’s Guild Member of Diseases of the Colon and Rectum (2019-2020)

ESCP guidelines:

• T1 rectal cancer guideline committee

Nir Horesh

Nir Horesh

Current position

• Clinical Associate - Advanced Colon and Rectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA
• Attending Surgeon, Department of Surgery and Transplantation, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
• Associate Professor - Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Medical school

Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, The University of Bologna, Italy (2005-2011). Graduated as Doctor of Medicine, Cum Laude.

General surgical and colorectal training

• Clinical Fellow - Minimally Invasive / Colon and Rectal Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, USA (2021-2023).
• General Surgery Resident, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel (2013-2019)
• General Surgery Resident, Department of General Surgery Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA (2016-2017).

Main clinical and research interests

A vast interest in clinical and translational research, with a distinguished contribution of over 140 peer-reviewed articles.

Main clinical interests include colorectal and gastrointestinal surgery, particularly focusing on diverticular disease, colorectal cancer, IBD and pelvic floor disorders.

Served as a Visiting scientist in Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Immunology, Israel, at the Elinav lab working on groundbreaking research on the microbiome.

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

• Thesis: "Save a Child’s Heart” – clinical research in pediatric cardiovascular surgery
• Committee Memberships:
  • Board Member – Scientific Committee of the Israeli Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery (2020-2023)
  • Chairman, The Israeli Interns association (2012-2014).
• Editorial Boards:
  • Editorial Board Member – Frontiers in Surgery Journal (2022-Present)
  • Editorial Board Member – World Journal of Gastrointestinal surgery (2017-2020)
  • Reviewer for major peer review journals including Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, British Journal of Surgery, Diseases of Colon and Rectum, and many more

Karoline Horisberger

Karoline Horisberger

Current position

Head Colorectal Surgery, Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery at University Medical Center Mainz, Germany since 2022. Consultant Surgery since 2013

Medical school

• University Heidelberg and Clinical Medical Faculty Mannheim of University of Heidelberg, Germany (graduated in 2002)
• University of Zurich, Switzerland

General surgical and colorectal training

• Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg
• Department of Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Bern, Switzerland
• Spital Limmattal, Schlieren, Switzerland
• Department of Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
• St. Mark’s Hospital (Fellow)

Main clinical and research interests

• IBD surgery
• Colorectal cancer, esp. postoperative functional outcome
• Colorectal cancer in Crohn’s disease

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

• Mandate holder (on behalf of the German Coloproctological Society) on the development of the German S3- guidelines on Crohn’s Disease
• Member of the BJS (British Journal of Surgery) Council and BJS Academy, Member of the Editorial Board of BJS Open)
  Associate editor of Langenbeck’s Archive of Surgery
• F.E.B.S. Surgical Oncology and F.E.B.S. Coloproctology
• Second doctorate on genetic predictability of response in locally advanced rectal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy (University of Heidelberg, 2013)

Jim Khan

Jim Khan

Current position

Consultant Surgeon, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS trust, Professor of Surgery University of Portsmouth, UK

Medical school

• Graduated from BZU Multan
• Basic surgical training in the west of Scotland

General surgical and colorectal training

• Higher surgical training, Wessex Surgical, rotation UK
• Colorectal training at Basingstoke Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Advanced MIS fellowship at Colchester Essex, UK
• Robotic Colorectal fellowship at Seoul, South Korea
• Visiting fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester

Main clinical and research interests

• Robotic colorectal surgery including TME and CME surgery
• Training in surgical oncology
• Quality of life and functional outcomes after colorectal surgery
• Stress and immune response to surgery
• Big data, Cohort studies and the use of AI in surgery

Member of the Research Committee since

2024

Additional information

• President in waiting, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland
  (ACPGBI)
• FRCS intercollegiate examiner since 2015
• European trainer and proctor in robotic colorectal surgery
• Director of Research, Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons (ALSGBI)
• Past Chair of the Robotic Committee, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI)
• Fellow and member of the core working group on training in robotic surgery, European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP)
• Core member, Robotic Research Committee, The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS). Colorectal lead for RADAR group at RCS.
• Board member, European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO)

Jurij Aleš Košir (Y-ESCP Representative)

Jurij Aleš Košir

Current position

Staff surgeon at Department of Abdominal Surgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Medical school

Graduated in April 2017 from Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

General surgical and colorectal training

• Residency at University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2018-2024)
• Surgical fellowship at Meander Medisch Centrum, Amersfoort, Netherlands

Main clinical and research interests

• Fluorescence-guided surgery
• Colorectal robotic assisted surgery
• Surgery for inflammatory bowel disease

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

I’m enthusiastic about research and education. I have research experience in the areas of fluorescence-guided surgery, colorectal robotic assisted surgery and surgery for inflammatory bowel disease. My PhD-thesis is focused on the treatment of adhesive small bowel obstruction and my clinical experience also includes proctology, oncologic abdominal surgery and emergency abdominal surgery.

Hans Lederhuber

Hans Lederhuber

Current position

Fellow in Colorectal and Abdominal Wall Surgery, Royal Devon University HealthCare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK (2021)

Medical school

• Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
• Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria (graduated in 2007)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Torsby hospital, Torsby, Sweden
• Karlstad hospital, Karlstad, Sweden
• Seefeld hospital, Seefeld, Germany
• Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• Peritoneal pathophysiology
• Stoma complications
• Perioperative medicine - proctology
• Abdominal wall hernia

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

• PhD in peritoneal pathophysiology (2/2019), Medical University of Vienna - Editorial board, BJS Open
• Specialty Advisory Panel, BJS

Dion Morton OBE

Dion Morton OBE

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 Research Committee since

He was Chair of the Research Committee from 2012 - 2018

Additional information

He was Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (2008-2019), Director of Clinical Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2012-2019). 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.

Mostafa Shalaby

Mostafa Shalaby

Current position

• Associate Professor and Consultant Colorectal Surgery, Mansoura University Hospital, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
• Director CME/CPD Program, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (since 2018)
• Adjunact Associate Professor of Surgery & Consultant Colorectal Surgery Horus University in Egypt

Medical school

• Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (MBBCh in 2007)
• Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (Master’s Degree of General Surgery in 2012)
• Rome Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy (Master’s Degree of Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery in 2016)
• Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt (Medical Doctorate Degree of Surgery in 2017)
• Rome Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy (Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Medical-Surgical Science in 2017)
• The Egyptian High Committee of Medical Specialties (Egyptian Board of Colorectal Surgery in 2021)

General surgical and colorectal training

• Mansoura University Hospital, Mansoura, Egypt
• Rome Tor Vergata University Hospital, Rome, Italy

Main clinical and research interests

• Anastomotic Leakage
• Anal Fistula
• Colorectal Cancer
• Rectal Prolapse

Member of the Research Committee since

2023

Additional information

• Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (since 2021)
• ESCP Educational Committee Member (2017-2023)
• ESCP National Representative in Egypt (since 2022)
• ESCP group for crypto glandular fistula guidelines (published 2023)

Gabrielle van Ramshorst

Gabrielle van Ramshorst

Current position

Consultant surgical oncology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. Since October 2019.

Medical school

Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands. Graduated in 2004.

General surgical and colorectal training

• General training at Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2009-2016)
• Dutch Cancer Society sponsored clinical fellowship at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia; Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2016-2018).
• Previous position: locum consultant surgical oncology, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, United Kingdom (2019)

Main clinical and research interests

• Locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer
• Gynaecological oncology
• Pelvic reconstruction and sexual function
• Peritoneal carcinomatosis
• Retroperitoneal sarcomas
• Abdominal wall hernia

Member of the Research Committee since

2020

Additional information

• PhD Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Wound failure in laparotomy (January 2014)
• FEBS (Coloproctology) 2018
• FECSM 2018
• FESGO 2019
• Member International Committee, Surgical Society for Oncology (SSO)
• Member Mesh in Pelvis guidelines, European Society for Coloproctology
• Associate editor, Colorectal Disease
• Editorial fellow, International Journal of Gynaecological Cancer

Patricia Tejedor 

Patricia Tejedor

Current position

Colorectal Consultant Surgeon, University Hospital ‘Gregorio Marañón’, Madrid, Spain. Since 2021.

Medical school

University of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Graduated in 2012.

General surgical and colorectal training

• Basic Surgical Training - University Hospital ‘Fundacion Jimenez Diaz’, Madrid, Spain.
• Higher Surgical Training and Colorectal Training - Colorectal & Robotic Surgery Fellow, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.

Main clinical and research interests

• Colorectal cancer
• Robotic surgery
• Proctology and pelvic floor dysfunction
• Clinical trials

Member of the Research Committee since

2020

Additional information

PhD Thesis: ‘The role of 3D-EUS on diagnosis, classification and treatment of sphincter defects after childbirth’.

Carolynne Vaizey
(ex-officio / ESCP Secretary)

Carolynne Vaizey

Current position

• Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Co-Medical Director, St Mark’s, The National Bowel Hospital, London
• Senior Lecturer, Imperial College London

Medical school

University of Cape Town

General surgical and colorectal training

• Johannesburg General Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
• St Mark’s the National Bowel Hospital London
• The Middlesex and University College Hospitals, UCL, London

Main clinical and research interests

• Intestinal Failure
• Faecal incontinence
• Proctology

Member of the Research Committee since

2022

Additional information

• Chair of The Pelvic Floor Society, UK
• Chair of the Intestinal Failure Subcommittee, ACPGBI