Mr Daryll Baker PhD FRCS
President
Daryll Baker is a Vascular Surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital and the Institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queens Square, London. He holds an Honorary Associate Professorship at University College London. His research focuses on the clinical and basic biology of the Carotid artery.
Professor Steve White MD FRCS
President Elect
Steve White is Professor of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Transplant Surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He is Head of Liver Transplantation and Robotic/Laparoscopic Surgery of the Gallbladder, Liver/Pancreas and the Biliary Tree. Steve’s specialist areas of expertise are numerous, including complex surgery on the liver (for cancer and transplantation) and pancreas (cancer, pancreatitis and transplantation) in addition to laparoscopic and robotic surgery (gallstones and hernias), including treatments for sportsman groin. Steve receives referrals from all over the UK.
Mr Arfon Powel PhD FRCS
Honorary Secretary
Arfon Powel is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Manchester and Consultant General & Oesophagogastric Surgeon at Salford Royal Hospital, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. He is Research Lead for the Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST)
Mr Joseph Shalhoub PhD FRCS
Honorary Treasurer
Joseph Shalhoub is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon appointed at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London. His main research interests include clinical trials, analysis of large epidemiological datasets, metabolic profiling in vascular conditions, and collaborative research. He is an investigator for a number of NIHR, BHF and Innovate UK-funded randomised clinical trials.
Mr Khurram Shahzad Khan FRCSEd (Gen Surg), FFSTEd, FAcadMEd, FCMI
Membership Chair
Khurram Khan is a Consultant General and Upper GI Surgeon in NHS Lanarkshire and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow. His clinical and academic interests focus on benign biliary disease, particularly evidence-based gallstone pathways, intra-operative cholangiography, and single-stage management of bile duct stones using laparoscopic common bile duct exploration.
He is also active in surgical education, collaborative research, service evaluation, and academic development. As SRS Membership Chair, he aims to widen engagement with surgical research among medical students, trainees, and early-career surgeons. In 2026, he conceived and directed the inaugural SRS Virtual Medical Student Research Symposium, establishing a new SRS platform to support early engagement with surgical research, scholarly presentation, mentorship, and professional society participation.
Prof Marilena Loizidou
Program Chair
Marilena Loizidou is Deputy Director of the Division of Surgery and Interventional Science (SIS) at UCL, and Head of the SIS Department at the Royal Free Campus.
Marilena uses nanotechnology tools in her cancer pharmacology research. Her main focus has been in the field of novel imaging and targeted therapeutics in solid tumours, mainly colorectal cancer, with a focus on the role of the fibrotic cancer stroma. Marilena co-invented tumouroids, 3D in vitro cultures of cancer which mimic the composition and architecture of solid tumours. Tumouroids are being developed as platforms for therapeutics and for stratified, precision medicine.
Dr Letizia Lo Faro BSc PhD
Scientific Council Member
Letizia Lo Faro is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms of tissue injury and repair in organ donation and transplantation, with a focus on oxidative stress and mitochondrial biology. She is particularly interested in applying biomolecular and –omics techniques to investigate mechanisms of tissue injury in liver, kidney and pancreas samples from deceased organ donors and discover potential therapeutic targets for organ repair. Her work also includes investigating molecular mechanisms of action of different organ preservation (perfusion) techniques.
Richard Dumbill
Academic Trainee Council Member
General Surgical clinical-academic trainee with a sub-specialty interest in transplantation. He currently employed as an NIHR-funded Academic Clinical Lecturer(ST5). He works on a translational program of research in the field of ex-situ normothermic machine perfusion, with specific focus on kidney transplantation.
Dr Michal Kawka BSc MBBS (Hons)
Social Media Council Member
Michal Kawka is an Academic Foundation Doctor at St George’s, University of London, and an aspiring academic general surgeon. He graduated from Imperial College London with Honours, as well as receiving an intercalated BSc in Surgical Technology, Design, and Innovation. His main academic interests are in novel surgical technologies and applications of machine learning to surgical outcomes research. He is currently a Steering Committee member of the Student Audit and Research in Surgery (STARSurg) UK Collaborative and is actively engaged in collaborative research.
Miss Ashton Hunt
Medical Student Council Member
Ashton Hunt is a medical student at the University of London. Her intercalated degree in cancer biomedicine at UCL has fired a desire to undertake further research. She hopes to pursue a career in academic surgery, combining the intellectual challenge of clinical activities with participation in the broader scientific community. During her term of office, she aims to advocate for greater student involvement in surgical research initiatives, particularly from those who identify as coming from a widening participation background. She hopes to foster a culture of inclusion and equality while working towards the society’s objectives.
Dr Georgios Karagiannidis MRCS, AFHEA
ASiT Representative
Georgios Karagiannidis completed his primary medical education in Greece before moving to the UK for his foundation training. Currently, he is a Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial College London and a General Surgery Registrar in South London. He is also pursuing an MSc in Trauma Sciences and has been accepted into a PhD programme at Imperial College, which commenced in August. His professional focus is primarily on upper gastrointestinal (UGI) and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery. He is a committee member in various surgical and research associations such as STEER, Roux Group, ASiT, HFSN and MedTech Foundation.
Will Bolton MRCS PhD PGCert in Artificial Intelligence
Website and Technology Lead
Will is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer (ST6) in Neurosurgery at Leeds with a strong commitment to advancing surgical research innovation and trainee development in academic clinical careers. His academic work spans restorative neurosurgery, neurotrauma, and emerging technologies (AI, immersive systems, and neurotechnology),