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Executive Committee

Aims & Objectives

The Section of Academic Urology was formed in June 2007. Its objectives are:

  • to nurture future academic urologists,
  • to promote patient-based research among NHS colleagues, and
  • to facilitate interactions between NHS and academic members of BAUS.

The Section currently has 244 members, including 125 full members, 94 trainee members and 10 associate members. Any BAUS member wishing to join the Section of Academic Urology should e-mail the Section.

Members of the Executive Committee

ELECTED OFFICERS

John McGrath (Chair)

John McGrath is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and was appointed Section Chair in 2017. His main clinical interests are bladder and prostate cancer. He is a keen researcher and is actively involved in initiatives to accelerate recovery from major surgery (the Enhanced Recovery Programme).  He currently represents urology on the Specialised Cancer Surgery Clinical Reference Group (CRG) at NHS England

Vincent Gnanapragasam (Honorary Secretary)

Vincent is a University Lecturer and Consultant Urologist in the Academic Urology Group, University of Cambridge, and was elected Secretary in 2017. He has a special interest in primary non-metastatic prostate cancer. His research spans the spectrum from basic laboratory sciences to clinical research with a strong focus on bi-directional translational research. He co-leads the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre Urological Malignancies Programme and established the Cambridge Urology Translational Research and Clinical Trials (CUTRACT) team

OTHER ELECTED MEMBERS

Jonathan Aning (Member: 2015 to 2017)

Jonathan is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne and was elected to the team for two years in 2015

Richard Bryant (Member: 2017 to 2019)

Richard is a Clinical Lecturer at The Nuffield Department of Surgery, Oxford and joined the team in 2017

Howard Kynaston (Immediate Past Chair: 2017)

Howard is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and joined the team in 2017, at the end of his term as Chair of the Section

Stuart McCracken (Member: 2017 to 2019)

Stuart is a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and the Sunderland Royal Hospital, and joined the team in 2017. He has a passion for developing better laboratory models of human prostate cancer and adapting novel biosensor technologies to aid personalised treatment. He supports collaboration between DGHs, teaching hospitals and university departments as the key to successful research

Iqbal Shergill (Member: 2016 to 2018)

Iqbal is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital, Wales and joined the team in 2016

Bhaskar Somani (Member: 2016 to 2018)

Bhaskar is an Associate Professor and Consultant Urological Surgeon at University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust and joined the team in 2016.  He is involved in research (with more than 170 published papers), teaching, and developing simulation protocols for endourology. He specialises in adult and paediatric stone disease

Prasanna Sooriakumaran (Member: 2016 to 2018)

"PS" was elected to the team for two years in 2016.  In January 2017, he moved from Oxford to UCLH, to become one of the UK's highest volume robotic prostatectomists. He is the Chief Investigator on a trial examining the role of surgery in metastatic prostate cancer (TRoMbone), and also has interests in pelvic lymphadenectomy and salvage robotic prostatectomy for prostate cancer

CO-OPTED & EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Veeru Kasivisvanathan (BSoT Representative: 2016)

Veeru is an NIHR Doctoral Fellow in Urology, currently carrying out research at University College Hospital London whilst training in London. He joined the team in 2016 and represents the BAUS Section of Trainees (BSoT - formerly known as the Specialist Urological Registrars' Group, SURG) on the Committee; since 2017, he has also represented the BURST Research Collaborative

Graeme Maclennan (Co-opted: 2010)

Graeme is Director of the Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials (CHaRT) based in the Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) at the University of Aberdeen, and was co-opted on to the team in 2010. His research interests are the design, conduct, and analysis of RCTs, especially those evaluating surgical procedures

Ian Pearce (BAUS Trustee: 2017)

Ian is a Consultant Urological Surgeon at Central Manchester University Hospital (Manchester Royal Infirmary) and joined the team ex officio in 2017. His main interests lie in andrology and clinical trials. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Urology

Craig Robson (Co-opted: 2010)

Craig is Professor of Molecular Urology at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University and was co-opted on to the team in 2010. He studies cell signalling in cancer and has a number of ongoing biotech collaborations that involve identifying and developing biomarkers that distinguish indolent from aggressive prostate cancer