Personal Statement
I completed my undergraduate education at the University of London, completing a BSc (Hons) degree in Microbiology and Molecular Biology at Queen Mary College before studying medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, graduating in 1993.
I completed my surgical training in Otorhinolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) in Liverpool, during which time I developed a sub-specialist interest in Head and Neck surgical oncology.
I was appointed to an NHS consultant post at University Hospital Aintree (UHA) in 2003, switching to a Clinical Senior Lecturer post at the University of Liverpool in 2006. I was subsequently appointed to a Readership in 2010 and a Personal Chair in Head and Neck Surgery in 2011.
In 2018, Liverpool Head and Neck Centre (LHNC) was launched and I was appointed as the inaugural Director. LHNC is a formal collaboration between Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT), Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust (CCC), The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Liverpool and comprises one of the largest clinical research facilities for H&N cancer in the world, comprising >200 clinicians & researchers to deliver research-led improvements in patient care.
In addition to the Directorship of LHNC, I am Director of Research and Innovation for LUHFT, Director of Research for Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System and a Non-Executive Director at CCC.
My main clinical interests related to function-sparing cancer surgery. In particular, the use of transoral laser techniques to remove cancers of the larynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx, thereby leaving patients with better speech and swallowing function after surgery. With colleagues, we have developed, in Liverpool, one the largest transoral laser microsurgery practice for the removal of head and neck cancers in the world.

Research Overview
My research interests may be divided into 4 main themes

1. Basic/translational research: which focusses of the differential treatment response seen between Human papillomavirus +ve and –ve oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

2. Early and late phase Clinical Trials: Joint Chief Investigator respectively for three CRUK funded H&N studies: PATHOS, PATHOS-T & EORTC 1420

3. Clinical outcomes research: with a particular interest in swallowing and voice outcomes following transoral laser microsurgery

4. Cancer Inequalities: and their impact on incidence and outcome for patients with head and neck cancer