Professor Aneel Bhangu

Professor Aneel Bhangu is a Professor of Global Surgery at the University of Birmingham and a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham. He was a founding member of the GlobalSurg Collaborative and the NIHR Global Health Unit on Global Surgery. 

Prof. Bhangu co-led the CovidSurg Collaborative, which was the global surgical community's research response to the pandemic. This produced multiple high impact research papers, including with The Lancet, leading to one of the highest Altmetric scores for a surgical paper. This research is of public interest and was covered by major media in 50+ countries, including The Economist.

Associate Professor Deena Harji 

Associate Professor Deena Harji is a leading colorectal and robotic surgeon, NIHR Advanced Fellow, Innovation Hub co-founder, MedTech innovator, and global key opinion leader in digital surgery. She is recognised for her work at the intersection robotic surgery and data-driven surgical systems, advancing innovation in digital healthcare, AI, and service transformation. Her research and leadership continue to shape the future of surgical care, training and healthcare information, bringing valuable insights into how technology can transform surgical practice and patient care.

Dr Dmitri Nepogodiev

Dr Nepogodiev is a Public Health Consultant and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer. Since he qualified in medicine, he has followed a unique pathway combining basic surgical and public health training. His primary academic affiliation is to the NIHR Unit on Global Surgery and the NIHR Group on Environmentally Sustainable Hospitals in LMICs. His aim is to produce evidence that directly informs and influences high priority policy areas in global surgery and sustainable healthcare. Current projects include themes around postoperative mortality, surgical site infection, and net-zero health systems. He also co-leads the DRAGON randomised trial.

Professor Ewen Harrison

Ewen Harrison is a Professor of Surgery and Data Science at the University of Edinburgh and a Consultant HPB Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He is Director of the Centre for Medical Informatics in the Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh. He leads the Surgical and Critical Care Informatics group which pioneers data-driven, collaborative research to improve patient outcomes after surgery across both the global north and south. His work spans AI/machine learning, decision modelling, wearable sensing, and clinical trials. 

Professor Simon Bach

Simon Bach is Professor of Colorectal Surgery at University College London and University College London Hospitals, where he leads a research-aligned programme in organ-preserving rectal cancer therapies and advanced surgical technology.  He previously directed the RADAR programme (Robotic and Digital Surgery) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is Chief Investigator for the RCS MASTERY study, which develops and validatesdigital blueprints for robotic cancer surgery to improve training and quality assurance. 

His national research programme applies surgery, robotics and data-driven approaches to eliminating the common technical errors responsible for avoidable patient harm. He is also Chief Investigator for the Cancer Research UK STAR-TREC study, evaluating non-operative treatments for rectal cancer. 

Mr John McGrath

John McGrath is a consultant urological surgeon at North Bristol NHS Trust. He is co-chair of the NHS England robotically-assisted Surgery (RAS) steering committee, NCD for specification design of the new National Registry of Robotically-Assisted Surgery (NRRRAS – HQIP) and co-chair of the robotically-associated surgery workstream for the Innovative Procurement Taskforce IPT (DHSC). He is currently the National Clinical Advisor for urology for the NHS England Cancer Programme. and honorary senior lecturer at the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter.

His other interests include sustainability in clinical care pathways as part his role with GIRFT and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) sustainability hub.

Ms Emily Mills

Ms Emily Mills is the President of the Association of Surgeons in Training and an ST4 in Colorectal Surgery. She sits on the General Surgery Specialist Advisory Committee and General Surgery Recruitment as the Trainee Representative, contributing to national discussions around surgical training and workforce development. She is also on the Steering Group for the Medical Education and Training Review.
Ms Mills has previously been involved in major international initiatives including STARSurg and EuroSurg. She also has a keen interest in robotics and digital surgery, widening participation, and Women in Surgery. She previously held roles on the ASiT Executive Committee, including Yearbook and App Editor and Treasurer, and was formerly the ASiT Foundation Representative.

Ms Elizabeth Li

Ms Elizabeth Li is an Assistant Professor in Applied Health Surgical Research at the University of Birmingham and a General Surgery Registrar at University Hospitals Birmingham. She has a background in translational research, international cohort studies, and clinical trials, with formal training in health research methodology, health economics, qualitative research, behavioural science, and advanced statistics. Ms Li has experience delivering large-scale international studies through collaborative research networks. Her work brings together clinical practice, research methodology, and surgical innovation to support evidence-based improvements in surgical care. She is also actively involved in education and training, supporting both clinical and academic development within surgery.