Surgical Trials intervention Unit

I am an ST6 Registrar in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, training on the Thames Valley/ Wessex (Oxford) Rotation. I have currently taken time out of clinical training to pursue a DPhil in Musculoskeletal Sciences at the University of Oxford. My research is about improving availability and access to high standard hand surgery care worldwide. My DPhil has been generously funded by a Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellowship, the British Society for Surgery of the Hand Research Fellowship and a University of Oxford Clarendon Scholarship.

My DPhil focusses on improving outcomes of hand infections and access to hand surgery care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Hand infections account for a million emergency department presentations in the United States each year and the burden is likely to be significantly higher in LMICs. Hand infections can cause loss of hand function, and in the worst cases, amputation is required. Even less serious infections can affect ability to work and manage daily life. During my DPhil, I aim to understand the scale of the problem, healthcare resources available and how they are managed in low resource settings. I will be working as part of the NIHR Global Injury Group to map hand surgery resources in South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania, as well as conducting a study on the long-term outcomes of hand infections in Cape Town, South Africa.

Prior to commencing my DPhil, I completed my undergraduate training at the University of Bristol, graduating with an MBChB with distinction and first class intercalated BSc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine. I subsequently undertook the Academic Foundation Programme and my Core Surgical Training in Oxford.

I have worked as an assistant lecturer and anatomy demonstrator at the Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne and taught medical students at the University of Oxford and Imperial College. I completed the Postgraduate Certificate of Surgical Education at Imperial College in 2022.

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