Daniel Perry

I trained in surgery in Liverpool and Warwick, before completing a fellowship at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. I subsequently joined the University of Oxford's Kadoorie Institute for Trauma and Emergency Care and became a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. I then became the first orthopaedic surgeon to be awarded an NIHR Research Professorship. More recently, I completed Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development, a year-long executive leadership programme for senior leaders.

I lead a large programme of research in children's trauma, orthopaedics and emergency care - TOTS Research - including the FORCE (Minor Wrist Fractures), SCIENCE (Elbow Fractures), CRAFFT (Severe Wrist Fractures), BigBOSS (Slipped Epiphysis), PicBone (Infection), ODDsocks (Ankle Fractures), OpNonSTOP (Perthes Disease) and BASIS (Scoliosis) trials — and even a paediatric trial in urinary tract infections, CURLY. What I enjoy most is making clinical research accessible to children, parents and clinicians alike, so my team makes extensive use of cartoons, animations, videos and text messages to make trials easier to understand and take part in.

My research portfolio exceeds £35 million, including more than £18 million of studies that I have led as Chief Investigator or Co-Chief Investigator. These studies are funded by the UK and US governments and charities, and run across the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Alongside clinical trials, I lead a growing programme developing and evaluating artificial intelligence for children's orthopaedic care. This includes HIPPO, an NIHR i4i-funded programme to automate hip surveillance in children with cerebral palsy; automated detection of hip dysplasia in babies, developed with the University of Oxford's Department of Computer Science and industry partners; and a broader paediatric AI programme at Alder Hey. My particular interest is in getting new technology safely and rigorously into routine healthcare — applying the same evidence-first approach that has underpinned my clinical trials work.

Beyond my own research, I chair the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Prioritisation Committee, serve as National Specialty Lead for Orthopaedic Clinical Trials at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, am Specialty Editor for Paediatrics at The Bone & Joint Journal, and am Clinical Lead for the national infant hip screening programme. I also supervise several PhD students and enjoy helping develop the next generation of clinical researchers.