Simon Abram

Simon graduated from Oxford University medical school in 2010 and began surgical training in Trauma and Orthopaedics in 2012. From 2016-19, Simon took time out of surgical training to undertake a DPhil (PhD) aimed at improving the treatment of patients with meniscal tears of the knee. In support of this work, Simon was awarded a nationally competitive Doctoral Research Fellowship by the NIHR in 2017.

Simon’s research currently has four main themes: 

1. The epidemiology of musculoskeletal conditions and surgical interventions. A number of large healthcare databases are available in the UK and this ‘big data’ represents a valuable and relatively untapped resource to inform patients and clinicians of the risks and benefits of orthopaedic interventions. Simon works with the national hospital episode statistics (HES) database to investigate trends and regional variation in surgical practice and to determine the short-term risks and long-term outcomes of surgical procedures. In 2023, Simon was awarded an Academy of Medical Sciences grant in further support of an expansion of this work.

2. Guideline development and treatment pathway improvement. For many orthopaedic procedures, there is apparent variation in the delivery of care between treatment centres. There is a need to standardise treatment decisions to ensure all patients receive evidence-based care and to consistently monitor and improve the outcomes of this care. Simon previously worked to deliver a national treatment guideline for the management of meniscal tears of the knee, in collaboration with Professor Andrew Price, Professor David Beard, and the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK).

3. Healthcare operations and resource management. Waiting lists in the UK are at an all time high and there is a need to improve efficiency in provision of hip and knee replacement. 'High-volume' surgical pathways aim to treat more patients within the constraints of current resources. Through this theme, Simon is working to deliver refinements to the pre-surgical, surgical, and post-surgical processes to improve patient treatment flow and efficiency.

4. AI-enhanced surgical planning. The utilisation of artificial intelligence in the planning of the technical aspects of surgical procedures is an emerging area. Simon is interested in the application of AI in planning for and evaluating surgical interventions. Specifically, Simon is interested in combining AI-enhanced imaging analysis with patient data, clinical outcome data, biomechanical assessments and modelling to deliver tools that have the potential to improve surgical outcomes.

In addition to these core research themes, Simon is a co-investigator for the NIHR EME funded GEKO trial to evaluate geniculate artery embolisation for painful knee osteoarthritis and previously supported the ACL-SNNAP trial in Oxford. Simon also has an interest in orthopaedic infection and is collaborating with biomedical engineering and bioengineering colleagues on this topic, currently working on creating an implant retrieval pipeline for infected implant materials. Simon is a DPhil co-supervisor and examines and teaches for Oxford University medical school.