Professor of Transplantation Surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
I am a transplant surgeon undertaking liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation. I have an interesting and very rewarding job and divide my time between clinical work and research. I have always enjoyed the challenges that transplantation throws up and the enormous changes that it makes to people’s lives. I have had a longstanding interest in medical ethics associated with transplantation and was Chairman of the British Transplantation Society’s Ethics Committee for a time. This was a fascinating period during which the first face transplant was performed, the first beating heart machine was developed and controversy associated with tissue theft in America and the use of organs from executed prisoners in China were prominent in the media.
My research team is devoted to understanding how organs are damaged by the process of transplantation and trying to improve their function by changing expression of key genes. We are currently trying to move some of our experimental interventions into clinical practice which is a formidable challenge.
Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my wife and kids. I also enjoy salmon and trout fishing invariably accompanied by my loving but rather dim springer spaniel. I am a keen but time-limited amateur artist, would like to sail more and enjoy travel.
