Professor Michael Jenkinson appointed as Sir John Fisher / Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) Chair of Surgical Trials in Liverpool

Michael Jenkinson, Professor of Neurosurgery, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, has been appointed into the highly prestigious position of Sir John Fisher / Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) Chair of Surgical Trials in Liverpool.

The Chair will work closely with the North West Surgical Trials Centre (NWSTC) and also investigators in other areas in the country to lead and promote surgical trials across all surgical specialities.

Role

As part of the role Professor Jenkinson will also help in: enhancing surgical outcomes for patients, by improving medical and surgical devices and techniques; evaluating cutting-edge technologies, from first-in-man studies to international implementation; the development of new innovative methodologies for complex surgical interventions.

Reporting to the Executive Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University, the Chair will also participate in the strategic development of Surgical Trials within the University.

The role is funded by a collaboration between the RCS, through the Sir John Fisher Foundation, and the University of Liverpool.

Background

Michael Jenkinson qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1998. He undertook neurosurgical training at The Walton Centre, Liverpool between 2001 and 2010, which included three years as a clinical research fellow culminating in a PhD in Neuroscience. He learnt awake craniotomy and brain mapping techniques in Liverpool, San Francisco and Montpellier. He was appointed as a Consultant Neurosurgeon and at The Walton Centre in March 2010. He was appointed Professor of Neurosurgery at The University of Liverpool in 2019.

He sub-specialises in neurosurgical oncology for intrinsic brain tumours including awake craniotomy and intra-operative brain mapping for low grade glioma, midline and endoscopic approaches to intraventricular and deep intrinsic tumours and stereotactic radiosurgery.

‘a great opportunity’

Professor Jenkinson, who is also Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at The Walton Centre NHS Trust, said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as the Sir John Fisher / RCS Chair of Surgical Trials in Liverpool and I bring to the role over 10 years’ experience of developing, leading and delivering national and international multi-centre clinical trials in neurosurgery. Liverpool already has great strengths in surgical trials research in areas such as pancreas, head and neck, paediatric orthopaedics and colorectal, and I will be working closely with the current academic surgeons to expand the surgical trials portfolio and to develop new chief investigators.

“This is a great opportunity to work with the Liverpool Clinical Trials Research Centre and NHS Trusts across the Liverpool City Region to develop a new cohort of chief investigators and embed a culture of trials research across all surgical specialities."

Professor Louise Kenny, Executive Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, said: “The University of Liverpool would like to acknowledge the Sir John Fisher Foundation and the Royal College of Surgeons for their generosity and assistance in establishing the Chair of Surgical Trials.

“Professor Michael Jenkinson is a very worthy inaugural Chair. He is an outstanding clinical academic in his own discipline of neurosurgery but more importantly he will be an excellent role model and champion for academic surgery in the widest sense and will ensure that Liverpool is at the forefront of the conduct of high-quality surgical trials with clinical impact.”

Professor Neil Mortensen, President at the RCS, said: “We are pleased to be working with our new research partners, Sir John Fisher Foundation and the University of Liverpool. Together, we look forward to collaborating with Professor Michael Jenkinson whose experience and accomplishments in advancing neurosurgical research will be beneficial to patients and the surgical community.”