Concordia

Concordia Winter 2023

18

Above: A picture of the Da Vinci Robot that I use during an operation

What is your current role? I have two main roles, both of which are great fun. I spend half of my time doing clinical work, in which I use a robot to perform surgery on patients, removing organs such as the prostate when cancer has been found. It’s like advanced computer gaming but with high-pressure stakes! I also perform focal therapy, which is a novel type of cancer treatment using minimally invasive heat or cold energy, ultrasound or electricity to destroy prostate cancer cells in a precise way with fewer side effects. Being able to see the difference that treatments can have on peoples’ lives is an extremely rewarding experience, though of course, in Medicine, due to the disease process, there are times when things aren’t always plain sailing. In my research time, I lead a research group designing and running clinical trials focussing on using novel imaging tests to improve the way that we diagnose cancers and deliver precision treatment. Being able to combine cutting-edge research with clinical practice is a fantastic combination and I learn something new every day.

You have been recognised widely for your achievements in Medicine – can you tell us a little bit about this? My research has led to the first major breakthrough in the way that we diagnose prostate cancer for 30 years, introducing MRI scans as a standard of care around the world. A key clinical trial that I led was published in the New England Journal of Medicine , the world’s leading medical journal. It has led to benefit for millions of men worldwide. In 2015 I founded and currently direct a national urological research collaborative called BURST. We have a team of 30 committee members and more than 3000 collaborators around the world. Our studies have recruited more than 30,000 patients in the past seven years, leading to significant patient benefit. Being able to build an organisation from scratch which operates on a global scale and help to develop our next generation of future research leaders has been extremely rewarding. For these achievements, I was given the John Anderson Award for Outstanding Contribution