Council
Council advises the Board of Trustees and plays a pivotal role in determining the strategic and professional direction of the Society, ensuring it remains responsive to the needs and views of its membership.
Council comprises:
Officers of the Association
Elected Council Members (by the Full members of the Soceity)
Ex-Officio Members
Invited guests - such as Sub-specialty Leads
Council meets 4 times a year and is chaired by the President
Council and AGM dates
20 November 2026 - RCS
29 January 2027 - RCS
6 November 2026 - RCS
15 January 2027 - RCS
- If you wish to apply for membership, you should submit your application at least 3 weeks before a Council Meeting for approval. Once approved by Council it will then go forward to the next AGM for ratification by the membership. If you have any queries relating to membership please contact Kelly Caley [email protected]
- Agenda items and reports for Council/SBNS Executive Committee Meetings should be submitted to
Kelly Caley [email protected] at least 2 weeks before the meeting. - Agenda items and reports for the AGM should also be submitted to Suzanne Murray at least 4 weeks before the meeting.
Elected Members of Council
Jake Timothy
Hospital and region: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Subspecialty: Spine
Role in SBNS council: Elected Council member
Other roles: EANS Global and Humanitarian Committee. WFNS Chair of Material Devices and Drugs Committee
Demographic information: Born in the UK, Indian heritage, trained Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School.
What was your journey that led you to the SBNS council? I was first on Council meetings as the British Neurosurgical Trainee Association when Prof Sir Graham Teasdale was President over 20 years ago. This gave me valuable insight into the workings of the Council and how vital the meetings were to the essential issues facing neurosurgeons across the country. I was heavily involved in the EANS as a Training Committee representative and, more recently, as the SBNS representative for the EANS/WFNS activities. Again, as an ex-officio member, I was able to attend and contribute to the Council over the last four years. As my position expired, I still felt I could contribute to the Council and, in turn, advise and discuss the critical issues neurosurgeons face in the UK. Thus, I decided to run for election to be on the Council, which I am honoured to be part of.
What are your aims/contributions to the SBNS council?
Firstly, listen to and digest the various reports from colleagues representing their activities. To both critique and contribute if necessary. I am privileged to have many friends and colleagues in the neurosurgical community in the UK and internationally. I hope I am approachable enough for them to contact me directly should there be any issues I could bring to the Council on their behalf.
Secondly, I bring over twenty years of experience as a Consultant, facing a range of issues such as a GMC complaint, Trust investigations, and litigation, which may help other Neurosurgeons in a similar position.
Professor Mark Wilson
Hospital and region: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (St Mary’s and Charing Cross)
Subspecialty/ies: Pre-Hospital Care, Neurotrauma, Cranial Reconstruction, CSF disorders, General Cranial and Degen Spine.
Role in SBNS Council: Entertainment
Term: 5 years
Other roles: Coordination of the 2026 SBNS Centenary conference
Demographic information: Caucasian, middleclass male
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
At a time of so many pressures, it is important neurosurgery has a coordinated voice and the SBNS is at the heart of that. I have been fortunate to previously be the meetings co-secretary and the neurotrauma lead and have seen the benefits the society bring our neurosurgical community.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I will continue to coordinate the neurotrauma elements, but specifically within this term will be the 2026 Centenary anniversary of the SBNS. This is a great opportunity to join with colleagues from all “neuro” disciplines and celebrate the last 100 years as we look forward to the future.
Professor Keyoumars Ashkan
Hospital and region: King’s College Hospital, London
Subspecialty/ies: Functional, Neuro-Oncology and Academic Neurosurgery
Role in SBNS council: Elected Member
Other roles: Immediate Past President British Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Sub-committee member British Neuro-Oncology Society.
Demographic information: Male, Persian origin
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council
I have been a consultant neurosurgeon for nearly 20 years but my involvement with the SBNS started in 1997 when I presented my first paper as a trainee in Cambridge SBNS. Throughout my carrier, the importance of the SBNS, and the Council at its core, to represent, structure, protect and progress our speciality has been distinctly evident to me. I had firsthand experience of this when I represented the British Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at the Council or served on the Academic Committee. The former role also enabled me to better understand the challenges my sub-speciality faced and how best to address these. I hope to bring the experience I gained from a small sub-speciality to the greater neurosurgery and the SBNS by serving on the Council.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
Future of our speciality depends on scientific advancement, yet in the UK, research is often what we do in our “spare time” rather than formalised or job planned. Despite this, in neurosurgery, we are ranked second, only to the US, for scientific output whilst ranked 17th for percentage of GDP spent on research (Knight, Parikh, Ashkan: Neurosurgical Academic Impact Rankings by h5-Index. World Neurosurgery 2023;173: 55-61). One of my priorities, therefore, is to work towards promotion, formal recognition and support of academic neurosurgery at the local and national levels. Needless to say, in addition to my academic priorities, I will work hard to represent the interests of my two clinical sub-specialities of Neuro-oncology and Functional Neurosurgery.
Pragnesh Bhatt
Hospital and region: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Grampian, Scotland
Subspecialty/ies: General Neurosurgery
Role in SBNS council: Representing Scotland, Senior Members
Other roles: GMC Associate, Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman - External Advisor, Faculty of Surgical Trainers (RCSEd) - Deputy Director
Demographic information: Worked in all the four nations of the UK and in Aberdeen since 2008
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council – I am passionate about training, education and the direction British & Irish neurosurgery takes and therefore engaged in JCIE & JSCFE examinations since 2012 (Part I) and 2015 (Part II) respectively and SAC (2013-2016). I have also participated in National Selection (2021, 2022).
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? – Having had the unique opportunity of training in India as well as the UK, and more importantly having practised as an independent consultant in India, the UK, and New Zealand, I have added advantage of fostering International Liaison. I would also like to offer my availability for voluntary work overseas.
Charlotte Hammerbeck-Ward
Hospital and region: Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton
Subspecialty/ies: Skull base including facial pain
Other roles: British Skull Base Society elected council member, Secretary British Vestibular Schwannoma Research Committee
Demographic information:
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
My journey to council is one that has seen me move from The South to The North and back again. I had a fantastic 9 and a bit year as a Consultant in Manchester. While there, I was appointed through escalating governance and leadership roles within the department, upto Clinical Director of Surgical Neurosciences. In tandem I was building my specialty practice in Skull Base Surgery with increasing interactions with NHS England for national service development and governance. I was elected to the British Skull Base Society council in 2020 and Secretary of the British Vestibular Schwannoma Research Committee in 2021, so had started my journey into having a more national voice.
With that under my belt, I took the opportunity to move back to my training roots, to live and work at the beach in Brighton. I have come in as Lead of the skull base service. I have seen the significant impact Trust management strategies can have on delivery of services across different units. The inequity of health economics to provide the same services is stark and yet we are all held to the same performance metrics. I am now Clinical Lead for the cranial service. Again, working with NHSE as we navigate our way through devolution of specialised services and Neurosurgical networks for the Neurosurgery transformation project and delivery of Low Volume High Complexity care across regions.
What are your aims / contributions to SBNS council?
I hope to provide a sound voice of opinion from my experiences. My drive is for units to be able to provide patients equitable access to the same quality care wherever they live.
Simon Cudlip
Hospital and region: Oxford University Hospitals NHSFT, Oxford, England
Subspecialty/ies: Endoscopic Skullbase / Pituitary surgery
Role in SBNS Council: Elected Member
Other roles: Social Media
Demographic information: White, Male, born into working class family
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS Council?
Getting into a neurosurgical training program, training as a neurosurgeon, and then working as a neurosurgical consultant is tough. It's tough on the individuals but also tough on their families. It's too easy to become focused on your own practice and neglect the wider picture of British neurosurgery, I'm guilty as charged. I feel it's time for me to redress that balance and perhaps share some of the experiences I've had, good and bad, so that others can benefit.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I've been asked specifically to try and raise the profile of British neurosurgery via social media, and hopefully improve engagement with the wider public, anyone interested in neurosurgery and neuroscience, those training in neurosurgery or hoping to enter training, and consultants and their societies both in the UK and abroad.
Rikin Trivedi
Full Name: Rikin Trivedi
Hospital and region: Cambridge, East of England
Subspecialty/ies: Neurovascular, MIS Spine, Peripheral Nerve
Role in SBNS Council: Elected Member; Constitution Lead; Website lead.
Term: 5yrs
Other roles: President, Joint Neurosciences Council (UK); Chair, British & Irish Brain AVM Registry, Director, Cambridge Lectures in Neurosurgical Anatomy
Demographic information: Indian heritage, state school educated, council estate origins
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council: Having had a number of loco-regional roles in post-graduate education and training, and gained a national profile in my subspecialty areas, I wanted to put some of that experience in shaping the future of the SBNS, particularly in light of the direction of travel nationally to rationalise highly complex services in to fewer centres.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? As above.
Chris Barrett
Hospital and region: Institute of Neurological Sciences, Glasgow, Scotland
Subspecialty/ies: Complex spine, Spinal Injuries, General Neurosurgery
Role in SBNS council: Elected Member
Other roles: Elected Member BMA Scottish Council (2017-); Founder member of SBNS Global Neurosurgery subcommittee (2023-); Member Global Health Group, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2023-); Lead Clinician, Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Glasgow (2021-).
Demographic information: Scottish, descended from the Irish diaspora
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
Originally from Scotland, I trained mostly in England and spent 3 years as a consultant at the Walton Centre, before moving back to Glasgow at the beginning of 2014. I felt that my consultant experience of both systems (each with its particular idiosyncrasies) put me in a good position to contribute to SBNS Council, hopefully with some useful perspectives. Over time, and partly through involvement with the BMA Scottish Council, it also became increasingly clear to me that participation in professional and specialty organisations was absolutely vital. I was therefore honoured to become an elected member of SBNS Council in 2021. Attending the council meetings has revealed the constant (sometimes surprising!) challenges which face us. We are a small but talented specialty, and there is a need for everyone to contribute. I would strongly encourage anyone interested to get involved and stand for Council when the opportunity arises.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? I believe we need a strong voice as a small but key specialty. Other groups often have greater numbers and more influence as a result, and it appears not uncommon that such voices hold sway, yet we are the specialty left to deliver the service. Therefore, there is a constant need to represent our viewpoint across multiple domains, and I hope to contribute in this regard.
I also have an increasing interest in Global Health and Surgery, and I am a member of both the SBNS Council and Glasgow College subcommittees. There are great opportunities on both sides, and collaboration with the developing world is very much a two-way process, with huge potential benefits for everyone. There's a lot to learn, but it's an exciting project to be involved in.
Lewis Thorne
Hospital and region: National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London
Subspecialty/ies: Neuro-oncology, Hydrocephalus and Facial Pain
Role in SBNS council: Job Approvals / Exam Board Rep
Other roles: Examiner FRCS
Demographic information: Born and educated in Scotland. Completed surgical training in London.
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council? Depending on what age I retire I am either half way through my consultant career or starting to wind down. Increasingly I have been considering what it is that keeps people in service and have concluded that it is in simple terms how much we enjoy our work. This in turn depends on headspace, bandwidth, and work life balance. I joined the council to explore this in greater detail and across the country.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? I would like to try and restore a sense of joy to the neurosurgical community that seems to me to have rather diminished from when I set out on my journey: to put the fun back in to neurosurgery
Kat Whitehouse
Hospital and region: University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, Wales
Subspecialty/ies: Neuro-oncology surgery
Role in SBNS council: Elected member, Consultant in First Five Years
Other roles: Chair of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Neurosurgery Group; Ex FRCS rep for BNTA; SAC Neurosurgery member (workforce planning); Neurosurgery Training Programme Director, Health Education and Improvement Wales; Course organiser for National Neurosurgery Finishing School
Demographic information: Female, Welsh, Working class origins.
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council? I was never really interested in politics or management, but after passing FRCS(neurosurgery) I applied for, and was voted into, the FRCS representative role in the BNTA. As part of the BNTA committee, and in response to concerns about the lack of consultant jobs at the end of training, I investigated the number of trainees, consultants, and new posts over the preceding five years. The information from this translated into the annual neurosurgery census and informing ongoing workforce planning. Due to additional interests in education, and seeing the gap between training and consultant practice, I was also part of the team that developed the National Neurosurgery Finishing School. These national advisory roles meant I was well-placed to apply for the novel "Consultant in the First Five Years" council role, and I was lucky enough to be successful
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I have an ongoing workforce planning work and educational role, which forms a good bridge with the SAC role. Apart from these, I see my role as reminding the more "established" neurourgeons of the issues that face their younger colleagues in modern times including changes in finances, societal expectations, family roles and demands compared to previous generations. I have a passion for equity of access to opportunities, and therefore work with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Group to help us all better understand who we are as a community, and to help people feel welcome within neurosurgery. Sustainability is another area of interest that I aim to support and encourage within the SBNS council.
Donald Macarthur
Full Name: Mr Donald Macarthur
Hospital and region: Queen’s Medical Centre / Nottingham University Hospital , East Midlands
Subspecialty/ies: Neuro-oncology surgery, hydrocephalus and paediatric neurosurgery
Role in SBNS council: Elected member of council
Term: 2026- 2031
Other roles: Formerly TPD East Midlands, Formerly Chairman of British Paediatric Neurosurgery Group, Formerly Secretary to Neurosurgery National Selection Board, Formerly SAC Chair 2023-2026
Demographic information: Scottish , brought up around Edinburgh
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council I trained in Edinburgh , Nottingham and Paris and became a Consultant in 2003. I was concerned about a potential over-centralisation of services during the proposed “ Safe and Sustainable Review” of paediatric neurosurgery in 2009 and spoke up and subsequently became BPNG Chair, and as such was an ex officio member of Council in 2014-2016. From 2016 -2026 I was a member of the SAC (Specialty Advisory Committee) in Neurosurgery , the group which is responsible for training including recruitment , assessment of trainees and quality assurance of training schemes , curriculum development and certification. I was SAC Chair from 2023 – 2026 and having completed that term find myself with some time again!
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? I remain committed to training and strongly support the continuation of formal training schemes in surgery (via JCST) , whilst recognising that a growing number of individuals develop their experience and skills through alternative pathways now. Getting the right balance of numbers of neurosurgeons in training and then working at consultant level, at different stages of a consultant career and in different specialties is far from straightforward but I hope I can help the SBNS look into this and address this over the next few years.
Helen Maye
Full Name: Helen Maye
Hospital and region: Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Subspecialty/ies: Neuro-oncology
Role in SBNS council: First 5 years consultant
Term: 2026-2031
Other roles: Clinical Lead for Neuro-oncology GM cancer, TSTL neurosurgery
Demographic information: female, working class background
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council
Having completed medical school in London I returned to the North West for foundation and later neurosurgical training. I completed a fellowship in Neuro-oncology and was appointed as a consultant in 2022. I have a strong passion for teaching, education and mentorship and carried out a PGCert in Medical Education during my training and have subsequently been involved in both undergraduate and post graduate education and training both within neurosurgery and wider specialities. As a consultant I became involved in FRCS question writing and national selection. I subsequently took on the role of clinical lead for GM Cancer for neuro-oncology which has given me experience of working across organisations and considering the wider challenges facing our specialty.
Having relatively recently made the transition from trainee to consultant, I have become particularly interested in the issues affecting early-career consultants, including consultant development, workforce planning, education and job planning. I would like to contribute at a national level, bringing the perspective of an early-career consultant and working collaboratively with colleagues to help shape the future of neurosurgery.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I would like to bring the perspective of the early years consultant and the current issues facing trainees and those transitioning to consultant jobs to help to shape the future of the SBNSEx- Officio Members of Council
Nitin Mukerji
Sanjeeva Jeyarenta
Professor Andrew King
Ravi Nannapaneni
Raghu Vindlacheruvu
Kevin Tsang
Name: Kevin Tsang
Hospital and region: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
Subspecialty/ies: Craniofacial and Spinal Trauma; CSF Disorders; Neuroendoscopy
Role in SBNS council: SAC Chair
Term: 3 years
Other roles: Major Trauma Centre Director for St Mary’s Hospital
Demographic information:
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council? My interest in teaching and training lead me to join the SAC as a liaison member whilst being the unit training lead for Imperial. I then took on the role of the QA lead for the SAC and became the Chair in March 2026.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council? My interest and expertise are related to training and teaching and I intend to make an impact in this domain, ensuring the high standards of training is maintained despite new challenges facing our NHS and to ensure our trainees feel they are heard and their opinions do matter.
Paul Brennan
Full Name: Paul M Brennan
Hospital and region: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland
Subspecialty/ies: clinician scientist, neuro-oncology, trauma
Role in SBNS council: Chair of academic committee
Term: 3 years
Other roles: Council Member, Royal College surgeons of Edinburgh
Demographic information:
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
My first involvement with SBNS council was as BNTA chair more than 10 years ago. This is my first time back on the SBNS council since then. I have been a member of the SBNS Academic committee for several years and was appointed to replace Professor Jenkinson, as Chair.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
The academic committee is a forum to support surgeons to develop their research ideas. I also aim to represent the views of the academic committee and the wider research community within neurosurgery, to the SBNS Council. There is a great strength in neurosurgery research now, but we need the support of the SBNS, Royal Colleges and government to be clear on the added value of academic clinicians in the UK, and how their roles are supported.
Neurosurgery aspires to be more representative of the diversity in the medical workforce, but the academic community lags in this endeavour. I want the senior UK academic community to be more representative of the trainees doing research, and of the UK population more generally. This is critical to ensure that we bring on the best researchers, and the research which will be most impactful for patients. We also need to be more global in our research, not only in what we share, but in our willingness to learn and collaborate with our international colleagues. The academic committee can contribute to this.
Adel Helmy
Hospital and region: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Subspecialties: Skull Base, Neurovascular, Trauma
Role in SBNS council: Chair National Neurosurgical Audit Programme
Term: 2022-2026
Other roles: Training Programme Director (East of England), Associate Professor Neurosurgery (Univesrity of Cambridge), Racial Equality Lead (Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge), PPIE Lead (Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Research Campus)
I have a long standing interest in clinical data from a research perspective, in particular how it can be used to change practice. We are lucky in neurosurgery to have a small cohesive specialty with a number of high profile audits and registries. NNAP has great potential to contribute to excellent care in the UK.
Surajit Basu
Hospital and region: Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust
Subspecialty/ies: Functional Neurosurgery, Neuro-oncology
Role in SBNS council: Honorary Treasurer and Director of the SBNS Charity
Other roles: Chair of The Neurosurgical Foundation (TNF) BJNS, Chair of Joint Committee of Intercollegiate Examination (JCIE) Neurosurgery.
Member of the advisory Board CORESS, Head of Service: Department of Neurosurgery Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust
Demographic information: I graduated from the University of Calcutta and completed specialist neurosurgical training at the Walton Centre, Liverpool. Consultant since 2005,
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
I was first elected to the SBNS council in 2017-2021. Currently elected as the Honorary Treasurer
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
SBNS provides a platform for the professional voice of our specialty. Getting involved with SBNS is a way to bring our everyday issues into the national consciousness, both professional and well-being. I became a council member from 2017 to 2021, when I worked on the problem of variations in applying the statutory duty of candor in clinical practice. I have been the infection lead when I developed the SBNS Infection Guidance. I represent SBNS on the RCS Charity - CORESS board where we collect learnings from unreported near misses. I am enjoying the responsibilities of the treasurer.
Professor Nihal Gurusinghe MBE
Hospital and region: Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust (Northwest Region)
Subspecialty/ies: Neurovascular and Skull Base
Role in SBNS council: Ex-Officio as NICE Coordinator. My role is to coordinate the development of NICE guidelines relevant to Neurosurgery working with Council sub-specialty Leads and other colleagues.
Term: 2011-current
Other roles: Currently JCIE Examiner for UK and International FRCS in Neurosurgery. Member of Specialty Surgical Board RCS Edinburgh (2008-2022), Joint Royal College representative on SAC (2004-2012). ACCIA Regional Committee (2022-current). TPD (Northwest region) from 1998-2007. Member of Council, Clinical Neuroscience section of the Royal Society of Medicine (2001-2006) and Honorary Treasurer (2001-2004). I am hugely involved in 2 major Charitable activities for which I was awarded the MBE by King Charles in the 2023 New Year’s Honours list.
Demographic information: Born in Sri Lanka. British Asian. Play cricket for a local club in the summer.
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council? – I have a huge interest in education and standards of neurosurgical practice and served as Chairman and Programme Director (now called TPD), Specialist Training Subcommittee (Neurosurgery), North West Deanery (1998 - 2007). My journey within Council began when I was elected as Honorary Secretary in 2000 along with Sir Graham Teasdale becoming President. I served in this capacity until 2005 and was then elected to Council in 2006 and subsequently became ex-officio as NICE Coordinator in 2011. One of the most significant achievements in my time as Honorary Secretary was to select Suzanne Murray as the SBNS Administrator!
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
It has been a huge privilege to serve the SBNS. My aim is to serve on Council for the remainder of my working career and hopefully to be present at the 100th celebration while still on Council!
Rosa Sun
Hospital and region: Birmingham, West Midlands.
Subspecialty/ies: None
Role in SBNS council: BNTA chair
Other roles: Previous SAC representative (BNTA), ISCP neurosurgery trainee representative
Demographic information: Female, British Chinese
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
As the previous SAC and ISCP representative for BNTA, I saw myself as an advocate for trainees across the country in all matters relating to training, curriculum, exams and beyond. As a trainee body, we have faced turbulence within a short period of time, including COVID, the new curriculum, and junior doctor’s strikes. There are ongoing concerns regarding the post-CCT workforce crisis, access to funding, equality in training, loss of trainees from the NHS and the role of extended health care practitioners. Our BNTA survey captured the opinions and concerns from neurosurgical juniors training under this current climate. I applied for the role of BNTA chair with the intention of continuing my previous work, to bring an honest representation of these concerns to the SBNS, to raise awareness and to facilitate open dialogue.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
To act as liaison in bringing trainee opinions to SBNS council, particularly in relation to current issues faced by the trainee body. To identify discrepancies in equality, funding, training opportunities and to promote awareness and targeted response, through our group networks for academic, OOP and LTFT trainees. To facilitate emerging opportunities in global neurosurgery, SBNS bursaries, mentoring and training. I advocate for transparency and improved communication - progress has been made and exciting work is carried out nationally, often unbeknown to the trainees. I strongly believe in the importance of information exchange to improve national morale and full utilisation of available resources.
Pragnesh Bhatt
Full Name: Pragnesh Bhatt
Hospital and Region: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Grampian, Scotland
Subspecialty/ies: General Neurosurgery
Role in SBNS council: EANS/WFNS Representative
Term: Dec 2025 - 2029
Other roles: SBNS Council (elected), GMC Associate, Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman - External Advisor, Faculty of Surgical Trainers (RCSEd) - Deputy Director
Demographic information: Worked in all four nations of the UK and in Aberdeen since 2008
What are your aims for this role? – I am passionate about education and training. I have been a member of the EBNS Examination Committee since 2014. I am also an examiner for the FRCS Neurosurgery Part I (2012 onwards) and Part II (2015 onwards). I have attended eight WFNS meetings since 2001. As I had the unique opportunity of practising as an independent consultant in India, the UK, and New Zealand, I have the advantage of fostering International Liaison. I would like to act as a British Ambassador to EANS as well as WFNS.
- Email:
- [email protected]
James Piercy
Full Name:James Piercy
Role in SBNS council: Lay council member
Term: 2 years
Other roles: Patient Public Involvement and Engagement lead Healthtech Research Centre Brain and Spinal Injury, Science communication and public Engagement trainer and consultant, United Kingdom Acquired Brain Injury Forum trustee
Demographic information: Male, English, Working class origins
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in 2011 and as part of my recovery developed a talk about my injury and its impact. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w3xpk
This in turn led to becoming involved in research projects as a lay member- using my lived experience to inform research questions and methodology. I now facilitate Patient Involvement, encouraging others to share their stories. I was interested to learn about SBNS and the fascinating history of neurosurgery so applied for the lay position.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I would like to explore ways of raising public awareness of the society and neurosurgery. The upcoming centenary is a good opportunity to engage with audiences and talk about the past, present and future treatment of brain injuries. I think that my experience of making complex topics accessible to wide audiences will be a useful addition to the council.
Alistair Jenkins
Full Name: Alistair Jenkins
Hospital and region: Royal Victoria Infirmary Newcastle
Subspecialty/ies: Vascular, skull base, paediatric, functional, pain
Role in SBNS council: Medicolegal representative
Term: 2023 - 2025
Other roles: Global Neurosurgery committee
Demographic information:
What was your journey that led you to SBNS council?
Elected Council member 2003, Treasurer 2017, President 2020-22
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
To expand the Global Neurosurgery Foundation’s work in training in low- and middle-income countries.
Professor Ian Kamaly Asl
Hospital and region: Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital/Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences
Subspecialty/ies: Paediatric Neurosurgery (Neurooncology and Neurovascular)
Role in SBNS council: Elected member in 2018; appointed lead for tackling bullying, undermining and harassment in 2018, member of the equity, diversity and inclusivity committee, elected
SBNS representative on RCS England Council in 2023.
Other roles: SBNS rep on RCS Eng Council 2023-2027.
Current: SBNS Bully and Mentoring Rep
Clinical lead for paediatric neurosurgery at RMCH.
Member of the Paediatric Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group, since 2013.
Previous:Member of the Joint Committee on Surgical Training SAC in Neurosurgery, 2009-2019.
Secretary of the Neurosurgical National Selection Board, 2011-2014.
National lead for neurosurgical simulation; introduced ST1 boot camp and ran from 2014-2019.
British Paediatric Neurosurgical Group Chairman, 2016-2018.
Member of The NCRI Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Clinical Studies Group, 2015-2022
Appointed as a Manchester Academic Health Sciences Honorary Chair in 2018
Demographic information: Male, Iranian/British heritage. Married to an academic dermatologist, three children including twins.
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
Throughout my career I have had interests in a variety of areas covering education, research and leadership. After being training programme director for the North Western Deanery I was appointed to the SAC in neurosurgery and undertook work developing the national selection and simulation programmes. From 2013 I was involved in NHS national commissioning through membership of the paediatric neurosciences CRG. I was elected as the BPNG chair in 2016. As part of this role I attended the SBNS council meetings to present paediatric neurosurgery reports and had an opportunity to see how the council works and what an important role the SBNS has in co-ordinating and driving developments within our specialty. I therefore applied to be of the elected council members and was appointed in 2018.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
My main appointed role in the council is the lead for tackling bullying, undermining and harassment in neurosurgery. Having worked in this role for some years now it is clear how significant a problem this is within neurosurgery and how difficult a problem it is to address. One main initiative to help this issue is the introduction of the SBNS National Mentoring Programme. I’m really pleased that this has been able to be launched and am determined to build this programme to give support to our specialty with the aim of improving the wellbeing for us all.
Professor Ciaran Bolger
Full Name: Ciaran Bolger
Hospital and region: Beaumont Hospital Dublin, Ireland
Subspecialty/ies: Skull base and complex spine
Role in SBNS council: RCSI representative
Term: 2023-2028
Other roles: Head Department Clinical Neuroscience RCSI, Past President Eurospine, Chair Eurospine foundation, Editorial Board European Spine Journal, Member board and past Chair Ethicolegal committee EANS, Visiting Professor Neurosurgery Washington University St Louis USA, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia, Arrhus University Hospital,Denmark. Educational lead, Arab Spine Diploma. International faculty, BISS, NASS, N Spine, Global Spine and Eurospine.
Demographic information: Male Irish European
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
I first attened and presented to the SBNS meeting in Salford in 1989 as an SHO! I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m a regular attendee a the bi-annual SBNS meetings and have hosted or co-hosted 3 of them. I have previously served on the council for two terms as EANS/WFNS rep.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I want to see the SBNS continue to be a continuing support, reference and advocate society for all surgeons, trainee and consultants working in neurosurgery. I am passionate about training, especially training standards to ensure our trainees have the knowledge and especially experience, to make them fully competent surgeons from day one of their consultancy careers. I want to advocate for resources for our national (whichever nation) neurosurgical services, to ensure our patients have access world class surgeons, departments facilities and equipment. Equally, as a society we need to stive to maintain the highest standards of performance of our members and outcomes for our patients, through optimisation of subspecialty infrastructure, measurement of results and standardisation of access and outcome regardless of location within the British Isles.
Philip Weir
Full Name: Philip Weir
Hospital and region: Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Subspecialty/ies: Pituitary and Skull base surgery
Role in SBNS council: SBNS representative for Northern Ireland
Term: 5 years
Other roles:
Neurosurgery Training Programme Director for Northern Ireland 2020-2025.
Neurosurgery safety and governance lead for Royal Victoria Hospital 2021 – 2027.
Demographic information:
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
To continue to represent the interests of the Neurosurgical service in Northern Ireland within the SBNS.
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
To ensure our department maintains a strong link with the SBNS so that we can continue to engage local government to develop our service to deliver safe high quality care for our population. To maintain standards in line with UK neurosurgical outcomes and policy. To represent the interests and pressures that are specific to smaller Neurosurgical units.
Likhith Alakandy
Full Name: Likhith Alakandy
Hospital and region: Institute of Neurological Sciences, Glasgow
Subspecialty/ies: Complex Spine, Neuro-oncology
Role in SBNS council: RCSEd Representative
Term: Till May 2026
Other roles: JCIE Lead for Part 2
Demographic information:
What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council?
What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
Liaison between the Royal College of surgeons of Edinburgh and the SBNS