Professor of Gastrointestinal Surgery
FRCS, PhD, MRCS, MBBS, BSc
Overview
Areas of expertise
Medico-Legal experience
Professor Underwood is happy to receive instructions from both Claimant and Defendant law firms.
Clinical Practice & Experience
Professor Underwood is an internationally recognised expert Upper GI surgeon with over 10 years’ experience as a consultant in the NHS. He works at one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK with a national & regional referral practice including cancer, benign and bariatrics in addition to general and trauma surgery. Professor Underwood is the Royal College of Surgeons of England lead for oesophageal cancer with extensive experience of report writing, guideline creation and external review of Upper GI surgical services.
Clinical Interests
Oesophageal and gastric cancer. Other benign and malignant tumours of the upper GI tract including GIST. Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and Barrett’s oesophagus. Laparoscopic and robotic surgery for upper GI disease.
Research Interests
Professor Underwood co-leads the Innovation for Translation Research Group, University of Southampton, studying the role of the tumour microenvironment in cancer development and progression with a particular interest in oesophageal cancer and tumour ecology. His team focus on understanding the clinical and molecular determinants of response to therapy and the development of new treatments that target the tumour microenvironment, including immunotherapy. His team are developing a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to streamline decision-making for the oesophageal cancer multi-disciplinary team and he was recently awarded the title of AI Champion by Responsible AI UK.
Management Experience
Extensive experience at regional, national and international level. Prof Underwood was Head of School of Cancer Sciences, University of Southampton (2018-2021) and Director of Transformation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton (2021-2022). He is a member of Council of the Association of Upper GI Surgery GB&I and the Royal College of Surgeons of England Clinical Research Initiative.
Summary of Publications
Professor Underwood has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Nature, Annals of Surgery, British Journal of Surgery and Diseases of the Esophagus.
Teaching & Training
Professor Underwood has been an invited speaker/lecturer at multiple events, including:
• Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Scientific Meeting
• Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery (GB&I) Scientific Meeting
• BASO – Association of Cancer Surgery
• Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland
• Surgical Research Society.
Professor Underwood also featured in the BBC Series “Surgeons: At the Edge of Life”, Series 6, episode 4 “Hope”, 2024.
Prizes and Awards
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Conference International Upper GI Section Visitor 2024
Moynihan Lectureship and Medal, ASGBI 2021
Stanford-Cade Lectureship and Medal, BASO-ASC 2019
Best Poster Prize, CRUK International Symposium on Oesophageal Cancer 2017
Cancer Research UK Flame of Hope Award – Research Engagement 2014
Best Poster Prize, 8th National Barrett’s Symposium, UCL 2014
Research Individual of the Year, UHS, Hospital Heroes Awards 2014
ASGBI Prize and Medal for outstanding performance in the Intercollegiate Specialty Examinations (Gen.Surg) 2011
British Journal of Surgery Prize for excellence in the oral presentations at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association of Upper GI Surgeons of GB&I, Oxford 2010
Memberships of Professional Bodies & Learned Societies
Honorary Secretary of the Surgical Research Society.
Steering Committee of the Oesophageal Cancer Clinical and Molecular Stratification (OCCAMS) consortium.
Past Chairman of the Oesophageal Cancer Westminster Campaign.
Trustee & Director, Heartburn Cancer UK, the UK’s leading oesophageal cancer charity.
Invited expert NHS England working group on Upper GI surgical services.
Contact Tim
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