The 18th Annual Sheffield Gastroenterology Symposium

Dr Anupam Rej

Dr Anupam Rej is a consultant luminal gastroenterologist based at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield. His interests include coeliac disease, functional bowel disorders as well as other luminal GI disease. He has contributed to research in coeliac and gluten related disorders, including an MD focussed on dietary approaches in GI disease.

Dr Gail Masterton

Dr Gail Masterton is a Consultant Gastroenterologist working at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. She graduated from Glasgow University in 2003. She has undertaken research predominantly in liver disease but also has a clinical interest in Iron deficiency anaemia.

Dr John Hebden

Dr John Hebden is a Consultant Gastroenterologist based at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH). He undertook his MD in Nottingham with Professor Robin Spiller in Functional Gut. Since that time, he has clinical experience in all aspects of luminal gastroenterology but also has a specific interest in iron deficiency anaemia providing a dedicated service for these patients within STH.

Dr Sebastian Francis

“I am a Consultant haematologist based at Sheffield Teaching hospital NHS Trust. MD research in Liverpool University focused on mechanisms of resistance to imatinib. I am the Myeloproliferative and haematology laboratory lead for South Yorkshire.”

Dr Jacobo Ortiz Fernandez-Sordo

Dr Jacobo Ortizfernandez-Sordo is a Gastroenterology Consultant with an interest in Therapeutic Endoscopy working at National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Center in Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, Queens Medical Center Campus, Nottingham, UK Nottingham. His research interests include upper GI Endoscopy, Barrett’s and in particular endoscopic therapeutic interventions. His primary medical degree was from Navarra, Spain.

Dr Karishma Arora

Dr Karishma Arora trained at the Imperial College London and the undertook her IBD fellowship with Professor Jimmy Limdi in the Greater Manchester Area. Her research and clinical interests include IBD and endoscopy. She was appointed to her Consultant post in 2025 at the Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester.

Dr Adolfo Parra Blanco

Dr Adolfo Parra Blanco graduated from Madrid, Spain in 1989. He is an Endoscopic Internationalist working at Nottingham University Head of Service, Endoscopy Unit at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Dr Julia Gauci

Dr Julia Gauci is a Consultant Gastroenterologist in Edinburgh. She has subspecialist training in endoscopic resection and third space endoscopy, having completed a two-year endoscopy and research fellowship at Westmead Hospital, Sydney, under Professor Michael Bourke.

Dr Noor Bekkali

Noor was appointed Consultant Gastroenterologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford in 2018. She qualified from the University of Amsterdam (AMC) in 2014 after obtaining her Ph.D. She enjoyed two fellowships in the UK, in UCLH London and at the Freeman Hospital Newcastle focusing on pancreatobiliary endoscopy. Noor participates in national and international trials and is representative of several committees like the ESGE’s EDI and the BSG pancreas society. She continues to enjoy participating in EUS and ERCP  endoscopy courses nationally and internationally. She is well published on EUS, ERCP, Cholangioscopy and training in HPB endosocpy as well as general Gastroenterology diseases such as constipation and EoE.

Professor Kofi Oppong

Professor Kofi Oppong graduated from Southampton university medical school and trained in Gastroenterology in the Northeast of England. He has been a consultant at the Freeman Hospital Newcastle upon Tyne since 1998 and is Honorary Professor of Pancreaticobiliary medicine at Newcastle University. Kofi led the development of the tertiary PB endoscopy service in Newcastle into one of the busiest in the U.K. He co-authored current BSG EUS and ERCP service provision and training guidelines. ESGE performance measures for EUS & ERCP and national institute of clinical care excellence (NICE) Gallstone and Pancreatic Cancer guidelines.   Kofi was awarded the BSG Hopkins prize in 2016 and is a past president of the Pancreatic society of Great Britain and Ireland (2017). His research interests include optimising outcomes in PB endoscopy and the role of the microbiome in pancreatic cancer.

Dr Philip Smith

Dr Philip Smith is an Honorary Consultant Luminal Gastroenterologist at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and Honorary Senior LEcturer at the University of Liverpool. He is here in his role as the Editor in chief of Frontline Gastroenterology. He stepped back and retired from the frontline NHS recently due to severe complications of his own IBD, but remains active academically. He was the recent Chair of the Mersey Gut Club and was an Elected Councillor of the BSG. He has first authored and co-authored national guidelines in transition and IBD. Dr Smith is also Digital and Education Editor of Gut and Associate Editor of BMJ Open Gastroenterology and eGastroenterology. He is the past Chair of the BSG trainees’ section and a previous BSG President’s Medal Winner amongst a number of other awards. He has spoken many times nationally and internationally on GI related topics.

Dr Flora Kokwaro

Dr Flora Kokwaro is a Consultant Gastroenterologist practising at St Marks – The National Bowel Hospital – London, sub-specialising in Nutrition and Intestinal Rehabilitation. After graduating and completing a further Masters from University of Nairobi – Kenya , moved to the UK for  postgraduatemedical training. She  completed gastroenterology training in the Kent, Surrey, and Sussex deanery. During this time, she undertook  fellowships and further training  in Advanced Nutrition, Intestinal Rehabilitation, & Transplant at St Marks – The National Bowel Hospital – London , Cambridge University – Addenbrookes , with an additional IBD fellowship at Sheffield University Hospitals. She recently completed and was awarded a Clinical Nutrition Fellowship (Morpheus Consortium) at Duke University, North Carolina. Her Clinical practice focuses on complex nutrition, intestinal rehabilitation, and IBD, with a strong interest in leveraging digital health to enhance patient care and experience.

Dr Nicoletta Nandi

Dr Nicoletta Nandi trained in Milano, Italy and is now undertaking her clinical fellowship in Sheffield. Her PhD was in refractory coeliac disease and her areas of clinical interest are coeliac disease, IBD, enteroscopy and intestinal ultrasound.

Dr Mohammed Abdelrahim

Dr Mohammed Abdelrahim is a Consultant Gastroenterologist and Interventional Endoscopist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield. He sub-specialises in advanced endoscopic assessment and resection of early GI neoplasia and Third Space Endoscopy. He graduated from University of Khartoum (Sudan) and trained in gastroenterology in England’s Southwest Peninsula region with rotations in Cornwall and Exeter. He completed a clinical and research fellowship at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, where his PhD research was focused on novel applications of Artificial Intelligence in endoscopy, as well as outcomes of ESD. He sits on the ESGE’s research committee and contributes to various national and regional meetings. He is the recipient of multiple awards including the BSG’s UKBOR award (2023), ESGE’s Innovation of the Year Award (2022), BSG’s Sir Francis Avery Jones (Barbers’ Company) Award (2022), and the BSG’s Gut Award (2021). 

Dr Emma Saunsbury

Dr Emma Saunsbury is a consultant hepatologist at Royal Devon and Exeter hospital. Her specialist interests include medical education and palliative hepatology. She is a member of the British Society of Gastroenterology Palliative Hepatology Special Interest Group and co-led EVOLVE (End of life care in adVanced chrOnic LiVEr disease), the first UK-wide audit of end of life care provision in advanced chronic liver disease. 

Thomas Welbank

Thomas Welbank is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner who leads the Acute Enteral Nutrition Service at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in South Yorkshire. Over the last 10 years Thomas has developed a wrap-around service which operates through a single point of access, where Advanced Practitioners are required to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who present through elective and emergency pathways. During this period, Thomas has performed over 800 de novo percutaneous gastrostomy procedures within an Interventional Radiology setting. Thomas has presented at various national meetings including The British Society of Gastroenterology, The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) and the National Nurses Nutrition Group. Publications include the Mistakes in gastrostomy insertion and how to avoid them. UEG Education 2024; 24: 8-11. 2024. He is also Chair of the Advanced Practice Specialist Group, at the British Dietetic Association, where he contributes to the development of standards and the advancement of practice.

Dr Dina Mansour

Dr Dina Mansour is a consultant in gastroenterology and hepatology in the gastroenterology department at the QE Gateshead (2017). She qualified from Cambridge and University College London and completed core medical training in London and the South East, before returning to her native North East for speciality training. Her main interest is liver disease, particularly non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and clinical research. She is also the BSG Deputy VP for Hepatology.

Dr Christian Selinger

Dr Christian Selinger MD MSc FRCP Edin, is a Consultant Gastroenterologist, practising in Leeds. Following undergraduate training in Germany and New Zealand Christian Selinger commenced his basic physician training in England. He was appointed to the North Western specialty training program for Gastroenterology in Manchester in 2006, where he received training in all aspects of gastrointestinal medicine. Christian Selinger achieved advanced training in Inflammatory Bowel Disease during his fellowship in Sydney, Australia. In 2011 Christian was awarded an MSc with distinction in Gastroenterology from the University of Salford. His research into Inflammatory Bowel Disease led to the award of an MD from the University of Manchester in 2013. Dr Selinger provides the full breadth of gastrointestinal medicine with a special focus on inflammatory bowel disease. He has received a SAGE award for establishing the first joint IBD obstetric clinic. A further focus of his work lies in quality improvement in IBD and he has led a national initiative driving safety and quality through assessment of steroid use. Dr Selinger is widely published with over 180 peer-reviewed publications in international journals and over 100 conference presentations. His research expertise lies within inflammatory bowel disease with a focus on pregnancy, patient knowledge and views and medication adherence.

Professor Debbie Shawcross

Professor Debbie Shawcross is a Clinician Scientist and Professor of Hepatology and Chronic Liver Failure at the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College London. She works as a Consultant Hepatologist on the King’s College Hospital Liver Unit with a specialist interest in hepatic encephalopathy and the complications of cirrhosis.

Debbie Shawcross is an internationally recognised liver specialist and passionate advocate for tackling the growing burden of chronic liver disease. Frequently featured on TV, radio, and in print, she speaks out on the dangers of excessive alcohol use and the urgent need for prevention. She was elected to the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Scientific Committee and Governing Board in October 2022 and is currently serving as its first female Secretary General.

As an advocate for high quality education and training in gastroenterology and hepatology she served as a Health Education England London Gastroenterology Training Programme Director for 10 years serving on the British Society Gastroenterology (BSG) Specialist Advisory Committee and Training Committee, BSG Mentor and an active member of the BSG Supporting Women in Gastroenterology. She is Chair of the BSG Research Committee and sits on the BSG Executive Committee and Council, Clinical Advisor for the British Liver Trust and a Trustee for GUTS UK Charity.

Her research programme characterises the immunobiology of chronic liver failure focusing specifically on the gut-liver-brain axis in the context of the gut microbiome as a driver of immune dysfunction, inflammation and encephalopathy. She is leading the field in clinical trials of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in Europe and is Chief Investigator of the NIHR-funded EME UK multicentre randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial of FMT (capsules) [PROMISE Trial] in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated and alcohol-related cirrhosis.