Board of Trustees

Tim Lane is a Consultant Urologist and Robotic surgeon and has spent the last 20 years as a full-time NHS Consultant at the regional urological cancer centre in Hertfordshire. His clinical work centres predominantly in the field of pelvic oncology. He has been a former Chair of the Court of Examiners and Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of the RCS England and of Urology News. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Surgery International. His research interests focus on the role of chromosomal translocations and fusion genes in urological cancers for which he has been awarded the BARD Medal from the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) and the C.E Alken Prize. He has authored numerous book chapters and academic papers. He has taken a keen interest in surgical training and has held a wide range of educational roles including Clinical Tutor, Unit Training Director, Foundation Programme Director and Curriculum Lead for Urology Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC). Outside of work he is a keen ornithologist and naturalist and is a member of the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Professor Frank Smith is Emeritus Professor of Vascular Surgery and Surgical Education at the University of Bristol. He trained in vascular surgery in the West Midlands, Edinburgh and the South-West, undertaking travelling fellowships to Boston, Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle. He was elected to Council for a second term and to the role of Vice President and Trustee in 2024. Frank was recipient of an RCS England research pump-priming grant and College Tutor for Basic Surgical Skills before becoming South-West Regional Specialty Advisor for General and Vascular Surgery (2008–13). He has been a Council member of the Vascular Society, ASGBI, and Honorary Secretary and Scientific Programme Director for the SRS. He sat on both General and Vascular SACs (2010–18), where he was liaison member for Northern Ireland. He was Lead for National Vascular Trainee Selection (2015–18), and President of the Section of Surgery at the Royal Society of Medicine (2012–13). He chaired the South-West (Severn and Peninsular) Regional Surgical Training Committee (2014–18). From 2008–23, he was Programme Director for the Confidential Reporting System for Surgery (CORESS). Interests in surgical safety have since included roles with NCEPOD; NHS England Never Events Task Force; developing the National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs); as member of the NICE Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee, and as editorial advisor to RCS England Safety Bulletins. He was Chair of ICBSE (2017–20), is an Assessor for the Intercollegiate MRCS on behalf of the four royal colleges of surgeons, JCIE Examiner for the FRCS (Vasc), and Examiner/Assessor for the UEMS FEBVS examination. In 2025, he was appointed by the Minister of Health to the role of Non-Executive Director of the National Institute of Health & Care Excellence (NICE). Frank currently chairs the Learning & Assessment and the Workforce & Training Standing Committees of the College, the Regional Committee and the Invited Review Mechanism. He was previously Chair of the Dental & Surgical Examinations Committee. Interests away from surgery include his family and triathlon. He has over 1,200 hours as a fixed wing, seaplane and helicopter private pilot, and has represented GB in competitive skydiving in which he has around 1,800 freefall jumps.

Professor Pete Sagar qualified from Leeds Medical School with Honours, after initially gaining a First-Class Honours degree in Pathology. He trained in Leeds completing an MD in IBD surgery, for which he won the Patey Prize at the Surgical Research Society, Liverpool and the Mayo Clinic where he was Chief Resident before joining the staff at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds where he has enthusiastically developed laparoscopic surgery as well as a tertiary practice in advanced/recurrent colorectal cancer. He has previously been Hon. Secretary of ACPGBI, Director of Emergency Surgery ASGBI, Regional Director for The Royal College of Surgeons of England and on the specialist advisory committee for general surgery. He was President of the ACPGBI and the Specialist Society (ASGBI) council member at The Royal College of Surgeons. He is a consultant surgeon at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Professor of Colorectal Surgery at The University of Leeds and has published over 200 papers and 30 book chapters. He was elected to College Council in 2023.

Nuha is a consultant colorectal and general surgeon based in Birmingham, specialising in minimally invasive and robotic surgery. She has trained around the UK and completed three international fellowships. She is dedicated to advancing surgical education, trainer development, and innovation in colorectal cancer and IBD care, with a focus on leadership and excellence in patient outcomes. She believes in the power of representation and am committed to promoting inclusivity and professional standards, widening opportunities, and championing talent. Nuha wants to ensure the College remains relevant and responsive to its members. When not in theatre, you’ll find her exploring, hiking, getting lost in nature, mentoring future surgeons, or enjoying time with family and friends.

Martyn is Professor of Orthodontics at King’s College London and consultant orthodontist at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Trust. He leads one of Europe’s largest postgraduate orthodontic training programmes, and his research is focused on craniofacial biology and orthodontic clinical treatment outcomes. He has represented his specialty as an elected member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery for 8 years and as Dean of the Faculty, his work will focus on advancing clinical dentistry in the UK by promoting excellence in all aspects of clinical care. Outside of dentistry, he enjoys listening to music, watching cricket, pottering around in the garden, and walking the family Labrador.

Ginny Bowbrick FRCS

Ginny Bowbrick is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon at the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust. She undertook her undergraduate training at Bart's, qualifying in 1989, and trained in General and Vascular Surgery in the Southeast and London prior to being appointed as a Consultant in 2005. She has been involved in Medical Education from the start of her consultant career when she joined the SE Thames General Surgery Specialty Training Committee of which she later became the Training Programme Director. As a Liaison Member of the Vascular Surgery Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC), she was the ST3 National Selection Lead in 2021 and was instrumental in separating the Vascular from General Surgery ST3 recruitment processes prior to becoming Chair of the Vascular Surgery SAC later that year. She also became the Head of School of Surgery for Kent, Surrey and Sussex in 2021 and continues in this role to date. She was a Clinical Advisor to the Medical Workforce Alignment Programme, NHSE WTE in 2022-2024 followed by secondment as a Specialist Advisor to the Education Reform Programme, NHSE WTE in 2024-2025. She has been an MRCS examiner since 2016. Diversity and inclusivity are extremely important to her and she was the first Chair until 2025 of the RCS England Pride in Surgery Forum (PRiSM) for LGBTQ+ surgeons and allies of which she was a founding member in 2021. She is the mother of four children, two of whom are autistic with severe learning disabilities and has been involved in regional and national projects promoting recognition and help for Neurodiverse trainees and better understanding of Autism and Learning Disabilities in patients. She was elected to Council in 2023 and to the Board of Trustees in 2025. She is the Co-Chair of the Sustainability in Surgery and Deputy Co-Chair of the Workforce and Training committees at RCS England.

Andy Carr is the Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and a fellow of Worcester College at the University of Oxford. He is a graduate of the University of Bristol and undertook postgraduate training in Oxford, Seattle and Melbourne, obtaining his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a ChM from Bristol and a DSc from Oxford. His research has had a significant influence on the management and outcomes of patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery and he is one of the 25 most cited surgical researchers globally. He has pioneered the development and evaluation of surgical implants and technologies, including the Oxford partial knee replacement, that has been implanted in over 2 million patients worldwide and the Oxford patient reported outcome scores, that have been translated into over 30 languages and are used to direct Health Policy globally. His research into rotator cuff tears of the shoulder spans discovery of cellular disease mechanisms through translation into new treatments and multicentre randomised clinical trials. He has led the controversial use of placebo surgery controls in clinical trials which has resulted in the decommissioning of ineffective shoulder operations with reduction in risk to patients and significant cost savings to health economies globally. His team has patented novel electrospun surgical implants which improve soft tissue repair. He founded the Botnar Research Institute at the University of Oxford in 2002 which undertakes translational research across the medical, social and engineering sciences and was director of the NIHR Biomedical Research unit from 2008-17. He was a Non-Executive Director and then Divisional Director of the specialist Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust and is a past President of the British Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Society He is currently a Nuffield Medical Trustee and Chair of the Nuffield Oxford Hospitals Fund, an elected Council member and Trustee of the Royal College of Surgeons and Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bristol University. He has an honorary Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Copenhagen, an NIHR senior investigator award and a fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2025 he was awarded an MBE for services to Orthopaedic Research and Training.

Deborah has trained in Birmingham, Bristol, Melbourne, and Toronto, and started consultant life as a general orthopod. Over time, she became a specialist in paediatric orthopaedics and now works at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Great Ormond St Hospital. Deborah feels an increasing responsibility to give back to the profession that has given her so much, hence her role as workforce lead on the WTCommittee. She would also like to see the College embracing sustainability in all its diverse formats. Outside of work, she is a lover of London life.

Simon Davis joined the law firm Clifford Chance in 1982 and became Partner in 1994, retiring from the firm in 2020. He was Head of Commercial Litigation in Clifford Chance's London office and a member of the firm's Partnership Council. He is a former President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and President of the Law Society of England and Wales, and currently a member of the Council of the Law Society. Simon is a member of the Court of Appeal Mediation Panel and an accredited CEDR mediator, and is a trustee of the Access to Justice Foundation and a Champion of LawCare. Simon was appointed as a Lay Trustee on 1 October 2021.

Joanna has over 25 years of experience in finance and investments. She began her career in Equity Capital Markets at HSBC Investment Bank and then NM Rothschild, before moving into private equity in 2002 when she joined Advent International, a leading international buyout group. More recently, Joanna has been working with investors - primarily families and foundations - advising them on their overall investment portfolios, and applying her particular expertise to develop and grow their private equity portfolio. She is an active proponent of responsible investing, applying ESG considerations to each investment opportunity. Joanna is currently a Managing Director at Ormonde Partners, a specialist private markets investment firm. Outside of the private sector, Joanna was a founding team member and Head of Fundraising at the Early Intervention Foundation, a charity that champions the use of effective early interventions to improve the lives of children and young people at risk of experiencing poor outcomes. Joanna is a Lay Trustee and Chairs the Finance and Investment Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Vanessa is a senior actuary with over 20 years of experience spanning financial regulation, non-profit organisations and consultancy. Currently Vanessa is the Director of Actuarial Regulation at the Financial Reporting Council where her team is responsible for setting standards and other actuarial matters. Prior to that, she was a senior manager in the Insurance Supervision Directorate at the Prudential Regulation Authority in the Bank of England. Vanessa is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has a Mathematics degree from the University of Cambridge. Vanessa is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Women for Women International (UK) that helps women survivors of war rebuild their lives, and chairs its Finance and Audit Committee.