St Mark’s Hospital Foundation helps meet the costs of up to 30 research fellows at any one time who maintain an active portfolio of multidisciplinary research projects at St Mark’s Hospital.
St Mark’s research fellows are qualified doctors who have taken on a focused research role at St Mark’s Hospital, often during a period of specialty training, while they complete a higher degree qualification such as an MD or PhD. Many St Mark’s research fellows split their time between conducting research in their speciality area of bowel disease and providing clinical care to St Mark’s patients.
St Mark’s research fellows represent the future of gastroenterology and colorectal surgery.
Many of our research fellows go on to lead colorectal services in other hospitals across the country or are appointed as St Mark’s consultants.
Mr Phil Tozer was a research fellow at St Mark’s more than 15 years ago under Professor Robin Phillips, who moved up from Resident Surgical Officer to Consultant Surgeon to St Mark’s Clinical Director. Mr Tozer is now an internationally recognised St Mark’s Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and has continued the tradition of supervising the next generation. We welcomed back one of his Research Fellows, Mr Kapil Sahnan, as a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon in 2023.
You can read about some of the research fellows at St Mark’s Hospital below. A comprehensive set of profiles can be viewed here.
What our fellows have to say…
Ms Gita Lingam is a surgical trainee and St Mark’s Research Fellow whose work focuses on IBD surgery, with a particular emphasis on robotic surgery and surgical assessment tools.
“Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of working as a Research Fellow at St Mark’s Hospital under the supervision of Mr Kapil Sahnan. This post was my first experience of research within surgery, and it has been an incredible learning opportunity. My experience at St Mark’s has been exceptional. The hospital’s history creates an environment where research is embedded into daily practice. What makes it unique is the culture, there is a genuine openness to collaboration, academic discussion, and innovation. Working alongside clinicians and researchers who are leaders in their fields has been both inspiring and humbling.”
Dr Diya Kapila is an IBD Clinical Research Fellow at St Mark’s whose research seeks to evaluate biomarker-based approaches to improving colorectal cancer risk stratification and clinical care in IBD.
“St Mark’s has long been recognised as a centre of excellence in bowel disease care and research, and it is a genuine privilege to be part of the team. The depth of specialist expertise here is unlike anywhere else, and the opportunity to combine clinical work with meaningful research made it the ideal next step in my Gastroenterology training.”
Mr Theo Pelly is a General Surgery Specialist Registrar and a Research Fellow at the St Mark’s Fistula Research Unit. His research is dedicated to addressing complex challenges in the management of perianal Crohn’s disease, such as poor wound healing after removal of the rectum.
“As a Clinical Research Fellow at the Fistula Research Unit, I have been able to see first-hand how St Mark’s Hospital Foundation can support research. Funding raised by the Foundation has been pivotal in initiating our collaborative research project with the James Lind Alliance. This critical support will allow us to set up the Anal and Vaginal Fistula Priority Setting Partnership and work directly with patients and clinicians to identify the top research priorities for those living with anal or vaginal fistulae. This work will aim to ensure that future research is directed towards the areas where it is needed the most.”