Alumni Profile: Gurdeep Mannu

Green Templeton College alumnus Gurdeep S. Mannu (DPhil Population Health, 2018) uses the training he received during his DPhil to provide insights into cancer epidemiology as NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Surgery.

“I completed my undergraduate medical degree at St. George’s, University of London, with an intercalated BSc at King’s College London. I then started working as an Academic Foundation doctor in the East of England Deanery. During this time, I began to gain experience in different study designs and in various types of research.

“In 2012, I moved to Oxford to complete my core surgical training and pursue my academic interests as an Academic Clinical Fellow in General Surgery. During this time, I began research in cancer epidemiology in Professor Sarah Darby‘s group. Following the completion of my core surgical training, I started my DPhil examining the epidemiology of ductal carcinoma in situ.

“It was at this time that I joined Green Templeton College, which has very much shaped my doctoral experience. This was a fantastic time as it gave me an opportunity to explore novel ideas, meet new friends and gain a fantastic experience.”

Following his DPhil, Gurdeep continued his specialist surgical training in General Surgery when he was awarded the NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. He has since been actively involved in a number of projects related to cancer epidemiology and, as a visiting Clinical Research Fellow in Cancer Surgery in the Nuffield Department of Population Health, he remains passionate about using population-level information to inform treatment decisions for individual patients.

“It is an exciting feeling to be part of a project which will genuinely help people in the future, such as by improving survival from earlier detection, better treatment, or from more refined follow-up surveillance.”

He has since been invited to speak at national conferences and was recently awarded the Office of National Statistics Research Excellence award. He continues to be passionate about how epidemiological research can inform modern surgical practice.

If you would like to feature in a future Alumni Profile please contact alumni@gtc.ox.ac.uk.