Professor Neil Mortensen elected next President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

Green Templeton College Governing Body Fellow Professor Neil Mortensen, has been elected the next President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He will take up office in July 2020 and serve a three-year term to July 2023.

Professor Mortensen is Professor of Colorectal Surgery in the University of Oxford Medical School, and a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon. He has published over 300 original papers, 30 book chapters and has edited 8 books. He is Past Chair of the British Journal of Surgery Society, President of the Ileostomy Association, and has been Past President of the Association of Coloproctology GBI and the Coloproctology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Speaking to the Royal College of Surgeons of England about the appointment, Professor Mortensen commented:
“After seven years on the Council of the RCS, it is a huge honour to have been elected as President…I look forward to working with the Trustees, Council, members, stakeholders and staff to continue the good work”.

Professor Neil Mortensen was first elected as a member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) in 2013. He has chaired RCS committees covering a range of topics including research and quality, publications, heritage and membership. Neil trained in Birmingham, Bristol and St Mark’s Hospital and has clinical and research interests in a wide range of colorectal diseases. First appointed a consultant surgeon in 1983, Professor Mortensen campaigned for the recognition of colorectal surgery as a specialty. He founded the first patient association for those with ileoanal pouches the Kangaroo Club, and in 2004 the charity OCCTOPUS – Oxford Colon Cancer Trust which supports education, research and new technology in colorectal diseases.

Professor Mortensen served as President of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) from 2002 to 2003, and is Editor-in-Chief of Colorectal Disease, a leading journal in the field published by the ACPGBI in close association with Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

Professor Mortensen is only the second Oxford surgeon to have been appointed. Professor Sir Peter Morris was President from 2001 to 2004. We congratulate Professor Mortensen on his appointment!