Committee Members


Director: Veeru Kasivisvanathan, Academic Clinical Lecturer in Urology, University College London


Veeru studied Medicine at Imperial College London, completing his Urology training in the London Deanery. He is currently an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer at University College London. He founded the BURST Research Collaborative in 2015 and has led it through its development, now providing oversight on BURST activities.


He has a strong foundation in research methodology, having completed a PhD in the role of MRI-targeted biopsy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer at University College London, a Masters in Epidemiology and Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Trials at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Surgery and section editor of the BJU International.


Veeru leads collaborative research amongst international research groups and completed PRECISION (NCT02380027), an international multi-centre randomised control trial across 25 centres in 11 countries. He published this work in the New England Journal of Medicine which contributed to a change in the NICE, European Association of Urology (EAU) and American Urology Association (AUA) guidelines for prostate cancer diagnosis.


He has been awarded the BMJ Research Paper of the Year in 2019, the EAU Prostate Cancer Research Awarded of 2019 and the British Association of Urological Surgeon’s John Anderson 2019 Award for outstanding and inspirational contribution to Urology. He was awarded a Hunterian Professorship 2021 for contribution to surgical sciences and the Evening Standard Award for being one of London’s most influential people in Health in 2018.


Outside of work, Veeru loves sport, particularly football and tries to play every week, knees permitting.

Co-Chair & IDENTIFY Lead: Sinan Khadhouri, Urology StR, East of Scotland


Sinan studied medicine at St George’s Hospital Medical School and completed his foundation training in Cambridge and East Anglia. After a year in Neurosurgery he went on to complete his core surgical training in Exeter embarking on a Urology career. Following this Sinan spent 6 months in rural Zambia as a senior surgical registrar and helped start up a urology service as well as perform some exciting surgery. He returned to Exeter to complete a research year, launching IDENTIFY I. He joined the BURST committee whilst developing IDENTIFY II with them, and has recently started his Registrar training in the East of Scotland. He is lead trainee for the IDENTIFY study which has become the largest study on haematuria in secondary care. He is also involved with the Urology research unit in Aberdeen University, as well working with the EAU guidelines panel through the BURST Committee.


Sinan has a keen interest in clinical research and collaborative studies. He has previously presented and published the BAUS national data audit outcomes for prostatectomies and cystectomies at BAUS and EAU, winning best poster prize for the former.


Outside of work, Sinan enjoys playing racket sports, travelling and walking his Bernese Mountain Dog!

Co-Chair & Study Lead: Nikita Bhatt, Urology StR, East of England


Nikita completed her undergraduate medical training in India, and got her first taste of Urology as an SHO in Dublin, Ireland. She developed a keen interest in it ever since and is currently a Specialist Registrar in the East of England deanery. She has a Masters in Surgery (MCh) from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and a Masters in Medical Education (MMed) from the University of Dundee. She is an associate panel member on the EAU paediatric urology panel, EAU guidelines Social Media panel and a BURST rep on the BAUS Endourology Committee. She is a keen researcher and has authored several peer-reviewed publications, including a urology handbook for medical students and has worked on research projects with the EAU research foundation. She is a regular reviewer for European Urology Focus, BMC Urology, European Urology Oncology and has also reviewed for Journal of Urology, BJUI, and the BJS among other journals. She has presented her work nationally and internationally and has been awarded prizes for her research at the national urology meeting in Ireland. She was one of the finalists in the Dragon’s Den in BAUS in 2018 and is currently working on developing the project with BURST. Her areas of interest include medical device improvement and innovation (including stents and catheters), medical education, reconstructive and adolescent/ paediatric urology.


Outside of work, Nikita is passionate about health and fitness, loves travelling and hiking, and is a dancer who misses the stage!

Co-Vice Chair & Treasurer: Arjun Nathan, ST1 Urology, London


Arjun graduated from University College London and is currently a Urology trainee in North London and an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, working with the National Prostate Cancer Audit team.


He has led multi-centre prospective studies and published as first author in leading journals, such as European Urology. Additionally, he has presented his work across the world at the leading Urology conferences. He has won multiple prizes and awards and recently won the Royal Society of Medicine Urology Secretary’s prize and Malcolm Coptcoat prize.


Arjun also has a keen interest in medical education and has completed an Associate Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy. He founded the National Surgical Teaching Society (NSTS) with an aim to improve surgical education with innovative technology for medical students and foundation year doctors. NSTS currently has over 3000 subscribers and are conducting multiple studies in surgical education and disparity including EDUCATE, VIRTUAL and ATTAIN.


Outside of work, Arjun spends his time on the football pitch pining over the days when he wasn’t as slow, and his back didn’t hurt as much.

Co-Vice Chair & BJUI/BURST Section editor: Meghana Kulkarni, Urology StR, Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College London


Meg is an ST4 specialist registrar in London with an interest in Urological oncology and is currently undertaking a PhD in PSMA PET imaging in prostate cancer at King’s College London.


She trained at St George’s Hospital Medical school and during an intercalated BSc in surgery and anaesthesia at Imperial College, developed a keen interest in academic medicine. She subsequently completed an Academic Foundation Job in renal transplantation in London and Core Surgical Training in Brighton.


She has been the principal investigator of several research projects, following successful grant applications with GlaxoSmithKline and the Medical Research Council. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, presented extensively both nationally and internationally and has won prizes for her research work from the Physiological Society, the Royal Society of Medicine, the British Transplantation Society and the European Association of Urology.


Meg is also interested in global surgery and has worked in France, Australia, the Gambia, Senegal, South Africa and the USA. She is keen to continue building these links, to enhance the learning and skills-sharing of healthcare professionals both here and abroad, improve patient care and the availability of resources and collaborate on audit and research. Meg loves tennis, travelling, cooking (eating) and being warm.

Study lead and RESECT Co-Lead: Kevin Gallagher, Urology SpR, Scotland East


Kevin studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh including an intercalated degree in Pharmacology. He has completed a MRC clinical research training fellowship PhD and is now a urology registrar in East of Scotland.


In addition to his basic science research, Kevin has always been keenly interested in clinical research leading a prospective controlled study on PDD in bladder cancer and a study of MRI monitoring in active surveillance. He has presented numerous clinical studies nationally and internationally with prizes won at BAUS, ASIT and EAU. Kevin is involved in the inception and design of BURST studies. Kevin helped design and lead BURSTs most recent international prospective study, IDENTIFY and is now co-leading the RESECT study.


Outside of work, Kevin cycles a lot (in the rain, it is Scotland), reads a lot of early 20th century fiction and likes to think he is good enough in the kitchen to get on Masterchef!

RESCUE study co-lead, BURST/BSoT rep and NIHR rep: Eleanor Zimmermann, Urology StR, Torbay


Eleanor graduated from Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry after intercalating at Bristol University and has completed a postgraduate certificate in Surgical Sciences with Edinburgh University. She completed her foundation training in Exeter before spending a year working in General Surgery and Urology in Perth, Australia. After completing Urology themed Core Surgical Training in the West Midlands she moved back to the Southwest to start her registrar training. She is currently an ST4 on maternity leave and thoroughly enjoying balancing her amazing new mum life with research!


Eleanor has a keen interest in education and research and recently completed a RCT on patient education using multimedia, of which she is co-investigator. She was part of the RCSEng working party that devised the national Undergraduate Surgical Curriculum, which was published and disseminated in 2015. Eleanor has published work on paediatric urology, enhanced recovery in upper tract surgery – which was awarded joint SURG best abstract prize in 2015, and has co-authored two Cochrane reviews. She joined the BURST Committee in 2017.


Outside of work, Eleanor enjoys discovering new country hikes and wild swimming spots with her family (including Ziggy the lazy greyhound), and is a rather amateur but keen squash player!

RESCUE study co-lead: Hannah Warren, Urology StR, London


Hannah studied physics at the University of Southampton, and undertook research in LASER and biophysics as part of her Master’s Degree. Inspired by the medical applications of LASERs, she moved to London to study graduate-entry medicine at King’s College London. She completed foundation training in Kent & South London, before core surgical training in the London Deanery. Drawn to the pioneering use of technology in urology and positive clinical experiences, she is currently an ST4 urology registrar in south London.


Hannah joined the BURST committee in January 2021 as co-lead of DETORT. Her academic interests lie novel diagnostic imaging and renal oncology. She has plans to take time out of training in the near future for a higher degree in renal oncology diagnostics.


Hannah sits on the editorial board of Trends in Urology and Men’s Health and is a trustee for The Urology Foundation, and lead for the TUF Warrior Program.


Outside of work Hannah enjoys being outdoors, running, learning French (slowly) and going on outdoor adventures with husband Jean-Romain.

RESCUE committee member: Aishah Azam, Radiology StR, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, London


Aishah studied Medicine at Imperial College London and is currently an ST4 Radiology Registrar at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital London with a speciality interest in Genituourinary and Gynaecology Imaging. Aishah has been actively involved in research projects since medical school, and has authored several publications and presented at multiple International conferences. Specifically her research has been focused on the implementation of Radiomics in Prostate and Renal cell cancer imaging.


Outside of the research world, Aishah is an active member of the Executive Junior Radiology Forum and part of the Radiology Informatics committee at the Royal College of Radiologists.


In her free time Aishah enjoys cycling, travelling and going on hikes.

Education Co-Lead: Keiran Clement, Urology StR, Glasgow


Keiran studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen and completed an Academic Foundation Programme in Dundee. During his undergraduate studies, he completed an intercalated degree in medical sciences. He joined the BURST committee in 2018, and is currently a Urology registrar in the West of Scotland.


During his BMedSci, he worked with the Cochrane Incontinence Group which first sparked his interest in academic urology. This led to him being the lead author on two Cochrane reviews, an opportunity to present internationally, and the award of the Young Investigator of the Year at the International Continence Society annual conference in 2013. He has since published and presented a number of other clinical projects nationally, and is hoping to utilise his time in BURST to help further the committee’s plans for its’ first interventional study in the near future.


Outside of work, Keiran still struggles to play Sunday pub-league football with two knackered knees, and has recently become an extremely reluctant runner.

Education Co-Lead: Cameron Alexander, Core Surgical Trainee, North West


Cameron is a urology-themed core surgical trainee in the North West region. His interest in academic urology was first fostered whilst at medical school at the University of Aberdeen, where he also completed a BSc in Medical Sciences.


He has subsequently developed a broad range of experience in clinical research (as a research author for The Cochrane Collaboration and Oxford Stone Group), translational research (as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University), and in clinical education (as a medical demonstrator at the University of St Andrews).


He is excited to join BURST in 2020 to help deliver impactful and well-designed research that looks to answer the big questions in urology.


In his spare time Cameron can be found running, travelling, and seeking out the best local spots for food and drink.

Health Economics Lead: Sabrina Rossi, Urology StR, Cambridge


Sabrina is an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and ST3 in Urology. She is currently undertaking a PhD and Cancer Research UK Fellowship at the University of Cambridge, gaining experience in genomics and translational research. Prior to this, she completed an MPhil focusing on health economics, funded by The Urology Foundation. This is one of her key interests and her cost-effectiveness analysis of screening for kidney cancer was recently awarded the RSM urology & BAUS academic research prize. Sabrina has also previously led an international initiative involving clinicians, scientists and patients to determine research priorities in renal cancer (European Urology Platinum Priority Editorial).


Having grown up in Italy, Sabrina moved to Glasgow for her undergraduate studies. She was awarded a Wolfson Scholarship, allowing her to undertake an intercalated BSc (Hons). She completed her MBChB and received the Marion Gilchrist Prize and the Trades House Prize for her academic achievements. She worked at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals for two years during her academic foundation program.


True to her Italian spirit, Sabrina loves pizza, prosecco and complaining about the British weather.

Strategy and Personnel Lead: Chuanyu Gao, Core Surgical Trainee, KSS Deanery


Chuanyu is a Core Surgical Trainee in KSS Deanery after completing his Academic Foundation Years in East of England Foundation School. He graduated from UCL Medical School and completed his iBSc in Surgical Sciences. He has been actively involved in research since medical school, and has presented in multiple conferences.


He first became involved with BURST on the MIMIC Study as an international site coordinator. Currently, he is the communication, personnel and strategy lead in BURST.


In his free time, he likes to travel but increasingly unlikely in recent climate.

General Committee Member: Stefanie Croghan, Urology StR, Republic of Ireland


Stefanie studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin, and completed her intern (FY1) year in Dublin, before working as a surgical house officer in London. She returned to Ireland to continue surgical training and is currently a Specialist Registrar in Urology. Having completed her ST5 year, she is out-of-programme as of July 2021 to undertake full-time research (MD).


Stefanie developed an interest in research during her first postgraduate years, and has since presented at national and international conferences, published in peer-reviewed journals and been awarded research prizes. She is currently the Co-Vice Chair of the Irish Surgical Research Collaborative (ISRC), an organisation she credits for opening her eyes to the full potential of collaboration within research. She is the lead of the ongoing ISRC RETention of urine After INguinal hernia Elective Repair (RETAINER) study. She has an interest in medical education research and holds an MSc from UCL.

In her spare time, she enjoys sleeping, hunting for coffee, catching up with family & friends and the occasional run!

General Committee Member: Sam Folkard, Urology StR, Kent, Surrey and Sussex


Sam is an ST4 in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Deanery. His research interests include the management of testicular torsion and obstructing pelvic malignancy, with a focus on pragmatic research that is useful to every Urology department. This work has been published in the Journal of Paediatric Urology and the BJUI. He has presented at multiple national and international conferences, with his work previously winning the British Association of Urology Oncology and Quality Improvement Prizes. He’s been involved this year in the UK-Zambia Urolink teaching collaborative.


Sam is a keen runner, tennis player and Sunday cyclist. He has completed a number of events to raise funds for The Urology Foundation charity, including a cycle to Japan’s most northern point in 2019. He’s hoping to be able to travel again soon and having been part of the University Air Squadron at Medical School, dreams of flying again.

STENT Co-Lead: Kevin Byrnes, Urology StR, London


Having completed core training and postgraduate research in Ireland, Kevin is now commencing specialist urology training in the North Central & East London region. His move to the UK in 2021 has coincided with joining the BURST collaborative committee.


He graduated from University College Cork with degrees in medicine in 2015 and a masters in surgical science in 2017. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Limerick in 2020 for work on abdominal embryology, specifically mesenteric and peritoneal development. During this time, he established international collaborations, pooling materials from ten international institutions. He has authored in the most recent edition of Gray’s anatomy and won several awards, including national and international research prizes. He has delivered invited and named international lectures, including the Sophie Miller Lecture at the Anatomical Society and at the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists.


His areas of interest include image analysis, anatomy and statistics. Outside of work, he enjoys the outdoors, including hiking, running and swimming.

General Committee Member: Marie Edison, Core Surgical Trainee, London


Marie studied medicine at the University of Bristol including an intercalated degree in Neuroscience. Urology was her first foundation year job, and she has been keen to pursue a career in it ever since. She is currently a core surgical trainee in Northwest London. Marie has a keen interest in research having given prize winning presentations at international conferences and published in multiple journals, including a systematic review on urological virtual clinics. She is also passionate about widening access to medical education, and was principal lead organising a Virtual Urology Course attended by over 230 delegates from 31 countries in 5 different continents.


Outside of work Marie enjoys dropping from the ceiling doing aerial gymnastics and tries to not end up as a trauma call for her colleagues. She also loves musicals and occasionally makes attempts to resurrect her dwindling Spanish skills.

Foundation Doctor Representative: Alexander Light, Academic Clinical Fellow, Imperial College London


Alex is an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow based at Imperial College London. Having graduated from King’s College London in 2019, he previously completed a urology-themed Academic Foundation Programme with the University of Cambridge.


He first joined the collaborative in 2018 as a medical student, and now co-leads the communications team alongside involvement in other BURST projects. His research interests include uro-oncology, technology, and statistical modelling. Through this, he has published first-author papers in premier journals like European Urology and The Lancet Digital Health, and has presented his work at leading conferences including EAU, SIU, and BAUS.


Outside of urology, Alex is a keen digital and film photographer, plant lover, and cook. On extreme occasions he likes a good run.

Foundation Doctor Representative: Chon Lam, FY2, Wales


Chon Lam is a recent graduate from UCL and first became involved with BURST as a collaborator for the IDENTIFY study. He has completed an intercalated BSc in Physiology and Pharmacology at UCL and looks forward to further developing his research skills with BURST.


Chon is passionate about medical education and facilitating opportunities for medical students to get involved with research. In 2017/18 he was the lead for the UCL Academic Prehospital Care Student Selected Component (SSC), a formally assessed module selected by students in their first two years at UCL medical school with many students subsequently going on to present their work at national level.


Chon is an Associate of the Royal College of Organists and enjoys pursuing classical music interests in his spare time.

Website Lead: Thineskrishna Anbarasan, Academic FY2, Edinburgh


Thineskrishna joined BURST in 2020 as a website lead. He is now an Academic FY2 in Edinburgh having graduated from the University of Dundee Medical School. Throughout medical school he has been actively involved in research and has won several prizes.


Thines has a keen interest in Urology, genetics and data science.


Thines is unfortunately an Arsenal fan who in his spare time enjoys watching movies and running.

General Committee Member: Fortis Gaba, Academic FY2, Glasgow


Fortis is (a general committee member) at BURST and academic foundation doctor interested in academic surgery.


Fortis has contributed to urology research in the UK throughout medical school and foundation training. He has authored several peer-reviewed publications, presented at international conferences, and has been awarded several prestigious awards, such as the Nephrology President’s Prize for best presentation at the Royal Society of Medicine and the BAUS national essay competition.


Elective scholarships and a passion for travelling led Fortis to pursue urology electives at Juntendo University, Tokyo and Weill Cornell, New York. Working across borders, he developed a stronger appreciation of the intricacies of academic urology and variations of clinical practice.


Fortis also has a keen interest in medical education. He was the founder and president of the Edinburgh University and Renal Society in Edinburgh University (EURUS), a thriving student-led society organizing tutorials, workshops and lectures for medical students.


Outside of work, Fortis enjoys playing golf and football, for which he represented Cambridge University and St Andrew's University respectively. As a New Zealander, Fortis is a keen rugby fan and proudly supports the All Blacks (even against UK teams!).

LEARN Lead and Medical Student Representative: Alexander Ng, 6th Year, University College London


Alex is a 6th year medical student at UCL. He is an aspiring surgeon, having completed his iBSc in Surgical Sciences, and was awarded the RCS Intercalated BSc in Surgery Award for his research, which has led to multiple prize-winning conference presentations. He is also heavily involved in UCL’s Surgical Society, being the 2019-20 Urology Chair and 2020-21 Academic Surgery chair.


Alex has a strong interest in Urology and is involved in projects with the Urology teams at both The Royal Free Hospital and UCLH at Westmoreland Street Hospital. He is the lead data collector, coordinator and medical student lead in a RALP service evaluation project evaluating the functional and biochemical outcomes of a RALP 10-year 2,000 patient series. He is also the lead for the LEARN study, an audit into Urological teaching in British medical schools nationally.


Outside of his studies, Alex is an avid rugby fan and misses the days he could run 400m under a minute. He also enjoys a casual game of badminton.

Medical Student Representative: Vinson Chan, 5th Year, Leeds Medical School


Vinson is currently a 5th Year Medical Student at the University of Leeds. Having completed an undergraduate research programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong he developed an interest in academic urology. He had experiences in performing systematic reviews as a trained Cochrane author and has published multiple systematic reviews in and outside the field of uro-oncology.


Vinson is a keen leader and advocate for medical students, serving as President for the Leeds Medical Student Representative Council and Cutting Edge Leeds Surgical Society. His hard work was recognised by a nomination for positive impact award at the Leeds Union Partnership awards. He was also recently awarded the Dennis Parker Award for innovation for his work on self-care in surgery. He hopes to be able to contribute to and learn from BURST’s collaborative model of research and methodology.


In his free time, Vinson volunteers for the Yorkshire Ambulance as a community first responder. He also enjoys travelling, photography and spending time with his dog.

Medical Student Representative & Graphic Design Lead: Aqua Asif , 5th Year, Leicester Medical School


Aqua is a fourth-year graduate medical student at University of Leicester. She is an aspiring surgeon with a passion for incorporating new cutting-edge technologies into surgery, especially robotics. As a medical student representative, she hopes to pursue urology from a surgical perspective while learning from the talented and diverse team that comprises this research collaborative. She is an avid graphic designer and hopes to combine her existing skills with those of her other team members to further the reach of BURST’s research.


Her dedication to medical education and love of statistics drew her to be on the committee. As an experienced leader through representing students at both Royal Holloway, University of London and University of Leicester, she hopes to strengthen her teamwork and leadership skills on a national scale.


Outside of her studies, Aqua enjoys spending time with her friends and family, attending concerts, online gaming, and travelling abroad.

Medical Student Representative: Semhar Abraha, 2nd Year, University of Warwick


Semhar is currently a second year medical student at the University of Warwick. She previously completed a Biomedical Science degree and an MSc in Neuroscience from Kings College London. She is excited to join BURST to develop her skills and learn from the diverse collaborative team while contributing to research aimed at improving healthcare provision and patient outcomes.


She has interests in academic surgery, medical education and global health. Semhar is a keen advocate for widening participation and tackling educational inequality and been involved in many initiatives working towards this goal. Outside of her studies, Semhar enjoys spending time with friends and family , travelling and visiting as many coffee shops as she can.

Medical Student Representative:Pieter Jan Eyskens, 4th Year, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry


Pieter is a 4th year undergraduate medical student at Barts and the London. He has an international background, having lived in Shanghai and Hong Kong before completing the International Baccalaureate at United World College in Wales. He also recently completed an intercalated BSc in Regenerative Medicine and Innovation Technology with First Class Honors at King’s College London.


His interest in urology started before medical school when he completed work experience with Prof Piet Hoebeke in UZ Gent, Belgium. Since then, his passion has only grown, and he is the current president of Barts and the London Urology Society. He is also part of the UK Gender Research Collaborative and has worked with Miss Tina Rashid to improve transgender healthcare education in medical schools around the UK. As a result of this work, he was able to give two oral presentations at the international WPATH conference of 2020. Pieter is also a regional winner of the BAUS 2021 student essay prize. By joining BURST, Pieter hopes to further develop his research skills and improve patient care by contributing to high impact research.


Outside of medical school, Pieter is interested in finance, football and running, and hopes to complete the London Marathon in October 2021.

Medical Student Representative & Website Admin: Zhuowen Geng (Wendy) , 2nd Year, Leeds Medical School


Wendy is currently a second-year medical student at the University of Leeds. She is aspired to become an academic surgeon with great passion in areas of uro-oncology. By joining BURST she wishes to further develop her existing kills in methodology and study designs by exchanging ideas from the leading professionals and her peers. As a student representative she wishes to act as a bridge between the medical students and the urology specialty as in recent years we’ve seen a decline in exposure.


Wendy is a keen academic who’s willing to take on any challenges she will be facing, and she enjoys exploring new fields both in and outside of medicine, especially in cutting edge technologies and new innovations that could potentially be used to improve patient care. She’s a team player, have worked with different people from different backgrounds and different roles. But at the same time, she has developed her leadership skills through years of experiences including student governors and leading the BBC society of the University of Leeds.


During her free times, Wendy enjoys painting and hiking, but nothing beats a good bubble tea with friends and family.

Medical Student Representative and RESCUE committee member: Victoria Porter, 4th Year, Lancaster Medical school


I am a fourth year medical student at Lancaster University. I have a keen interest for urology and a passion for education. While working with BURST, I hope to develop my academic writing skills, participate in current research and learn from the successful leaders around me.


I have experience with research, having written two systematic literature reviews, one of which was awarded the BAUS medical student prize for the University. However, I aim to develop my skills further by engaging in different types of studies, such as DETORT. I look forward to contributing towards the education aspect of this study, as I have experience in teaching.


Outside of my degree, I enjoy playing piano and supporting my local football team with my father.

International Representative: Charon Mohan, 2nd Year Urology Resident, Smith Institution for Urology New York


When I first heard of BURST, it was as a medical student and I was blown away at the quality and impact of the trainee-led research produced by the group. As an international representative I hope to not only play a small part in continuing this tradition of excellence, but to also help strengthen the already robust relationship between the British and American urologic communities.


Twitter: @charansmohan


International Representative: Daniel A.González-Padilla, Urologist at University Hospital Infanta Sofía, Madrid, Spain


I'm an academic urologist focused on prostate and urothelial cancer with a special interest in multi-center collaborative projects and evidence-based practice. I'm looking to increase the chance of residents and young urologists to participate in collaborative projects that would otherwise be out of reach.


Twitter handle: @Daniel_Urologia


International Representative: Danny Darlington, Vattikuti Uro oncology and Robotic surgery fellow, Max Hospital, Delhi, India


I have seen BURST conduct several research activities involving multiple continents. Its the perfect organisation to combine multi-institutional data and provide stronger studies and results. Instead of dividing data (which is happening more frequently) I am for clubbing data in order to bring forth better and reliable results.


@DannyUrosurgeon


International Representative: Francesco Esperto, Urology Consultant Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Italy


To be an international representative of BURST is for me a great honour and privilege.


Aim of my mission will be trying to spread BURST activity more and more all over the world.


@fraesperto

International Representative: Giorgio Ivan Russo , Associate Professor in Urology, Policlinic Hospital “G. Rodolico” in Catania, Italy.


• It is an honor for me to represent the BURST research group at the European level but, in particular, in the Italian country. Having this role will allow me above all to promote the scientific projects of the BURST group in all areas, with the main aim of contrasting the innumerable urological diseases and to improve the health of patients.


@GiorgioI_Russo


International Representative: Luca Afferi, UPGY-2, Hospital of Luzern, Switzerland


Luca is an Italian medical doctor who graduated from the University of Eastern Piedmont in March 2019. In the framework of the “Path of Excellence”, he started a research project concerning the expression of PD-L1 in kidney cancer biopsies, which activated his interest in the world of research. As a medical student, Luca could visit several Urology departments in the United Kingdom, Canada and United States, that helped him understand which career path to take.


Luca moved then to Switzerland to start a Urology Research Fellowship and then the Urology Residency at the Hospital of Luzern. During his first two years of residency he authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed papers. He (virtually) presented abstracts at major national and international congresses. He is a board member of the Swiss Residents in Urology (SRU) and is currently participating in the Young Urologists Office (YUO) Leadership Programme. He aspires to participate to clinical fellowships outside of Switzerland as well as to broaden his research skills by pursuing a PhD in Urology and a Master in Public Health. His ambition is to become an academic urologist.


In his spare time, Luca enjoys swimming, ski touring and running.


@Luca_Afferi

International Representative: Nikolaos Pyrgidis , Resident in Urology, Martha-Maria Hospital, Academic Hospital of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.


Nikos is a Resident in Urology at the Martha-Maria Hospital in Nuremberg. He graduated from the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. As an undergraduate, he also studied at the University of Strasbourg, France and the University of Cologne, Germany. He has a Master degree on medical research methodology. He has been actively involved in research publishing multiple papers and serving as a peer reviewer in prestigious journals.


He first became involved with BURST on the RESECT study as an international site lead collaborator.


Outside of work, he is a marathon runner, he plays weekly football and is considered an experienced bridge player.


@pyrgidis

International Representative: Petros Sountoulides, Assistant Professor of Urology, 1st Urology Department, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece


3. I am confident that I will be able to promote and disseminate the fantastic work that the BURST team is doing in the field of clinical research in Urology. My role as member of the SIU Academy Committe an associate member of the ESOU Board will certainly help toward this goal.


@sountp


International Representative: Pietro Piazza, Urology StR IRCCS Policlinico di Sant’Orsola, Bologna, Italy; Robotic Surgery Trainer ORSI Academy, Melle, Belgium


Serving as a international representative for BURST is a tremendous honor. It is an inspiring mission that makes you feel part of the community. Being exposed to innovative and cutting edge research, you can give your own contribution to the progress of the urological science


@pietropiazza










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