Research Working Group

Leonid Barkhatov

Leonid Barkhatov is currently a PhD candidate at the Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet. He finished medical school at the First Moscow Medical University in 2011 and worked there during two years as a surgical resident. He started his PhD liver project under supervision of professor Bjørn Edwin in 2013. He has supplemented his research with involvement in practical surgery, assisting in and performing surgical procedures already before graduating with a medical degree. Leonid is presently pursuing his interest in gastro-intestinal surgery, in particular the practical application of minimally invasive surgery in treatment of oncological disease. He participates in several scientific projects focusing on minimally invasive treatment and navigation systems in liver and pancreas surgery, including international collaboration. He achieved an award for presentation of his work at the Norwegian surgical meeting in 2016.

Mr Ruben Ciria

Ruben Ciria was born in 1980. He achieved his PhD degree in 2009 and finished his training at the University Hospital Reina Sofia in Cordoba in 2010. Afterwards, he completed a fellowship in liver transplantation at King’s College Hospital in London with Prof. Nigel Heaton during 2010 and 2011. In 2014, he spent 3 months at Morioka (Iwate University Hospital) with Prof. Wakabayashi and at Tokyo (Komagome Hospital) with Prof. Honda to improve his skills in minimally invasive liver surgery. He is currently working at the University Hospital Reina Sofia in Cordoba, where he has started the laparoscopic living donor liver transplant program. He has the European Board certification of multiorgan retrieval and liver transplantation surgeon. He has published more than 50 manuscripts in the most relevant surgical and liver journals, including his last one worldwide metaanalysis “Comparative Short-term Benefits of Laparoscopic Liver Resection: 9000 Cases and Climbing” in Annals of Surgery.

Sira Ocaña García

Sira Ocaña García is Senior registrar at Clínica Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona. Spain

Sira completed her medical studies at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain (2005-2011). She began her surgical specialization at the Department of General and Digestive Surgery in Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain in 2012. During these years she has shown particular interest in hepatobilliary and pancreatic surgery as well as Liver Transplant and Living donor Liver Transplant. She is at present gaining clinical experience in Minimally Invasive Hepatic and Pancreatic surgical techniques at the HPB and Liver Transplant Unit of the Clinica Universidad de Navarra, one pioneer center in these techniques. Her scientific interest and research capacities have led her to participate in several ongoing trials and projects in HPB field like the present EGMLLS. She is member of the Asociación Española de Cirujanos and Sociedad Española de Trasplante Hepático (Spanish Surgical Association and Liver Transplant Spanish Society).

Federica Cipriani

Federica Cipriani finished medical school at San Raffaele University Hospital in Milan (Italy, 2009), and completed her residency in Digestive Surgery at the Hepatobiliary Division under the mentorship of Luca Aldrighetti (2016). Frederica accumulated clinical and research interest in hepatobiliary surgery, particularly in the novel minimally invasive approaches, contributing to the growth of laparoscopic liver surgery in her institution and nation. Frederica completed a 1-year fellowship in HPB Surgery at Southampton University Hospital (ALPPS Diploma), under the tutorship of Mohammad Abu Hilal, which has resulted in ongoing scientific collaboration regarding the outcomes of laparoscopic liver resections. Frederica is currently staff surgeon at the Hepatobiliary Division in San Raffaele Hospital, with regular surgical activity in both open and laparoscopic hepatobiliary procedures. Frederica is also intensely involved in research activities, with ongoing multicentre projects and publications in relevant surgical journals.

Irene Gómez-Luque, M.D.

Irene Gómez-Luque is a junior consultant of General Surgery at University Reina Sofia Hospital, Cordoba, Spain. Over the last 5 years, Irene has done her surgeon trainning at Reina Sofia Hospital. Involving in several research projects including“Rescue of discarded graft for liver Transplantation by normothermic extracorporeal perfusión” and “Real-time measurements of tissue oxygen microtension as a marker of bile duct viability in liver Transplantation”. Irene has spent 6 months during the past two years at King’s College Hospital in the Institute of Liver Patologies as a Fellow.

Mr Mark Halls

Mark Halls undertook his medical training at Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s Medical School, graduating in 2010 having also received honours for his Bachelors in Anatomy in 2007. Following graduation he undertook his foundation and core surgical training in the Severn Deanery, before moving to the Wessex Deanery to undertake his registrar training. He is currently working towards an MD under the supervision of Mr Abu Hilal as a research fellow and has several publications under review.

Mr Marcel van der Poel

Marcel van der Poel was born and raised in Amsterdam and started medical school at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam in 2010, finishing just recently in December 2016. Three years ago Marcel visited Southampton for six months for a research internship which was the beginning of a fruitful cooperation with Mr Abu Hilal, and resulted in several publications in the subsequent years; all on the subject of laparoscopic liver surgery. During his studies Marcel has managed to divide his time between placements and research and as of 1st January Marcel will fully devote himself to research as PhD-student at the University of Amsterdam.