Medical Advisors
EU
Per J. Nilsson is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Senior Lecturer at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. He has served as President of both the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) and the Swedish Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. A principal investigator in the RAPIDO trial, he has published numerous articles and book chapters. Clinically, he is a senior consultant surgeon at the Department of Colorectal Surgery, Division of Pelvic Cancer, Karolinska University Hospital. His main interests are colorectal and anal cancer, particularly locally advanced cases, as well as peritoneal malignancies, and he is an active HIPEC surgeon.
Marja Boermeester is a professor of surgery and clinical epidemiologist at Amsterdam University Medical Centers, leading numerous multicenter trials on abdominal infections (e.g., RELAP, OPTIMA, ESCAPE). She has received over 10 National Health Care & Efficacy Research Grants, with her trials published in top journals like NEJM, JAMA, and Lancet. Specializing in abdominal infections, complex abdominal wall repair (CAWR), and intestinal failure surgery, she chairs a renowned Intestinal Failure and CAWR unit at AMC Amsterdam, recognized as an international expert center and ERN member. She supervises 10 PhD fellows and has mentored over 45 previous PhDs. She also serves on various national and international guideline committees and editorial boards, and was President of the Surgical Infection Society Europe (2017-2019).
Lars Nannestad Jørgensen is a Professor of Surgery at the Digestive Disease Center, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. With a specialization in minimally invasive surgery and complex abdominal wall hernias, his research focuses on postoperative complications, hernia repair, surgical wound healing, colorectal and pancreatic cancer, and acute pancreatitis. He played a key role in launching and chairing the Danish Ventral Hernia Database and has contributed to international guidelines on hernia repair. Dr. Jørgensen has supervised numerous PhD students and authored over 300 peer-reviewed papers and 20 book chapters, while also actively participating in international surgical workshops.
Andrea Stuart is the Head of the Department of Gynecology at Helsingborgs Hospital in Sweden, where she also serves as a consultant specializing in benign minimally invasive surgery. She is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Lund University, leading multiple research projects and supervising several PhD students. Her primary research focus is on various aspects of hysterectomy and gynecological surgery.
Jan Baekelandt is a gynecologic oncologic surgeon trained in Belgium, Germany, and South Africa. He consults at Imelda Hospital in Bonheiden, Belgium, with a specialization in gynecological oncology, minimally invasive, and robotic surgery. Jan is also clinically affiliated with Leuven University Hospital and is a researcher at the Catholic University of Leuven, focusing on development and regeneration in urogenital, abdominal, and plastic surgery. Since 2012, his research has primarily centered on vNOTES.
Nicole D. Bouvy is a consulting surgeon at Maastricht UMC+, specializing in laparoscopic, head and neck, and endocrine surgery. Throughout her career she has been driven by a commitment to reducing, preventing, and eliminating surgical trauma associated with procedures. Nicole Bouvy has authored over 200 research papers and has been an active member of the European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), serving on its executive board and chairing the program committee for Roma 2023. She is also the chair of the Dutch Endoscopic Society (NVEC) and secretary of the Dutch Society of Surgery.
Baljit Singh is a consultant colorectal surgeon at University Hospitals Leicester, UK, specializing in rectal cancer, proctology, and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer using faecal immunochemical testing and novel biomarkers. He chairs the NHS England Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group (CRG) and the East Midlands Colorectal Expert Clinical Advisory Group (ECAG), and is vice-chair of the Technology Appraisal Committee B. He also contributed to the NICE Colorectal Cancer Guidelines (NG151) in 2020 and the NICE Quality Standards in Colorectal Cancer in 2022. Baljit has served on the executive committees of the ACPGBI, ASGBI, and ESCP.
US
Dr. Ashley Britton Christmas earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his M.D. from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where he also completed his surgical residency and fellowship in critical care. He has been a trauma and critical care surgeon at Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte since 2006, where he serves as Medical Director and Chief of Trauma. He is also a Professor of Surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In 2021, Dr. Christmas completed his MBA from East Carolina University. With over 80 peerreviewed publications, Dr. Christmas is an active member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), and several other professional organizations. He has received multiple leadership scholarships and serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Trauma Centers Association of America (TCAA), among other national committee appointments.
Aurora Pryor, MD, FACS, FASMBS Dr. Pryor is President of Brown Surgical Associates, Surgeon-in-Chief at Rhode Island and The Miriam Hospitals, and Chair of Surgery at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. She earned her engineering degree and MD from Duke University, where she also completed her General Surgery residency and a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. After holding leadership roles at Duke, she moved to New York in 2011, where she served as Vice Chair of Surgery and Director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook. Dr. Pryor has over 250 publications, co-edited four textbooks, and given more than 300 presentations worldwide. She holds several patents, including for the Transenterix SPIDER single port system. Her research focuses on advancing laparoscopic bariatric and GI surgery, and she specializes in treating gastroesophageal diseases, obesity, and hernias using advanced surgical techniques.
Dr. Hope is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and is the Program Director for the Novant/New Hanover Regional Medical Center Residency Program in Wilmington, North Carolina. He is the past President of the Americas Hernia Society and is a Board Member of the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative Foundation. His research interest includes hernia surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and surgical education publishing over 100 peer review articles and 15 book chapters related to these topics.