Core Trainee Forum

Kiran is the founder and president of the Core Trainee Forum. He is a Urology themed Core Surgical Trainee in the Thames Valley deanery. He co-founded the international charity OxPal 2.0, which improves medical education in austere environments. He is passionate about increasing access to medical care and the quality of surgical training.

Oliver is an ENT-themed core surgical trainee in North London. He has an interest in medical education - he has presented and published on the topic of clinical teacher-medical student interactions and has authored ‘The Complete Guide to Core Surgical Training Interviews’ (Cambridge University Press).

Nicole is a General/Plastics-themed core trainee the Thames Valley deanery. She was previously chair of the Oxford FTSS. She is passionate about surgical education and mentorship, and enjoys running and hiking in her free time.

Dave is a Trauma and Orthopaedics themed CT2 in Thames Valley. Outside of work he enjoys exercise and exploring the world whenever possible. He is enthusiastic about surgical training and teaching others. During foundation training, he headed up projects including a national teaching course and led the planning of a national surgical conference, as part of his role on the Oxford FTSS committee.

Jacob is a core surgical trainee based in South Wales. During foundation training in Leeds, he undertook various positions including post finals assistantship lead in collaboration with Leeds University. He has a keen interest in research winning various prizes including a prestigious British Orthopaedic Association prize during their annual conference. In his spare time, he enjoys rugby, skiing and can speak fluent German. He hopes to use his position to help CSTs across the country.

Jinpo is a General Surgery themed core trainee in North West deanery. He was previously involved in the foundation trainee surgical society in the west midlands. He hopes to use his position within the CTF to improve opportunities for SHO grade doctors not in training. Outside of work he was previously a training officer for Manchester and Salford university royal naval unit and plays violin for amateur musical theatre show

Eddie is a CT1 in Gloucester/Cheltenham, T&O themed. He has recently returned to the UK after 2 years away working in Australia rotating between Orthopaedics and Plastics, where he developed an interest for fixation and reconstruction of upper and lower limb trauma. He was on the Oxford FTSS committee during foundation training, and has taken up the role of Education Lead for the Core Trainee Forum

Sophie is currently a Trauma and Orthopaedic themed CT1 in North London. She graduated from Queens University Belfast and was previously the president of the London FTSS. Sophie is enthusiastic about mentorship and teaching. With the Core Trainee Forum, Sophie aims to support colleagues throughout their training as part of the marketing team

Sanskrithi is a junior Neurosurgical trainee in the West Midlands deanery. She was the founding member of the Cambridge Foundation Trainee Surgical Society. She is enthusiastic about medical education and widening access. Sanskrithi is part of the marketing team for the RCSEd Core Trainee Forum.

Corey is an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery in the North East Deanery. He was part of the founding committee of the North East FTSS and continues to engage in teaching and leadership. His research investigates the use of fluorescent dyes for the resection of bone and soft tissue tumours, and he is currently a co-investigator on the SarcoSIGHT clinical trial.

Sirat is an ENT-themed core surgical trainee based in the North West. She has recently completed the academic foundation programme at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, during which she chaired the RCSEd's Manchester Foundation Trainee Surgical Society. As the Core Trainee Forum Research Lead, she aims to identify and raise awareness of solutions to core trainee-related issues.

Ed completed his Foundation programme in the Thames Valley deanery and is now a Urology-themed Core Trainee in the area. He is passionate about medical education and led the team of education fellows at the University of Buckingham during his F3. He now hopes to further the interests of Core Trainees via the Forum in a research and data collection capacity.

Bianca is a General Surgery-themed CT1 in the Thames Valley deanery. She previously served as President of the Cambridge Foundation Trainee Surgical Society and chaired the Foundation Trainee Surgical Society National Conference. Prior to medicine, she completed a Business degree and worked in large corporate organisations. She is passionate about improving opportunities and training pathways outside formal training programmes, particularly in the context of rising competition ratios and increasing challenges securing surgical posts.

Joseph is a NIHR Academic Clinica Fellow in Vascular Surgery based in Oxford. During his academic foundation training he was part of the Yorkshire FTSS, where he set up a novel CPD-accredited webinar series on surgical leadership – Beyond the Scalpel: Pioneering Sustainable, Innovative and Inclusive Surgical Leadership. As the inaugural Leadership Lead for the Core Trainee Forum, Joseph is helping to bring structured leadership development to core surgical trainees across the UK. Leadership Subcommittee

Hannah is currently a Trauma and Orthopaedic themed CT1 in the Severn Deanery.

She graduated from the University of Oxford and completed her foundation training in Sussex. She has a keen interest in medical education and has worked as an anatomy demonstrator. She completed a Postgraduate Certificate in medical education and as part of this she led the postgraduate education forum. Outside of medicine she is a keen triathlete and cyclist raising money for orthopaedic charities.

Smit competed his Foundation training in Thames Valley deanery and went on to hold dual positions as an Anatomy Demonstrator at Kings College London and Clinical Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Department of Surgical Sciences. Previously the President for KCL Leaders in Health, he continues to engage in medical leadership in educational settings.

Nakulan Nantha Kumar is an NIHR ST2 Academic Clinical Fellow in Trauma and Orthopaedics at the University of Birmingham and Lead of the RCSEd Core Trainee Forum Ambassador Network. With a strong interest in surgical training, education, and trainee development, he has previously served as President of the West Midlands FTSS and as the Regional Core Trainee Ambassador for RCSEd. In his current role, he serves as a link between regional ambassadors and the National Committee, helping to ensure trainee voices are heard and acted upon.

Vishnu is a General Surgery Themed CT1 trainee based in the West Midlands. His foundation training in the Thames Valley was marked by his leadership of the Oxford FTSS where he demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing education in surgery. As part of IBSI, Vishnu has played a pivotal role in driving innovation and research. Beyond his professional and academic pursuits, Vishnu is an avid runner, balancing his passion for surgery with a dedication to personal fitness and well-being.

Julie is a Core Trainee in East Scotland. She initially studied aerospace engineering in France and did research in California before obtaining a PhD in autonomous robotics at the University of Oxford. She then saw the light and did Grad entry medicine at the University of Oxford and Foundation training in the Scottish Highlands. Her current interests lie in rural general surgery and trauma. She was previously involved with the RCSEd foundation trainee society as part of the mentorship programme.

Conor is a T&O themed Core Surgical Trainee in the Thames Valley Deanery. He Completed a BsC in biomedical science and PhD in immunology in Ireland before starting Grad Entry Medicine at the University of Oxford. He did the academic foundation programme with a research interest focused on Big data in orthopaedics. He has previously been involved with RCSEds foundation trainee surgical society, helping organise and run the national conference for the last two years.

William is a CT2 in the North West with a passion for orthopaedics.

Marium is a General Surgery themed Core Surgical Trainee based in South London. After completing her medical degree as an international student at Newcastle University, she completed her Foundation Training in Yorkshire. She has an interest in medical education and previously worked as an Upper GI Teaching Fellow at Hull York Medical School, where she also earned a Postgraduate Diploma in MedEd. She has also previously served as the Chair of the Yorkshire Foundation Trainee Surgical Society (FTSS).