Prof. David Leaper Cardiff University, UK

Professor Leaper qualified from Leeds Medical School in 1970 MB ChB (with honours) and trained in general surgery in Leeds, Scarborough, King’s College and Westminster Hospitals in London with research periods as a Cancer Research Campaign Fellow and Medical Research Council Fellow. He has the Fellowship in Surgery of the... read moreRoyal Colleges of Edinburgh, England and Glasgow; by thesis the MD and ChM; and the Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons. He was Senior Lecturer in Surgery/Consultant surgeon at the University of Bristol (1981-1995), Professor of Surgery at the University of Hong Kong (1988-1990) and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1995-2004), and now Emeritus Professor, with Visiting Chair status at Cardiff University and Imperial College, London. His surgical expertise was developed in colorectal and breast cancer, oncology and development of day case surgery.
Professor Leaper’s research interests include surgical site infection, sepsis and critical care, wound healing, breast and colorectal cancer, computer-aided diagnosis, and surgical education and training. He has been an editor/reviewer for many journals. He is a past president of the Surgical Infection Society of Europe and the European Wound Management Association and a Hunterian Professor and a Zachary Cope lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He has published over 10 books, 50 chapters and 500 original research, review papers and abstracts (over 180 on Medline). He is still active in research with current projects running in Leicester, Cardiff and Vienna in the field of wound infection. In addition he still is active with many societies, and is an advisor and recognised teacher to several national and international, academic and Industry-linked projects.
Professor Leaper is a past member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and has subsequently examined for the Intercollegiate Fellowship and serves as an external examiner for other undergraduate and postgraduate examinations (currently senior examiner at Imperial College, London for MBBS). He was an instigator of the Care of the Critically Ill Surgical Patient course (CCrISP). He is a past programme director of surgical training (Northern Deanery) and served on the Specialist Advisory Board in general surgery. He was Chair of the NICE guideline development group on SSI (published 2008), is a member of the Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) committee and is a Fellow of the Linnaean Society.