Join us to celebrate a special milestone for our new professors and hear about their inspiring career journeys. Doors for this event will open at 16.45, with the lectures to commence at 17.00. A drinks reception will be held immediately after the lecture at 18:00.

Please note that registration will close at midnight the Sunday before the lecture.

Professor Tanya Shaw

Tissue repair: a supportive niche for cell (and career) plasticity 

Abstract

Damage to our tissues is inevitable, and therefore an ability to repair is evolutionarily essential. Successful wound repair requires cells to reprogramme, changing their identities and behaviours to promote healing. Interestingly, these cellular changes often mirror developmental biology or are hijacked in disease. This inaugural lecture will describe the remarkable cell plasticity showcased during tissue repair and regeneration, and will aim to draw parallels between this process and my career path. Just as the tissue environment is instructive to cell fate, the environments I have been fortunate enough to work in have guided my “differentiation”. 

Biography

Prof Tanya Shaw earned her Honours BSc in Physiology at the University of Western Ontario, and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa (Canada), researching ovarian cancer under the supervision of Professor Barbara Vanderhyden. Tanya then moved to the UK, where she began working on wound repair as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Paul Martin at the University of Bristol. She established her independent research group at St George’s, University of London (2009-2014). In 2014 she joined King’s, where she is a team leader in the Centre for Inflammation Biology and Cancer Immunology, in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences. She was Head of the Anatomy Teaching department from 2021-2025, and since 2024 has been Head of the Department of Inflammation Biology. 

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Professor James Gossage

The World of Gullets, Stomachs and Academic Surgery

Abstract

James finished his medical training in 1999, qualifying from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals Medical Schools. After basic surgical training, he completed a Master of Surgery at King’s College, London, receiving a Royal College of Surgeons Research Fellowship and a Hunterian Professorship. After his registrar training, he took a fellowship year in South Australia, where he advanced his skills in oesophageal surgery. In 2011, he was appointed as a Consultant Surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital and Senior Lecturer at King’s College, London. During the last 14 years, he has established his practice in oesophageal surgery, receiving referrals both nationally and internationally. Through King’s College, he supervises higher degrees improving outcomes from oesophageal surgery and supports a successful academic group leading the development of novel oesophageal cancer treatments.  

Biography

Professor James Gossage is a Consultant Surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals. He has a specialist interest in oesophageal cancer, revisional surgery and oesophageal reconstruction. He currently leads robotic surgery for the Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Service. He is an Honorary Professor at King’s College, London, researching into novel cancer treatments. Externally, he was the National Lead for Oesophagogastric Cancer Surgery and is currently the Honorary Treasurer on the Association of Upper GI Surgeons Council. He is the Surgical Lead on the National Audit Committee, has been an invited expert on NICE guidance and has led on national surgical service specification guidance for NHS England.