Dr Omar Mownah
PhD in Surgical Training 2018
Omar Mownah began his PhD in 2013 at the University of Sunderland after a meeting with Professor David Talbot and Dr Noel Carter whilst he was a doctor in the early years of surgical training.
He says: “I was working at the time in Leeds and made a visit to the North East to discuss the possibility of joining their team.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time working under the supervision of Dr Carter and Professor Talbot. I learned a great deal from them and overall conducting research alongside them was an exciting experience. The research we undertook was a particularly novel topic and we were able to demonstrate a new technique which could be applied to hearts and offer new hope for patients requiring heart transplantation.”
Omar’s research took almost three years (full-time) and was combined with working at the Freeman Hospital in the Transplantation Unit. He also spent one year of that time working as a General Surgery Registrar in London.
Despite the intensity of the work involved, Omar’s says he always enjoyed being in Sunderland finding it a vibrant place with friendly people.
“The University was where our group met for a meeting every week,” he says. “This involved discussing our latest findings and addressing any challenges we were facing with the experiments. This was an aspect of my time in Sunderland I enjoyed a great deal.”
Omar is now currently working in the Liver/Pancreas Surgery and Liver Transplantation department at the Royal Free Hospital in London as a Senior Registrar. His long-term plan is to become a Consultant Surgeon in this field and to pursue his research interests.
Asked how will achieving his PhD at the University of Sunderland will help develop his career, he explained: “My PhD afforded me several opportunities. I was able to meet and collaborate with many people from different disciplines who contributed to my research. I was fortunate to be able to present my work at several meetings across the UK, as well as the Germany, France and the USA. All of these experiences have helped me in my current career as a surgeon.”
Explaining how he plans to take his research forward, he says: “I hope to resume active participation in research very soon.
“At present surgery training has taken my primary focus but I will be looking to continue research, especially in transplantation. My other main interest is in the subject of liver and pancreas cancers.”