The MAHSC (Manchester Academic Health Science Centre) inaugural lecture series celebrates the remarkable contributions of our honorary MAHSC clinical chairs. These prestigious honors, awarded by the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, recognise distinguished individuals across Greater Manchester who have demonstrated excellence in research, education, and clinical practice.

Professor Bilal Alkhaffaf, Consultant Upper GI Surgeon at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Professor at The University of Manchester, delivered his MAHSC inaugural lecture, charting a journey that began with clinical practice, took shape through surgical research, and continues to evolve through innovation, collaboration, and leadership. With honesty, humility, and humour, Bilal shared his personal and professional path – one marked by early challenges, international training, and a growing passion for improving outcomes in surgery.

A Non-Linear Path to Academic Impact
Bilal began by reflecting on his own journey, which spanned Cairo, Leeds, Lyon and Birmingham before settling in Manchester during his teens. Influenced by a family steeped in education and medicine – his father a vascular surgeon, his mother a teacher,  educationalist and linguist – he trained at Manchester Medical School and developed an early interest in surgery. It wasn’t until well into his consultant role – in the run up to the centralisation of upper GI surgery in the region -– that research became a key element of his career.

Faced with the challenge of reporting clinical outcomes in surgical practice,  Bilal uncovered a deeper problem: there was no conensus agreement on what and how outcomes should be measured. This gap – both in clinical practice and trials – set the course for the next phase of his work.

Standardising What Matters
Securing a prestigious NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship, Bilal undertook a part-time PhD to develop a core outcomes set for surgical trials in gastric cancer – identifying, through international consultation, the outcomes that matter most to patients, clinicians, and researchers.

The resulting GASTROS study involved nearly 1,000 participants from more than 55 countries across six continents. The work not only standardised outcomes but centred the patient voice in global cancer research – something Bilal is deeply passionate about.

“Without understanding what’s important to patients, we risk  ignoring critically important outcomes including quality of life,” he said.

Surgical Innovation and Global Collaboration
In parallel, alongside his colleagues, Bilal has helped shape Manchester into a leading centre for minimally invasive oesophageal and gastric cancer surgery, performing over 400 cases and mentoring fellows from across the globe. He was a PI for the landmark ROMIO trial, comparing open and keyhole oesophagectomy, and introduced novel approaches to managing serious surgical complications such as anastomotic leaks – including the use of endoluminal vacuum therapy (EVT)..

Now, with new collaborations and funding from NIHR and industry partners, his team is developing tools to measure symptoms and outcomes more precisely, including in under-represented populations and low-resource settings.

Throughout his lecture, Bilal’s commitment to improving not just surgical outcomes but the patient’s experience of healthcare was clear. Whether developing international trials, training the next generation of surgeons, or working with deprived communities, his work is rooted in compassion, rigour, and a desire to challenge the status quo. Widely regarded as a thoughtful collaborator and inspiring mentor, his leadership within Manchester’s surgical community continues to shape practice locally and globally.