Section of Surgery

Head of Section: Professor Paul G Horgan PhD FRCS

The Academic Department of Surgery has a long and prestigious history dating from the epoch achievements of Lord Lister.  The department now comprises a team of scientists and clinicians working collaboratively in surgical research and teaching.  We are currently strengthening the links between group leaders to maximize the opportunities for collaborative research.  Over the past 5 years we have successfully supervised 36 surgical trainees to an MSc, MD or PhD degree and continue to work with many in on-going research.  The department’s work has been cited >4,000 times over this period. 

Surgery remains the prime treatment modality for the cure of cancer and this department’s success is primarily based on the clinical excellence of its clinical academics across a broad front of surgical specialities.   However, a proportion of patients continue to develop local or systemic recurrence and ultimately die of their disease.  It has long been recognised that it is not only the intrinsic properties of the tumour, but also the tumour environment that determines invasion and metastasis in cancer patients.  This academic group has had a longstanding interest and has made substantial contributions to the research literature in this area.  In the future the section will lead translational clinical cancer research for the University of Glasgow.