Council

Council of Management members

Ahmed Ahmed

BOMSS President, Trustee, NBSR Committee, Endoscopy Committee
Consultant in upper gastrointestinal surgery and Lead Bariatric Surgeon
Imperial College London / Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Biography

Mr Ahmed Ahmed is a consultant in upper gastrointestinal surgery and lead bariatric surgeon at Imperial Weight Centre. He has performed over 10,000 laparoscopic bariatric procedures, including over 7,000 gastric bypasses. He has trained in general and upper GI surgery in the UK and also at Stanford University and the University of Rochester in the US. He trains other surgeons in the field of bariatric surgery and is on the faculty of numerous courses on bariatric surgery. He is also actively involved in bariatric surgery research and has numerous publications in peer reviewed journals. He is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), International Federation of Surgery for Obesity (IFSO), Society of American Gastroenterological and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), Association of Upper GI Surgeons (AUGIS) and the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS). In 2007, he was awarded the International Federation of Surgery for Obesity (IFSO) scholarship. Mr Ahmed is often consulted by other professionals and medicolegal experts for his opinions on complex bariatric surgery cases. His Imperial Weight Centre bariatric surgery unit in London has been designated as an international centre of excellence for bariatric surgery and he now sits on the prestigious International Bariatric Surgery Review Committee (IBSRC).

Mr Ahmed was elected to council of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) in 2017 and took over as Treasurer in 2021. Ahmed was then elected as BOMSS Secretary in 2023. He was also elected to the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2020.

Chetan Parmar

BOMSS Secretary, Patient Safety Committee, NBSR Committee
Consultant Bariatric/UGI and General Surgeon & Clinical Lead
The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, London

Biography

Professor Chetan Parmar is a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon with expertise in managing Obesity and its diseases. He is Professor of Surgery at the University College London. He is Clinical Director for Surgery & Cancer at Whittington Health NHS Trust, London. His dedication to academia and innovation led to his appointment as the COVID research lead during the pandemic, subsequently leading to be appointed as the Joint Director for Research & Innovation. Additionally, Chetan leads the North Thames UGI NIHR Clinical Research Network. With a passion for education and training he serves as the Surgical Tutor for the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Over his career, he has performed thousands of operations specializing in metabolic bariatric surgeries and endoscopies. He actively engages in collaborative, high quality, patient-centred research and serves as the principal investigator for multiple NIHR-funded trials. Chetan has over 250 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters of reputed publishing house. He is the Associate Editor of textbook ‘Obesity, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery: A Comprehensive Guide,’ published by Springer in 2022. He is Associate editor of Obesity Surgery journal and editor and reviewer of numerous other esteemed journals including SOARD, IJS, MIS, BMC. Recognised for his expertise, he is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences. He is grateful to be conferred an honorary International professor title for his contributions. He holds position as an elected council member of IFSO and MGB-OAGB International Club. Chetan is honorary consultant surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust and is mentoring the adolescent bariatric surgery program.

He is a member of the patient safety and NBSR committee of BOMSS and strives to improve patient outcomes. He has successfully organised the Annual Scientific Conference of BOMSS from 2021-24 at the University of Oxford, Brighton, Birmingham, and Harrogate. He was elected as BOMSS Professional Educational Lead in 2024 and had grown the educational activities including exchange fellowship programs and robotic workshops. He is currently the Secretary for BOMSS.

X @drcdparmar

Omar Khan

Treasurer, Trustee, NBSR Committee

Biography

Mr Omar Khan is a Consultant Surgeon with a specialist academic and clinical practice in weight-loss surgery.

He studied at the University of Cambridge, and undertook his clinical training in Nottingham and Southampton (where he completed a PhD in obesity and cardiovascular disease). He was appointed as a Consultant Surgeon in Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgery at St Georges Hospital, London where he has served as the upper GI and bariatric surgical lead and a senior examiner for medical undergraduates.

Mr Khan has an active interest in research and is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer and specialist adviser on obesity to NICE. He has published over 160 articles on all aspects of surgery and his weight-loss research has been featured in the national and international press. He acts a medicolegal specialist and provides expert opinion for solicitors, HM Coroner and the GMC.

Mr Khan was elected to council of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society in 2022 and served as co-chair of the BOMSS patient safety committee. He is currently Chair of the National Bariatric Surgery Registry Committee - the body responsible for publishing and monitoring outcomes in weight loss surgery in the UK.

Nick Carter

ASM Lead
Consultant Laparoscopic Upper GI Robotic & Bariatric Surgeon
Portsmouth

Biography

Nick has worked in the NHS for 22 years and as a Consultant in Oesophagogastric and Bariatric Surgery at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust for 9 of these where he is the Clinical Lead for Bariatic Surgery. As part of his training he undertook a specialist fellowship in Bariatric Surgery in University College London.

He is a member of he Trial Management Group For the BYBAND Sleeve Trial. He has co-authored the chapter on Extreme Obesity Surgery in the book Obesity, Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery.

Nick started Robotic UGI & Bariatric Surgery at Portsmouth Hospital in February 2019 and now travels around the UK proctoring surgeons in Robotic Surgery. He enjoys teaching and is involved in delivering multiple courses each year.

Nick is honoured to have been voted onto the BOMSS council and wants to help deliver the BOMSS vision of improving access to safe and effective treatment for people living with with severe and complex obesity across the UK

Ken Clare

Patient and Public Involvement Lead
Obesity UK

Biography

Ken Clare from Liverpool has lived with obesity all his life. With a professional background in general and mental health nursing. For over 20 years, he has become a strong advocate for people with obesity and is passionate about ensuring the voice of lived experience is considered at every stage of research, commissioning, policy and service delivery. Ken founded WLSInfo (a UK based patient support and information charity) in 2002.

He currently serves as Chair of European Coalition for People Living with Obesity (ECPO). He is Director of Operations at Obesity UK. and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of ASO (Association for the Study of Obesity) in 2023. He is currently working within the Obesity Institute at Leeds Beckett University leading in Obesity Voices, the Patient and Public Involvement Hub.

Helen Parretti

BOMSS GP IHP representative
Consultant Clinical Senior Lecturer in Primary Care
University of East Anglia

Biography

Helen is a GP and academic conducting obesity research at the University of East Anglia. Over the last 5yrs, she has also worked clinically in specialist weight management services in the East of England. She is a member of the NICE weight management guidelines and quality standards committees and a RCGP clinical advisor. Helen has been an IHP representative on BOMSS council for the last 3yrs and is delighted to have been re-elected into this position. She aims to continue to work with council members, associated committees and the membership to improve the understanding and management of patients who have bariatric surgery within primary care. Helen has a particular interest in long-term post-bariatric surgery care and currently leads an NIHR funded study in this area, and led the multidisciplinary group who developed the BOMSS GP Hub, launched last year. She also aims to further build on this work as well as support more outreach to primary care healthcare professionals.

Naiara Fernandez-Munoz

BOMSS Nurse IHP representative
Advanced Nurse Practitioner
The Whittington Hospital - Whittington Health NHS Trust

Biography

Naiara has worked as a qualified nurse for 15 years, starting her career in Spain and moving to the UK/ NHS in 2012.

With 7 years’ experience in the North London Obesity Surgery Service, Naiara now works as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) in Bariatrics and Upper GI surgery within a high-volume bariatric department in London.

She was appointment as a Bariatric Nurse Specialist in 2016 and along with the commitment to serving patients with obesity, she has upskilled herself into an independent Nurse Endoscopist and a Non-Medical Prescriber assisting the wider multidisciplinary team within her department which helped her upgrade her post into an ANP.

Along with her clinical skills, she is also active in academics and have presented in BOMSS annual meetings and have publications in peer-reviewed journals.

She is particularly drawn to this opportunity because She would like to initiate the creation of a national curriculum for Bariatric Specialist Nurses and help others to achieve career development thought Bariatric & Metabolic services and be the link between BOMSS and other IHPs.

Emily McBride

BOMSS Psychology IHP representative
Consultant Health Psychologist | Clinical Academic at KCL | Behavioural Scientist (PhD)

Biography

Dr Emily McBride is a Clinical Academic Psychologist in Health Psychology within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London.

She applies psychology and behavioural science to improve outcomes across long-term conditions, chronic disease, and medical care. Her work spans a range of conditions including obesity, cancer, pain, endocrine disorders, and neurological conditions.

Her current programme predominantly focuses on obesity management (including bariatric surgery and GLP-1 therapies) and multiple long-term conditions, with particular emphasis on health inequalities and intersections between mental health and health behaviours. She develops and evaluates psychologically informed interventions, including digital approaches.

She has secured over £500,000 in research funding as Principal Investigator, including awards from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and leads interdisciplinary funded projects at the intersection of behavioural science and clinical care. Her work often integrates behavioural theory with real-world implementation, with a strong emphasis on scalable and equitable models of intervention and care delivery.

Alongside her academic role, Dr McBride holds is a Consultant Health Psychologist within an NHS bariatric service, where she developed and leads a specialist psychology pathway embedded within multidisciplinary obesity care. She is Psychologist Lead on the British Obesity and Metabolic Specialist Society (BOMSS) Council, contributing to national clinical guidance and professional standards.

Dr McBride lectures on the MSc in Health Psychology at King’s and is Module Lead for ‘Health Psychology in Action and Professional Development’, overseeing clinical skills and theory teaching and placement coordination. She supervises PhD students, MSc dissertations, and professional doctorate trainees, and is an accredited BPS Stage 2 Health Psychology supervisor.

She completed her PhD in Behavioural Science at University College London, including as an Exchange Scholar at Yale University, through a competitively funded NIHR fellowship and Yale–UCL scholarship focused on HPV and cervical cancer screening.

Her doctoral work contributed to national changes in UK cervical screening communication materials. She has received national recognition awards for research excellence, including awards from NIHR, the British Psychological Society, and the Society of Academic Primary Care.

Dr McBride also has a background in health policy and public impact, having previously served as Policy Lead for the British Psychological Society (Division of Health Psychology) and as a Senior Behavioural Scientist within the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

Through these roles, she contributed to national policy discussions, professional guidance, and the integration of behavioural science into government and NHS decision-making.

Research interests

Application of psychology and behavioural science across long-term conditions and chronic disease
Bariatric psychology and psychological care in obesity management (including GLP-1 therapies and bariatric surgery)
Multiple long-term conditions (MLTC)
Intersections between mental health conditions and health behaviours
Health inequalities in chronic disease prevention and treatment
Development and evaluation of psychologically informed and digital health interventions
Translational behavioural medicine and implementation within clinical services
Impact of behavioural science on health policy and clinical guideline development

Expertise and Public Engagement

Dr McBride disseminates her expertise in health psychology and behavioural science through national committee roles and professional networks. She has engaged extensively with policymakers and has produced and co-authored national policy guidance documents and briefing papers.

She is actively involved in Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement, serving on working groups and leading funded PPIE projects to co-design and refine research and intervention development. She has secured dedicated funding to support meaningful patient and public partnership in her work.

She also contributes to public engagement through professional events and collaboration with stakeholder panels to ensure research outputs are accessible, relevant, and impactful.

Veronica Giudice

BOMSS Dietetic IHP representative
Advanced Specialist Bariatric Surgery and Complex Obesity Dietitian, Founder and Lead Dietitian of Mind, Body and Soul Weight Loss Clinic.

Biography

Alex Miras

BOMSS Medical Physician Lead
Professor of Endocrinology
Ulster University

Biography

Alex Miras is Professor of Endocrinology at Ulster University. His clinical and research work focus solely on Obesity and type 2 diabetes. He has contributed to clinical management policy and research in the field of Obesity over the last 14 years. The specialist interests of his research Group are the mechanisms of action of interventions for obesity, focusing on pharmacotherapy, medical devices, and obesity surgery. Alex is a member of the NICE obesity management guidelines committee, trustee of the Association for the Study of Obesity and chair of the research subcommittee of the NBSR. He is associate editor for the journals Obesity and SOARD.

Dimitri Pournaras

Research Lead
Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon
North Bristol NHS Trust

Biography

Dimitri Pournaras graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and undertook all his postgraduate training in the UK. He was awarded a Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellowship to conduct research on obesity, diabetes and metabolic surgery.

He completed his PhD in the Department of Investigative Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London investigating the mechanism of action of bariatric surgery and the role of the gut on appetite and glucose homeostasis. He then trained in oesophagogastric surgery in Cambridge and Norwich. Following a Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Fellowship approved by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, he was appointed as a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon in North Bristol NHS Trust where he currently works as part of the multidisciplinary team treating obesity as a disease.

Dimitri is the inaugural British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society/Royal College of Surgeons of England bariatric Surgical Specialty Lead and is committed to high quality, collaborative, patient centred research with the objective to improve obesity care.

Andrew Robertson

Surgical Lead
Consultant General and Bariatric Surgeon and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer

Biography

Andrew Robertson is a Consultant General & Bariatric Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

He has an interest in undergraduate and post-graduate teaching and teaches on the Edinburgh Surgical Online Courses. He is a reviewer for various surgical journals and is on the editorial board of Obesity Surgery.

He has an ongoing research interest, having undertaken a research fellowship at the Northern Oesophago-Gastric Unit, Newcastle resulting in a PhD. This led to him being awarded the Syme Medal by the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. He has been awarded the BOMSS Council Prize for subsequent research. His surgical training was undertaken in the South-East Scotland. This was followed by a Senior Royal College of Surgeons Accredited Bariatric Clinical Fellowship at Musgrove Park, Hospital, Taunton.

Helen Heneghan

Devolved Nations Chair

Biography

MB BCh BAO, PhD, FRCS

Prof. Heneghan is a graduate of NUI Galway, and completed basic surgical training in Galway University Hospital.
2012 - Awarded a PhD in the molecular expression of breast cancer and obesity from NUI Galway.
2016 - Completed the RCSI Higher Surgical Training scheme in General Surgery. During her training, she spent two years in the Bariatric Metabolic Institute in Cleveland Clinic, Ohio.
Completed her training with a Bariatric Fellowship in the UK (Chester, Liverpool).

John Loy

Education Lead, Bariatric Surgeon

Biography

Mohammad Fallaha

National Trainee Representative

Biography

Mohammad Fallaha is a General Surgery and Bariatrics Trainee Registrar based in the East of England. He attained his MBBS from Imperial College London with triple distinctions in Medical Science, Clinical Science and Clinical Practice, before undertaking an Academic Foundation Programme at Imperial College NHS Foundation Trust.

He subsequently went on to enter a run-through General Surgery programme in the East of England, where he is currently training. He has published in several journals and presented nationally and internationally during medical school and early training. He is also passionate about teaching, having founded two national teaching courses. To complement his passion for Medical Education, Mohammad has completed a PGCert in Medical Education, and is currently undertaking a Master's Degree in Healthcare and Medical Education.

Alongside his surgical training and clinical duties, Mohammad has been conducting clinical research projects, and his current work is centred on how to improve non-technical skills for surgical teams, and developing ambulatory pathways utilising novel technologies that can safely ambulate surgical patients to maximise the efficiency of NHS resources.

Mohammad has been a member of BOMSS for several years, and as a Bariatrics trainee has recognised some of the difficulties encountered during training. He is delighted to have been elected the Training Representative for BOMSS, and is keen to utilise his experience and passion for medical education to help improve the resources and support available to Bariatrics trainees to guide them through their career.

Dee Wainwright

BOMSS Patient Safety Committee Chair
Advanced Laparoscopic Surgical Care Practitioner

Biography

Dee has worked as a qualified nurse for the past 41years both in the Armed Forces and NHS.

She qualified as a Surgical Care Practitioner whilst working at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in 2005 specialising in UGI & Bariatric Surgery.

Dee has a BSc hon in Clinical practice with a post graduate Msc module in Obesity management and is also an Associate Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Dee currently provides specialist surgical assistance in UGI and Bariatric surgery as well as providing gastric band adjustment clinics and pre and post operative phone support for Bariatric patients.

Dee is proud to have been voted onto the BOMSS Patient Safety Committee and the opportunity to help drive improvements in patient safety and improve patient outcomes.

Altaf Awan

ALSGBI Representative
Consultant Bariatric, Benign pancreaticobiliary and Robotic surgeon
East Midlands

Biography

Mr Altaf Awan is a specialist consultant robotic, laparoscopic, bariatric (weight loss) & benign pancreaticobiliary surgeon. He was awarded his higher research degree (MD) from the University of Nottingham for his work on role of hormones in oesophageal carcinogenesis. Following completion of his higher surgical training in East Midlands, he completed his fellowship training in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric (weight loss) surgery. He is one of the senior and experienced bariatric surgeons at East Midlands Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (EMBMI), a regional centre that provides comprehensive bariatric service to patients from East Midlands.

Mr Awan specialises in bariatric (weight loss) surgery, surgical management of gallstones, bile duct stones, acute pancreatitis, acid reflux and all types of abdominal wall hernias. He has a keen interest in laparoscopic surgery for emergency cases and has helped develop innovative minimally invasive surgical techniques in the management of emergency conditions such as complex acute pancreatitis. He regularly undertakes keyhole surgery for surgical conditions that present as an emergency and affect gastrointestinal tract or abdominal wall. Mr Awan operative work on laparoscopic surgery for pancreatitis, bile duct stone, hernia and robotic surgery has been awarded top (First) prizes at UK prestigious National Surgical Scientific Meetings.

Mr Awan is Director of Education (Laparoscopic & Robotic surgery) for Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ALSGBI UK). Mr Awan is also a keen surgical trainer, a Course director and faculty for ALSGBI Key skills in advanced laparoscopic surgery, LapPass, Royal college of surgeons England (RCSEng) Core skills in Laparoscopic surgery courses.

Mr Awan is actively involved in clinical research with several publications in peer reviewed journals including work on weight loss surgery. He has a keen interest in surgical innovation to improve operative safety and is currently investigating role of Indocyanine Green (ICG) dye during minimally invasive surgery. He was invited for an interview at the Third International Bariatric Club (IBC) Oxford University World Congress 2022 and provided useful insight into role of fluorescence dye in bariatric (weight loss) surgery. He regularly delivers talks as an invited speaker at the national surgical meetings and his most recent talk was on role and advantages of robotic surgery in gastric bypass for weight loss at ALSGBI UK Annual scientific meeting held in Newcastle.

Mr Awan is currently leading development of robotic surgery in bariatric (weight loss), abdominal wall hernia and hiatus hernia surgery at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton and holds portfolio of Joint Multispecialty clinical lead for robotic surgery. Mr Awan is a member of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS), Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ALSGBI), European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), British hernia Society (BHS) and European Hernia Society (EHS).