Prof Keyoumars Ashkan
Consultant Neurosurgeon
- Year Qualified
- 1993
- Qualifications
- BA (Hons), BSc (Hons), Dip Mus, MB BCh (Commend), MD, MRCP (UK), FRCS (Eng.), FRCP, FRCPS (Glasg.), FRCPath, FRCS (SN)
- Specialty
- Neurosurgery
Special Interests
- Functional neurosurgery
- Neuro-oncology
- Spinal surgery
- Surgery for intractable pain and headaches
Biography
Prof Ashkan is Professor of Neurosurgery with specialist interest in functional neurosurgery, image guided surgery, and surgery for brain and spinal tumours. He is the lead for neuro-oncology and the lead for the neuroscience commercial clinical trial unit at King’s College Hospital. He was appointed as a consultant in 2004.
He trained at the University of Wales College of Medicine and underwent postgraduate training in both medicine and surgery. He then completed an intensive general neurosurgical training programme on the South Thames Specialist Registrar rotation, working in several leading units such as King’s College, Atkinson Morley’s and The National Hospitals. Following this, he spent a year of fellowship in France working with Prof Benabid, who is acknowledged as the founder of modern functional neurosurgery. Prior to his consultant appointment at King’s College Hospital Prof Ashkan was a Senior Lecturer in Functional Neurosurgery and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
Prof Ashkan is actively involved in research, especially in developing novel treatments for brain tumours and for Parkinson’s disease. He is the deputy lead for neurosciences Research Advisory Group at King’s College Hospital. He has published over 400 peer review papers, abstracts, and book chapters, and is a reviewer for several journals and grant awarding bodies. He is actively involved in training both undergraduate and postgraduate clinical and research students. He is a regular speaker at national and international neurosurgical scientific meetings.
Prof Ashkan is the President of the British Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, Chairman of the Surgical Group of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, and Lead for the Genomics England programme for brain tumours.
In 2018 he was voted Clinician of The Year by the Brain Tumour Charity.