Professor Michael Jenkinson MB ChB, PhD, FRCSEd (Neuro.Surg)

Personal Statement

Michael D. Jenkinson qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1998. He undertook neurosurgical training at The Walton Centre, Liverpool between 2001 and 2010, which included three years as a clinical research fellow culminating in a PhD in Neuroscience (Imaging and Biology of Oligodendroglial Tumours). He learnt awake craniotomy and brain mapping techniques in Liverpool, San Francisco and Montpellier. He was appointed as a Consultant Neurosurgeon and at The Walton Centre in March 2010. He was appointed Professor of Neurosurgery at The University of Liverpool in 2019.

In his current role as Chair of Surgical Trials he has a remit to expand the surgical trials research portfolio across all surgical discipline and to develop the next generation of surgical clinical trialists.

His research interests include meningioma management (incidental tumours, seizures and quality of life), imaging and biology of brain metastases and interventional clinical trials in neurosurgery and neuro-oncology. He is the recipient of grants for basic science and clinical research from the MRC, Brain Tumour Charity and NIHR. He is the chief investigator on several NIHR-funded trials, including the multi-centre ROAM trial (Radiation versus Observation following surgical resection of Atypical Meningioma)[https://roam-trial.org.uk] and STOP 'EM (Surgeons Trial Of Prophylaxis for Epilepsy in Meningioma). He is a co-investigator on the NIHR funded SPRING, FUTURE GB and PROSSPER trials. He led a pilot study to investigate the use of Ketogenic diet for patients with glioblastoma (KEATING).

He was the co-chief investigator on the NIHR funded BASICS trial (The British Antibiotic and Silver Impregnated Catheters for ventriculoperitoneal Shunts randomized controlled trial) that showed that antibiotic catheters reduced the infection rate from 6% to 2% and save £135,000 per infection averted.

He sub-specialises in neurosurgical oncology for intrinsic brain tumours including awake craniotomy and intra-operative brain mapping for low grade glioma, midline and endoscopic approaches to intraventricular and deep intrinsic tumours and stereotactic radiosurgery.

He chairs the NCRI Brain Tumour Group and the Academic Committee of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons. He is the National Neurosurgery Subspecialty Lead for RCSEng.

He appeared in the UK Channel 5 series ‘Brain Hospital: Saving Lives’, which raised public awareness of the challenges faced by brain tumour patients and their families and friends.