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Rowan Parks

{{Short description|Professor of Surgical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox medical person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Rowan Parks

| honorific_suffix = MBBCh, MD, FRCSEd, FRCSI

| image = Rowan Parks.jpg|thumb|Rowan Parks| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Rowan Parks in 2024

| birth_name = Rowan Wesley Parks

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|3|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| death_cause =

| nationality =

| citizenship =

| education = *Royal Belfast Academical Institution

| occupation = Professor of surgery

| years_active =

| known_for = *Hepato-biliary surgery

  • Surgical education and training
  • Presidency Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

| relations =

| website =

| profession = Hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery

| field =

| work_institutions =

| specialism =

| research_field = *HPB malignancy

  • Biliary injury
  • Pancreatitis

| notable_works =

| prizes = *Millin medal

  • Moynihan medal

| child =

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| signature =

}}

Rowan Wesley Parks FRCSEd, FRCSI (RCSI) (born 5 March 1966) is a British doctor and academic who is professor of surgical sciences at the University of Edinburgh and president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). He is a hepato-biliary surgeon who trained in Belfast and Edinburgh and is general secretary of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) and a past president of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI). His interests include postgraduate medical education and training and he has held senior positions within NHS Education for Scotland (NES). His research interests in hepato-biliary research has resulted in numerous peer reviewed papers and other publications.

Early life and education

Rowan Parks was born in Belfast, to George Parks, a professor of surgery, and his wife Elisabeth (nee Mahood). His school education was at Inchmarlo preparatory school and then Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He received his medical qualification from Queens University Belfast in 1989 and completed surgical training in Northern Ireland.{{Cite web |date=3 October 2023 |title=Professor Rowan W Parks |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/surgery/staff/profiles/rowan-parks |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=The University of Edinburgh |language=en}}

Career

After being awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1993, Parks carried out a research project in Belfast at the Department of Surgery in Queens University. He investigated the mechanisms by which obstructive jaundice influenced gut barrier function. This work formed the basis of a thesis for which he received an MD degree in 1997. This led on to a clinical fellowship in hepato-biliary (HPB) surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He became a senior lecturer in surgery at the University of Edinburgh and was made honorary consultant surgeon in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in 1999. He became reader in 2006 and four years later the university created a personal chair for him as professor of surgical sciences.

During this time he developed an interest in surgical education and training, working with NHS Education for Scotland (NES), where he chaired NES surgical training committees and served as Associate Postgraduate Dean for South-East Scotland. From 2012 to 2022 he was Deputy Medical Director of NES.{{Cite web |title=Rowan Parks |url=https://app.medall.org/p/rowan-parks |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=app.medall.org |language=en}}

As of 2024, Parks is president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh{{Cite web |title=Professor Rowan Parks Takes Office as the 176th President of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh {{!}} RCSEd |url=https://www.rcsed.ac.uk/news-public-affairs/news/2022/november/professor-rowan-parks-takes-office-as-the-176th-president-of-the-royal-college-of-surgeons-of-edinburgh |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh |language=en}} and is also general secretary of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA).{{Cite web |title=Rowan Parks {{!}} IHPBA |url=https://www.ihpba.org/153_Rowan-Parks.html |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=www.ihpba.org}} He is an honorary patron of the Scottish Cancer Foundation, a charity which financially supports cancer research and promotes cancer awareness.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://scottishcancerfoundation.org.uk/about/ |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=Scottish Cancer Foundation |language=en-GB}}

Personal life

Parks is the son of Professor George Parks, who was president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.{{Cite web |title=Thomas George Parks |url=https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/library/collections/heritage-collections/presidents-of-rcsi/thomas-george-parks |access-date=20 February 2024 |website=www.rcsi.com |language=en}}

Awards and recognitions

As a member of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI) he was awarded Moynihan Medal for best original research in 1996 and the Moynihan travelling fellowship in 2001.{{Cite web |title=Moynihan Travelling Fellowship {{!}} Awards & Fellowships {{!}} ASGBI - Association of Surgeons of GB |url=https://www.asgbi.org.uk/awards/moynihan-travelling-fellowship |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=www.asgbi.org.uk}} He served as president of ASGBI between 2017 and 2018.{{Cite web |title=Past Presidents {{!}} Our History {{!}} ASGBI - Association of Surgeons of GB |url=https://www.asgbi.org.uk/about-us/past-presidents |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=www.asgbi.org.uk}}

In 2000 Parks gave the Millin Lecture and received the Millin medal at the RCSI.{{Cite web |title=Millin Lecture |url=https://www.rcsi.com/surgery/training/fellowship-opportunities/millin-lecture |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=www.rcsi.com |language=en}} He was awarded a Travelling Fellowship from the James IV Association of Surgeons in March 2004, enabling him to visit surgical centres around the world to study techniques in HPB surgery.{{Cite web |date=10 September 2017 |title=Traveller Reports |url=https://www.jamesivassociationsurgeons.com/group-pages/british-isles-row/travelling-fellowships-birow/traveller-reports |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=James IV Association of Surgeons |language=en-US}} The James IV Association is an international organisation which exists to promote the exchange of surgical knowledge and promote the highest standards of surgical care. and he became a member of the Association in 2008.{{Cite web |date=29 June 2017 |title=Members |url=https://www.jamesivassociationsurgeons.com/members |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=James IV Association of Surgeons |language=en-US}} He is also a past-president of the Great Britain & Ireland Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (GBIHPBA), an organisation which promotes improving healthcare in HPB disease and supports research, training and public awareness in the speciality.{{Cite web |date=16 February 2024 |title=The Great Britain and Ireland Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association ( |url=https://www.gbihpba.org.uk/about-us/ |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=GBIHPBA}}

He has received honorary fellowships from:

  • The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow{{Cite web |date=19 February 2024 |title=Professor Rowan Parks |url=https://www.ed.ac.uk/inflammation-research/people/principal-investigators/professor-rowan-parks |access-date=19 February 2024 |website=The University of Edinburgh |language=en}}
  • The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka
  • The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan
  • The Association of Surgeons in India
  • The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland{{Cite web |date=2025-02-10 |title=Prof. Rowan Parks and Dr Clifford Y. Ko awarded RCSI Honorary Fellowships at Charter Day Dinner |url=https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/news-and-events/news/news-article/2025/02/prof-rowan-parks-and-dr-clifford-y-ko-awarded-rcsi-honorary-fellowships |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=www.rcsi.com |language=en}}

Selected publications and research

Parks' bibliography includes more than 180 papers and 48 book chapters, and he has edited 11 surgical textbooks.{{Cite web |title=Rowan Parks {{!}} IHPBA |url=https://www.ihpba.org/153_Rowan-Parks.html |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=www.ihpba.org}} Parks' primary clinical and research interests lie in various aspects of HPB Surgery.{{Cite web |title=Rowan W Parks |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rowan-Parks |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=Researchgate}}

= Papers =

  • K Soreide, AJ Healey, DJ Mole, RW Parks Pre-, Peri- and Post-operative Factors for the Development of Pancreatic Fistula After Pancreatic Surgery. HPB 2019; 21: 1621-1631 doi: [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31362857/ 10.1016/j.hpb.2019.06.004]. Epub 2019 Jul 27. PMID: 31362857.
  • LM Brunt, DJ Deziel, DA Telem, SM Strasberg, R Aggarwal, H Asbun, J Bonjer, M McDonald, A Alseidi, M Ujiki, TS Riall, C Hammill, CA Moulton, PH Pucher, RW Parks, MT Ansari, S Connor, RC Dirks, B Anderson, MS Altieri, L Tsamalaidze, D Stefanidis. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32404658/ Safe Cholecystectomy Multi-Society Practice Guideline and State of the Art Consensus Conference on Prevention of Bile Duct Injury During Cholecystectomy..] Annals of Surgery 2020; 272: 3-23. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003791. PMID: 32404658.
  • B Nordlinger, H Sorbye, B Glimelius, GJ Poston, PM Schlag, P Rougier, WO Bechstein, JN Primrose, ET Walpole, M Finch-Jones, D Jaeck, D Mirza, RW Parks, M Mauer, E Tanis, E Van Cutsem, W Scheithauer, T Gruenberger. [https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(13)70447-9/abstract Peri-operative FOLFOX4 Chemotherapy and Surgery Versus Surgery Alone for Resectable Liver Metastases from Colorectal Cancer (EORTC 40983): Long-term Results of a Randomised, Controlled, Phase 3 Trial.] Lancet Oncology 2013; 14: 1208-1215. doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70447-9.Epub 2013 Oct 11.
  • DI Tsilimigras, P Brodt, PA Clavien, RJ Muschel, MI D'Angelica, I Endo, RW Parks, M Doyle, E de Santibanes, TM Pawlik. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33859205/ Liver Metastases.] Nature Reviews Disease Primers 2021;7(1):27. doi: 10.1038/s41572-021-00261-6. PMID: 33859205.

= Books =

  • {{cite book | last=Parks | first=Rowan W. | title=Surgery in Focus | date=2005 | publisher=Churchill Livingstone | isbn=0-443-07377-5}}
  • {{cite book | last1=Garden | first1=O. James | last2=Parks | first2=Rowan W. | last3=Wigmore | first3=Stephen J. | title=Principles and Practice of Surgery | publisher=Elsevier | date=2022 | isbn=978-0-7020-8251-1}}
  • {{cite book | last1=Parks | first1=Rowan W. | last2=Wigmore | first2=Stephen J. | last3=Paterson-Brown | first3=Simon | last4=Garden | first4=O. James | title=Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery | publisher=Companion to Specialist Surgic | date=2023 | isbn=978-0-7020-8457-7}}

References 

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.rcsed.ac.uk The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh]
  • [https://www.ihpba.org International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association]
  • [https://www.asgbi.org.uk Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland.]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Rowan}}

Category:1966 births

Category:People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution

Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast

Category:British surgeons

Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh

Category:Living people

Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Category:Presidents of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

Category:British hepatologists