About the Medical Advisors

Prof. Jan Baekelandt, MD PhD

Jan Baekelandt trained as gynaecologic oncologic surgeon in Belgium, Germany, and South-Africa. He currently consults at Imelda Hospital (Bonheiden, Belgium), specializing in gynaecological oncology, and endoscopic and robotic surgery. He is a consultant at Leuven University Hospital, department of obstetrics and gynaecology and is guest professor at the Catholic University of Leuven, department of development and regeneration in urogenital, abdominal, and plastic surgery. Since 2012 his research mainly focusses on vNOTES.

Assoc. Prof. Andrea Stuart, MD PhD

Andrea Stuart is Head of the Dept. of Gynecology at Helsingborgs Hospital, Sweden where she also works as a gynaecological consultant specialized in benign minimally invasive surgery. She is an associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Lund University, Sweden, with multiple on-going research projects and PhD students. Her main area of research concerns different aspects of hysterectomy and gynaecological surgery.

Assoc. Prof. Per J. Nilsson, MD PhD

Per J. Nilsson is Associate Professor of Surgery and Senior Lecturer at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Per Nilsson has served as President of both the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) and the Swedish Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. He was one of the PI:s of the recently published RAPIDO trial and has published several articles and book chapters. He is clinically active as senior consultant surgeon at Dept. of Colorectal Surgery, Division of Pelvic Cancer at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. His main clinical interests are colorectal and anal cancer, in particular locally advanced disease. In addition, he works with peritoneal malignancies and is an active HIPEC surgeon.

Prof. Dr. Marja Boermeester

Marja Boermeester is professor of surgery and a clinical epidemiologist at AMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Her core business is in surgery of abdominal infections, complex abdominal wall repair(CAWR), and intestinal failure surgery. She has 14 PhD fellows under her supervision and she is a member of the WHO SSI Prevention Guidelines Committee, the Amsterdam Research Board, PIat the AUMC, and member of the scientific board of EHS. Marja is chair or member of many national and international guidelines (WHO, ESCP, WSES, NVvH). She is previous editor of BJS, currently editorial Board member of JAMA Surg, Hernia, Surg Infand and past president of the Surgical Infection Society Europe (SIS-E).

Prof. Lars Nannestad Jørgensen, MD Dr MSc

Lars Nannestad Jørgensen is a Professor of Surgery at the Digestive Disease Center, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. With a specialization in minimally invasive surgery and complex abdominal wall hernias, his research focuses on postoperative complications, hernia repair, surgical wound healing, colorectal and pancreatic cancer, and acute pancreatitis. He played a key role in launching and chairing the Danish Ventral Hernia Database and has contributed to international guidelines on hernia repair. Dr. Jørgensen has supervised numerous PhD students and authored over 300 peer-reviewed papers and 20 book chapters, while also actively participating in international surgical workshops.

Assoc. Prof. Baljit Singh, MD PhD

Baljit Singh is a consultant colorectal surgeon at University Hospitals Leicester, UK with special interest in rectal cancer, proctology and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer using faecal immunochemical testing and novel bio markers. He is currently chair of the NHS England Specialised Colorectal Services Clinical Reference Group (CRG), East Midlands Colorectal Expert Clinical Advisory Group (ECAG) and a vicechair of the Technology Appraisal Committee B. Baljit was also a committee member of the NICE Colorectal Cancer Guidelines (NG151) published in 2020 and the NICE Quality Standards Guideline in Colorectal Cancer 2022. Baljit has previously served on the executive committees of the Association of Coloproctology GB&I (ACPGBI), Association of Surgeons GB&I (ASGBI) and European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) executive.

Prof. Dr. Nicole D. Bouvy

Nicole D. Bouvy holds a position as a consulting surgeon at Maastricht UMC+ hospital. She is specialized in the field of laparoscopic surgery, head and neck surgery and endocrine surgery. The leading principle during Prof. Dr. Nicole Bouvy’s career have been to diminish, prevent and even eradicate surgical trauma that can be associated with each surgical procedure. Prof. Dr. Nicole Bouvy has been involved in more than 200 research papers over the years and she has served the European Association of Endoscopic surgery for many years. She is a member of the executive board of EAES and chair of the program committee Roma 2023. She is chairman of the Dutch Endoscopic society (NVEC) and secretary of the Dutch Society of Surgery.