Consultant profile

Mr Priest qualified at the University of Manchester in 1996. He completed his specialist training in London and then undertook a dedicated surgical oncology fellowship with Professor Hanna at St Mary's Hospital in 2010.

Mr Priest was first appointed to a consultant post at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in 2011. He developed advanced laparoscopic skills for complex upper gastrointestinal surgery at the MATTU centre of excellence and learnt how to perform laparoscopic hernia surgery using the TEP technique.

Mr Priest went on to work with Professor Griffin at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals in the largest oesophagogastric unit in Europe, gaining further experience in all aspects of upper gastrointestinal surgery. He moved to a permanent position at the University Hospitals North Midlands in 2015

Mr Priest is an expert in the treatment of a variety of general surgical conditions including gallstones, reflux disease, dyspepsia, oesophageal motility disorders and all types of abdominal wall hernia.

Mr Priest has a particular interest in Laparoscopic Surgery for both complex and benign Upper Gastrointestinal surgical conditions as well as expertise in laparoscopic hernia surgery and Upper GI Endoscopy.

Mr Priest has a comprehensive academic training in cancer biology and surgical oncology, having completed a full time postgraduate research post leading to the successful award of a PhD degree from Imperial College London for his thesis on the role of heme oxygenase in oesophagogastric cancer.

The main areas of research included investigating the spectrum of volatile compounds released from gastric headspace and compared the profile of gaseous metabolites in the exhaled breath of patients with oesophagogastric cancer to that of age-matched controls.

Mr Priest gained practical experience in cell culture, flow cytometry, Western blotting, immunostaining and microscopy, with expertise in molecular biology techniques. He received formal training in project management, communication skills, group dynamics and research methodology and successfully submitted numerous clinical studies for local ethics committee approval. He presented his work at various national and international forums. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored a number of book chapters relating to recent surgical innovations.

Mr Priest developed and co-authored new national guidelines for the safe insertion of nasogastric tubes on behalf of the National Patient Safety Agency. He is currently recruiting patients into high-quality NIHR portfolio studies and is the local Principal Investigator for national clinical trials.