SoCATS is managed by an executive group which oversees the academic support provided to clinical academic trainees and provides quality assurance of the programme. The Board comprises the SoCATS Director, Head of Clinical Academic Training, dedicated Leads for Specialised Foundation Trainees, Academic Clinical Fellows (ACFs) and Clinical Lecturers, trainee representation and administrative support.
The Board meets on a quarterly basis.
Find out more about our current Board members below.
SoCATS Director - Professor Elaine Dennison
Professor Elaine Dennison
I trained in medicine at Cambridge University, receiving my medical degree in 1990. Having undertaken a medical rotation at Southampton, I obtained a Wellcome Training Fellowship in Epidemiology, and was awarded my PhD in 2000, prior to accrediting as a consultant in rheumatology in 2002.
In addition to my Personal Chair at Southampton, I also hold a position as Professor of Clinical Research at Victoria University of Wellington. Having worked as a Principal Investigator of the Hertfordshire Cohort Study for many years, my research interests centre around musculoskeletal aging, specifically osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. I continue to work in clinical rheumatology, where I have a special interest in metabolic bone disease. I direct the Pagets’ Association Centre of Excellence and have directed SoCATs since 2018.
Head of Clinical Academic Training: Wessex Deanery - Professor Ramsey Cutress
Professor Ramsey Cutress
I trained in Medicine at Oxford University and during clinical surgical training won a National Breast Reconstructive and Oncoplastic Fellowship. My PhD was in Southampton funded by a Fellowship from Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and the ninth Guernsey Research Fellowship from Hope. I am currently Professor of Breast Surgery within Medicine at the University of Southampton and Consultant Surgeon at University Hospital Southampton Trust.
Clinical research interests include investigation of patient and host determinants of breast cancer outcomes including genetic predisposition, immunological and lifestyle factors. I am involved in various national research studies, clinical trials and translational projects and am Chair of the Academic and Research Committee of the Association of Breast Surgery (ABS). I was appointed as Head of Clinical Academic Training in 2022.
I am Associate Professor of Hepatology at the University of Southampton and Honorary Consultant in Hepatology at University Hospital Southampton.
My research has focused on exploring the burden of liver disease in marginalised and hard to reach groups and developing interventions to reduce morbidity from liver disease in these populations. I have a particular interest in how systems outside of the human body (e.g. access to healthcare services, social network and cultural/societal factors) influence outcomes for people with liver disease.
I joined the SoCATS Board in 2022 as the lead for ACFs.
I trained as an undergraduate at the University of Malta (MD, 2000-2005) before moving to the Northwest and Merseyside for foundation and core surgical training. I then got interested in perioperative medicine especially risk prediction and exercise prehabilitation to improve fitness before major surgery. I completed an NIHR-funded doctoral research programme at the University of Liverpool (PhD, 2011-2014) leading the first UK prehabilitation trial in rectal cancer patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy before surgery. I then moved to Southampton and was appointed as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Wessex (NIHR ACF, 2014-2016) and subsequently became an NIHR Clinical Lecturer (NIHR ACL, 2016-2020). I completed my specialist training in surgery in August 2020 (FRCS 2019, FEBS 2023).
I am a senior investigator for the Fit-4-Surgery Consortium and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, where I lead a research programme aimed at improving perioperative and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery using tailored multimodal prehabilitation interventions. I run various clinical trials and am an NIHR GlobalSurg core member with an interest in global surgery and cancer outcomes in low to middle-income countries.
I was awarded the Royal College of Surgeons, England, Minimally Invasive and Maximally Invasive (MIMICC) fellowship in Complex and Robotic colorectal cancer surgery at St. Mark’s Hospital, London (2020-2021) and subsequently was appointed as an associate professor in colorectal surgery and prehabilitation medicine in 2022 in Southampton. I am a complex cancer consultant surgeon, specialising in the treatment of advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer.
I am the sub-speciality lead for the surgical research portfolio at the Clinical Research Network, Wessex and serve as the co-chair of the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit programme for southern England. I have a keen interest in education and currently supervise PhD, MD, MMedSc and BMedSc students at the University of Southampton, where I am the MMedSc Deputy Module Lead for Research and the SoCATs lead for Academic Clinical Lecturers.
Lead for the Specialised Foundation Programme - Dr Chrissie Jones
Dr Chrissie Jones
I trained in Medicine at the University of Nottingham and subsequently completed my training in Paediatrics in London, subspecialising in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology. My PhD was awarded by Imperial College London during which I worked with the University of Cape Town looking at vaccine responses in infants born to women living with HIV infection.
I am currently Associate Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Southampton and Southampton University Hospitals Trust. My research interests focus on interventions in pregnancy and early life to prevent infections, leading clinical trials and translational projects.
I co-direct the IMPRINT network of global experts in immunisation and pregnancy and early life and the European Congenital Cytomegalovirus Initiative. I am Wessex lead for the Specialised Foundation Programme.
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