Professor Alastair Windsor

Professor Alistair Windsor is a Consultant Surgeon and Hon. Professor of Surgery at Ulster University. After a distinguished career in the NHS, where he served as a consultant colorectal surgeon at a series of leading institutions: St James University Hospital, Leeds (1997‑1999); St Mark’s Hospital, London (1999‑2006); and University College Hospital London (UCLH) (2006‑2018). He then moved to work in the private sector at the Princess Grace Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare (2018‑2025). Throughout this period, he combined a high‑volume colorectal practice with senior strategic responsibilities, culminating in his appointment as Director for Cancer Surgery across HCA’s seven UK hospitals, where he led governance and multidisciplinary‑team structures for the network’s cancer services.

In addition to these appointments, Professor Windsor has expanded his influence into the private sector. He presently holds the position of Medical Director and Responsible Officer at OSD Private Hospital, and he serves as Chief Medical Officer for Europe at Telabio, where he oversees clinical development and regulatory affairs for innovative surgical technologies. He also acts as Medical Director for 18 Week Support, an NHS insourcing company that provides rapid‑access surgical pathways. Across all these roles, his focus has been on building patient‑centred governance frameworks, fostering collaborative clinical teams, and translating his extensive surgical expertise into improved service delivery.

Professor Windsor’s clinical passion has centred on the management of complex inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its surgical sequelae. He was a founding member and surgical lead of the national intestinal‑failure (IF) unit at St Mark’s Hospital and later established and directed the IF unit at UCLH, contributing substantially to the development of national and international IBD and IF guidelines. His work in the IF units also encompassed the treatment of recurrent incisional hernias and extensive abdominal‑wall defects, earning him a reputation as a leading authority in abdominal‑wall reconstruction. He served on the board of the British Hernia Society and co‑chaired the successful Abdominal Wall Reconstruction Europe Conference, now in its tenth year.

Beyond his subspecialty focus, Professor Windsor maintained a comprehensive colorectal practice that included colorectal cancer surgery, functional bowel disorders, prolapse and incontinence, a full spectrum of proctology, and both elective and emergency general surgical cases. He also collaborated closely with a senior gynaecologist in a joint complex endometriosis service, integrating multidisciplinary expertise to optimise patient outcomes. His recent senior strategic role as Director for Cancer Surgery reinforced his commitment to high‑quality, evidence‑based cancer care across a large hospital network.

Professor Windsor’s research trajectory began with an MD thesis on gram‑negative sepsis and acute lung injury at the Acute Lung Injury team in Richmond, Virginia. Upon returning to the UK, he investigated surgical nutrition, gut barrier function, gut‑origin sepsis, and multi‑organ failure at St James Hospital, launching an aggressive enteral nutrition programme and conducting a pioneering randomized trial that demonstrated the superiority of enteral over parenteral feeding in acute pancreatitis. At St Mark’s and UCLH he helped establish two national intestinal‑failure centres, focusing on the nutritional and surgical management of Type II and III IF. Recognising the need for better understanding of abdominal‑wall pathology, he founded the Abdominal Wall Research Team at UCLH, securing an NIHR “Research for Patient Benefit” grant to develop radiological classification systems and prognostic models for hernia recurrence. He has supervised eight higher surgical degrees (MSc, MD, PhD), authored over 200 peer‑reviewed publications, book chapters and books, amassed more than 15 000 citations, and holds an h‑index of 52.

Throughout his career, Professor Windsor has occupied senior leadership positions in both the NHS and the private sector. He currently serves as Medical Director and Responsible Officer at OSD Private Hospital, Chief Medical Officer for Europe at Telabio, and Medical Director at 18 Week Support. In these capacities he has designed and implemented governance pathways that prioritise patient‑centred surgical care, built high‑performing clinical teams, and promoted collaborative care pathways across institutions.

Professor Windsor has supervised eight higher surgical degrees (MSc, MD and PhD) and is the author or co‑author of more than two hundred peer‑reviewed articles, book chapters and full‑length books. Collectively, his work has been cited in excess of 15 000 times, giving him an h‑index of 52. These metrics reflect a sustained commitment to advancing surgical science, particularly in the fields of inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal failure, and abdominal‑wall reconstruction, and underscore his ongoing role as a leading researcher and mentor in the specialty.

Professor Windsor has held a variety of academic posts, including Tutor, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the University of Leeds, Honorary Senior Lecturer and Sub‑Dean for Post‑Graduate Education at St Mark’s Hospital and Imperial College London, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at University College London. He was appointed Colorectal Tutor for the Royal College of Surgeons of England, served on the Court of Examiners, and received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow for his contributions to surgical education. In 2025 he was invited to serve as Visiting Professor of Surgery at Ulster University. He has contributed to editorial boards of several peer‑reviewed journals, participated in international guideline committees, and held board positions with national societies, while organizing and leading numerous national and international workshops, symposia and conferences dedicated to surgical training.