Update in medicine - Southampton 2027

Resident doctors - join our networking session

Wessex representatives from the RCP’s Resident Doctor Committee will be hosting a special resident doctor networking session for registered attendees from 8 - 9am on the day of this conference. We hope attendees enjoy this informal meeting to hear about the work of the committee and to share their thoughts about training, or any regional issues. 

There is no need to register for this in advance, simply book your place for this conference and tick the relevant booking question to let us know you're coming.

Dr Augustin Brooks

Dr Brooks undertook his preclinical medical studies at Hertford College Oxford before completing his medical degree at Guy's Kings and St. Thomas's Hospital. He has worked across the country and greatly valued the training and introduction to diabetes care that he received at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, with Professor Hattersley providing him with an introduction to diabetes research. He is especially grateful to Professor James Shaw at Newcastle University for offering him a clinical research fellow post, where he obtained experience in pancreatic transplant medicine before completing an MD on islet cell transplantation. He now works as a consultant at University Hospitals Dorset, where he has contributed to NICE guideline development on type 1 diabetes management. His recent focus is on technology interventions used for type 1 diabetes care, including the recent introduction of hybrid closed-loop pump therapy through NHS funding.

Dr Anna Olsson Brown

Dr Shanike Karunaratne

Dr Shanike is a consultant cardiologist working across the St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. Dr Shanike holds MBBS, MD (Cardiology) and MRCP(UK) qualifications, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and is an ESC-certified heart failure specialist, bringing more than 20 years of clinical experience in internal medicine and cardiology. Dr Shanike's clinical practice spans advanced cardiac imaging, heart failure and cardio-oncology, with a particular interest in cardiac imaging modalities in heart failure, cardiac devices, and cardiac infections — fields that increasingly intersect in modern practice. Alongside clinical work, Dr Shanike has a strong and longstanding commitment to training the next generation of clinicians, with an established portfolio in clinical and practical emergency skills teaching.

Dr Tom Bartlett

Dr Catherine Webb

Dr Catherine Webb has been a consultant in palliative medicine since 2013, initially working in Southampton before joining University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust in 2019. She provides specialist palliative care across two 12-bedded hospices in Christchurch and Poole and two acute hospitals. However, her main clinical role is based in the community working alongside her clinical nurse specialist colleagues to deliver palliative care and hospice services at home. Dr Webb has a specialist interest in the care of people living with motor neurone disease. Alongside her clinical work, she is committed to education and workforce development and is
the current Deputy Head of School for Medicine and Pathology in Wessex.

Sam Crowe

Sam retrained in public health in 2002 following a decade-long career as a journalist. During his time as a reporter, editor and freelance correspondent for national publications he worked alongside several international health organisations in countries facing public health challenges. After qualifying in public health in 2008 he worked for a public health team in NHS commissioning. He became director of public health for Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in August 2019, leading a shared public health service for the two councils. From May 2026 he took up an expanded role at Dorset Council covering public health, housing, communities and prevention.

Dr Beth Smout

Beth is the regional deputy director of health protection for the UK Health Security Agency South West. She worked as a lead consultant and consultant in health protection in the team before this. Prior to completing her public health training, she worked as a social scientist for Ebola vaccine trials in Sierra Leone before returning to the UK to complete the field epidemiology training programme in Leeds. She has a particular interest in developing social science-informed responses to outbreaks and major incidents.

Dr Ryan Buchanan

Dr Ryan Buchanan is health services researcher and associate professor at the University of Southampton and an honorary hepatology consultant at the University Hospital Southampton. 
As part of his clinical roles, he is British Association for the Study of the Liver service lead, clinical lead for the Wessex region viral hepatitis treatment network and leads the enhanced liver disease service for patients from underserved communities (HELIXR) programme. HELIXR is a regional NHS England funded programme to engage patients from marginalised populations with liver cancer surveillance imaging. Ryan is experienced in mixed methods research in marginalised populations as well as cost effectiveness analysis, network modelling, time series analysis and complex intervention evaluation. He has recently led a national institute for health and care research (NIHR) funded collaboration developing patient and public representation from marginalised populations across England in liver disease research.  

Mrs Becky Dinnage

Becky’s lung cancer screening journey has just begun. Starting with the team in September 2026, Becky has come from an administrative and teaching background.

Mrs Anna Hunt

Starting lung cancer screening in 2023 prior to national rollout, Anna is the responsible assessor and lead nurse for the programme. Anna has a background in thoracic surgery looking after patients with lung cancers.

Dr Ayushi Gupta

Dr Ayushi Gupta is a renal specialty registrar at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. During a quality improvement fellowship with Oxford University Hospitals and the Royal College of Physicians, she designed and led ‘changing culture, cutting carbon’ - a green nephrology sustainable quality improvement initiative across the seven-site Oxford kidney unit, with interventions spanning machine practices, waste, pharmaceuticals, and staff and patient engagement. The project won a local staff recognition award and was also nationally shortlisted for the 2026 health service journal (HSJ) towards net zero award.