The James Brown Fellowship

The James Brown Fellowship
in Head & Neck Surgery and Reconstruction

Fellowship Precis
The James Brown Fellowship offers a highly competitive opportunity to work in the United Kingdom’s preeminent centre for the management of Head & Neck Cancer and to gain the understanding and surgical capabilities needed to support a career providing complex ablation and reconstruction for H&N defects. Professor Brown was an internationally prominent Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Liverpool with key publications in midface, mandible and oral reconstruction.

Applicant Characteristics 
Candidates are typically those who have already excelled in their clinical training and are able to demonstrate robust competencies in the management of H&N cancer.
- For UK trainees, this is likely to be those individuals who are approaching the end of their higher surgical training and who have already gained an FRCS OMFS or equivalent (or are post completion of their training, in receipt of a certificate of completion of training, CCT).
- As a centre with a global reputation, we also welcome international candidates. We would ask those individuals who believe themselves to be eligible, to make contact directly with the Fellowship organiser(s) to discuss eligibility prior to application.

The James Brown Fellowship commences in August of each year.

We are currently open to applicants seeking to commence fellowships in August 2025 and in August 2026.

Each fellowship runs for 12 months from the start date.

Application Closing Date: 31st December 2024 at 23:59 hrs
Interview Window Date(s) TBC

Host Organisation
Liverpool Head & Neck Centre (LHNC), Aintree University Hospital

Supervising Clinical Team
LHNC Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons - the team comprises six OMFS-H&N surgeons (Shaw/Bekiroglu/Schache/Khattak/Broderick/Vacancy) each of whom practice the full range of surgical procedures and reconstruction techniques, and in addition, supporting ENT-H&N surgeons and the skull-base service with vascularised free tissue transfer reconstructions.

Objectives
At the completion of training in the James Brown Fellowship, individuals will have been provided with sufficient experience and surgical training to assume a Consultant position in a high throughput, challenging clinical practice within a tertiary Head & Neck Centre/Unit.
The successful fellow will be trained in ablative surgery for oral cavity, maxillary, midface and salivary malignancies with associated reconstructive skills to restore form and function using the full armamentarium of free tissue transfer (free flap) techniques. Further, as an individual working within a team specialising in complex reconstructive surgery, the fellow will gain skills in reconstruction for benign (odontogenic tumours, late-effects surgery inc ORN etc) and other H&N defects (eg, pharyngolaryngectomy).

As part of a successful and collaborative multidisciplinary team, the fellow will have opportunities for cross-working with our allied surgical specialty of ENT surgery and its team of surgeons. The successful candidate will have a central role in the preparation and presentation of patients in the Head & Neck Multidisciplinary team meeting each week. It is expected of them to become involved with data collection, population of dedicated oncology databases and to publish on the clinical outcomes of the unit.

Additional Clinical Educational Opportunities
LHNC delivers a comprehensive range of internationally-renowned surgical training courses for continuing professional development and, where requested, opportunities may exist for the fellow to attend as a fee paying delegate (or in some instances as faculty).
Examples of courses would be;
LHNC Microvascular Course
LHNC Advanced H&N Reconstruction Course
LHNC Transoral Laser & H&N courses

Research Opportunities
In addition to the clinical capabilities of LHNC, we pride ourselves on the academic achievements of the Academic arm of LHNC, based in the University of Liverpool. Our researchers are recognised national and international leaders in head and neck cancer research with several principal investigators who are heavily research active. LHNC also boasts a comprehensive portfolio of early and late-phase clinical trials and is a leading recruiter to NIHR head and neck studies nationally with over 5000 patients recruited into portfolio studies since 2006. Fellows are encouraged to take opportunities to be involved in ongoing trials and to gain experience in the recruitment process. 

Fellowship Structure & Mentoring 
The successful candidate will be exposed to all facets of head & neck surgery and reconstruction, with a focus on the oral cavity and midface.
The fellow will be expected to sustain daily involvement in all elements of patient care; ward rounds, outpatient clinics, theatre, and teaching/training for other surgical team members. The education and training of Oral & Maxillofacial registrars and more junior trainees will be an important component of the Fellowship, in preparation for assuming a future Consultant position (including supervision of clinical audit projects)

Surgical responsibility during the year will be tailored on a personalised basis depending on the candidate’s progress, with progressively increasing responsibility.

The successful candidate will have an introductory meeting within the first 4 weeks of their start date and again at 3-monthly intervals during the year. At the initial meeting with their educational supervisor, the Fellow will agree their expected ambitions and minimal standards that they are expected to achieve. In addition to regular informal trainer feedback, there will be periodic, formal written evaluation of progress with evaluation forms and this feedback, together with “360 degree” evaluations, which will be reviewed after 6 months at the mid-point meeting to help guide the training focus for the second 6 months. It is mandatory that the candidate maintains an operative log during the fellowship, as well as further evidence when available e.g. patient feedback, reflective practice. 

Indicative Fellowship Workload

Logbook details for a recent Fellow including indicative operative numbers
(NB any fellowship will have elements tailored to the individuals prior experience and necessary exposure aligned to anticipated future practice):

On average the fellow should anticipate to operate on 3-4 days per week in the capacity of primary surgeon or as the training surgeon for a registrar.

For more information, please contact both

Ms Faz Bekiroglu (FAZILET.BEKIROGLU@liverpoolft.nhs.uk) and Professor Andrew Schache (schache@liverpool.ac.uk)
All applicants should make arrangement for informal discussions prior to application