John Neoptolemos - Biography#

John Neoptolemos is one of the world’s leading pancreatic cancer specialists with >63,000 scientific citations, h-index=124, £55m in grants, and 289 invited lectures. He is Professor of Surgery at the University of Heidelberg from October 2017, having previously held the Chair of Surgery from 1996 at the Liverpool University and general and pancreas surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. He is ranked in the top 30 world experts on pancreatic cancer (ExpertScape).

He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences from 2007, a National Institutes Health Research Senior Fellow from 2011 and a Department of Health Platinum Award holder from 2004 (twice renewed).

John trained at the University of Cambridge with a double degree in Natural Sciences and Philosophy (2.1) followed by clinical training at Guy’s Hospital in London.

As Chairman of ESPAC he successfully led the ESPAC -1, 3 and 4 trials, the results of which have bee adopted as guidelines for the treatment of potentially curable pancreatic caner around the world. The ESPAC-5 neoadjuvant trial is awaiting target event acquisition, whilst ESPAC-6 and -7 are focusing on treatment specific signatures in the adjuvant a neoadjuvant settings respectively.

As Director, he received the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2011 for the Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre.
In 2007, he established the NIHR Liverpool Pancreas Biomedical Research Unit (Scientific Director), the NIHR and Cancer research UK Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (Deputy Director), and the Liverpool Clinical Trials and Cancer Research UK Cancer Trials Units (Director).

In 2012 he was made an Honorary Member of the German Society of Surgery. In 2013 the Pancreas Unit won the Acute Services Sector Health Services Journal National Award.

In 2013 he received a Life Time Achievement Award from the European Pancreatic Club in Zurich. In 2014 he was made an Honorary Member of the Hungary Society of Surgery and also an Honorary Professor of Nanjing Medical University.
He was awarded Hirschberg Award for Pancreatic Cancer, American Pancreatic Association in 2005, the Ruth Brufsky Award for Pancreas Cancer Research in 2017, and the Henry Lynch Award for Inherited Pancreas Diseases in 2018.

He was the Clinical Lead for the Pancreas Cancer Guidelines (published on line 2108). He is on the Medical Advisory Board for Pancreas Cancer UK and undertakes on-site duties in Nanjing Medical School and University as a Specially Appointed Professor.