The Royal College of Surgeons of England has awarded a prestigious and highly competitive Hunterian Professorship for 2022 to Dr Toral Gathani, for her work on the relationships between ethnicity and breast cancer in women in the UK.

The award is given in recognition of significant contributions to surgical, aesthetic, or dental science with the work of candidates carefully considered by an expert committee. 

Hunterian Professors are invited to give an annual Hunterian Lecture on their field of specialism or chosen research, and some of the most famous names in British surgery have given Hunterian Lectures since 1810. 

A Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Oxford Population Health’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit (CEU) and Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Gathani will give her Hunterian Lecture entitled ‘Ethnicity and Breast Cancer in the UK’ at the UK Association of Breast Surgery annual conference to be held in May 2022.

On receiving the award, Toral has said: 

‘It is a real honour to be awarded the prestigious title of Hunterian Professor 2022 and I am delighted that the importance of this research has been recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons. I am immensely grateful to my colleagues who have collaborated with me over many years and for their continued support and encouragement. I am looking forward to delivering my lecture later this year and to being part of one of the proudest traditions of UK surgery.’

Toral is a member of the IndOx Strategy Board, representing the Medical Sciences Division. She also serves on the IndOx Executive Board.