Dr Paul Brennan (BSc (Hons) MB BChir FRCS (Ed), PhD)

Reader and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre
Edinburgh Neuro-Oncology

Email: paul.brennan@ed.ac.uk

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences

Street: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences
Chancellor's Building
49 Little France Crescent
City: Edinburgh
Post code: EH16 4SB

Biography

Background

Paul is Reader and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian.

Paul's research spans the laboratory and the clinic, combining molecular, epidemiology and clinical investigation to guide rationale innovation to improve patient care. He applies this strategy to improving diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for people with brain tumours, and traumatic brain or spinal injuries. As founder of University of Edinburgh spin-out, eoSurgical Ltd, he has also led innovation in surgical simulation training around the world.

In the laboratory he probes mechanistic hypotheses generated by using large scale clinical data to drive discovery science. He collaborates on bringing innovative technologies to the clinic, developing the clinical and scientific evidence for adoption in routine care, such as the Clinspec Dx spectroscopic liquid biopsy test that can both stratify tumour risk in a symptomatic patient population, and predict tumour phenotype.

He is part of the CRUK Adult Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence, based on Edinburgh.

Paul’s research focus includes:

- Speeding up the diagnosis of brain tumours using symptom-based referral pathways and novel blood tests.

- Developing novel strategies for delivering chemotherapy focally in management of brain tumours. In collaboration with Dr Unciti-Broceta he is developing a palladium activated prodrug where the palladium catalyst will be implanted in the brain at surgery, better targeting drug activation.

- Understanding the cellular and molecular biology of the malignant transformation of low grade glioma.

- Since 2014 Paul has been working with Professor Sir Graham Teasdale, co-developer of the Glasgow Coma Scale, on a number of projects to enhance the use of the GCS, which is already the most widely used tool for assessment of consciousness in the world. Along with Professor Gordon Murray, Paul and Sir Graham published two papers in 2018 that introduced 1) a new scale to complement the GCS, the GCS Pupils Score, providing a rapid assessment of patient prognosis, and 2) the GCS prognostic charts for enhancing prognostication on the clinic. Data science underpins both projects. www.glasgowcomascale.org

He has an active involvement in clinical research and is co-applicant on a number of multi-centre studies. He was co-founder of the British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative that he helped found as Chair of the British Neurosurgical Trainees Association in 2012. He has led a UK collaborative study on management of chronic subdural haematoma and is interested in optimising the peri-operative care of these patients.

Complementing his clinical work, Paul founded eoSurgical Ltd in 2012 along with co-founders Roland Partridge and Mark Hughes. The University spin-out now provides surgical simulation training around the world.

In 2014 Paul helped in the foundation of the Compassion Initiative at the University of Edinburgh and is a co-Director, working in close collaboration with Prof Jim Doty's Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research at the University of Stanford.

Paul was a member of the Young Academy of Scotland and was co-chair between September 2015 and August 2017.