Professor Suvankar Pal (BSc(Hons) MBBS(Distinction) MRCP(Neurology) MD(Res) PGCME FHEA FRCP)

Professor of Neurodegenerative Disorders and Clinical Trials & Honorary Consultant Neurologist

Biography

Background

Suvankar Pal is Professor of Neurodegenerative Disorders and Clinical Trials and Honorary Consultant Neurologist.  He is co-lead investigator of the UK wide innovative multi-arm multi-stage MND SMART trial, the Scottish Motor Neuron Disease Register (CARE-MND), a Deputy Director at the Anne Rowling Clinic, Clinical Lead of the UK National CJD Research and Surveillance Unit, and Clinical Lead for Neurology at NHS Forth Valley.  His clinical and research interests are focused on improving outcomes for people with neurodegenerative disorders, including accelerating early and accurate diagnoses, evaluating atypical presentations, leading population-based disease registries for longitudinal deep clinical phenotyping, digital and wet lab biomarker development/reverse translation, and delivery of innovative clinical trials. 

Qualifications

Suvankar graduated in Neurosciences and Medicine with Distinction in Clinical Sciences from King’s College London in 2001, completed basic medical training at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (Hammersmith Hospital and National Hospital for Neurology), and Royal Free Hospital, before completing his Doctoral research investigating novel molecular diagnostic strategies in Prion disease and supporting recruitment to the PRION1 trial at the MRC Prion Unit Institute of Neurology UCL.  He completed higher specialist training in neurology in Edinburgh and was appointed to a Consultant Neurologist position in 2011 at NHS Forth Valley and the University of Edinburgh.  Suvankar completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from UCL/Royal College of Physicians in 2012 and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He was awarded an inaugural NHS Scotland Research Fellowship in 2012, and appointed to a Clinical Senior Lecturer Position at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences in 2018.  He was awarded a Personal Chair in Neurodegenerative Disorders and Clinical Trials at the University of Edinburgh in 2023 and holds an Honorary Professorship at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL where he co-chairs the ACORD Fellows Academy.

Responsibilities & affiliations

Co-lead Investigator Motor Neurone Disease - Systematic Multi-Arm Adaptive Randomised Trial (https://www.mnd-smart.org)

Co-Lead Investigator Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Register (CARE-MND) (https://www.care-mnd.org.uk)

Clinical Lead National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (https://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk)

Deputy Director (Neurodegeneration) Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic (https://www.annerowlingclinic.org)

Clinical Lead for Neurology NHS Forth Valley (https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/az-of-services/neurology/)

Co-Chair ACORD Fellows Academy (MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL (https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/our-research/neurodegenerative-diseases/acord-collaboration/mrc-clinical-trials-unit-acord-fellows-academy/)

Undergraduate teaching

Lead for Year 2 MBChB Command & Control Module

Postgraduate teaching

Co-Chair ACORD Fellows Academy (https://www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/our-research/neurodegenerative-diseases/acord-collaboration/mrc-clinical-trials-unit-acord-fellows-academy/)

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Current PhD students supervised

Dr Johnny Tam

Dr John Centola

Dr Jane Lumsden

Past PhD students supervised

Dr Neil Watson

Dr Emily Beswick

Dr Briony Waddell

Dr Monica Icaza Valenzuela

Dr Harriet Ingle

 

Research summary

Project activity

MND SMART Clinical Trial (https://www.mnd-smart.org)

CARE-MND (https://www.care-mnd.org.uk)

National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (https://www.cjd.ed.ac.uk)

View all 115 publications on Research Explorer

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