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NDS Professor of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Director of NDS SITU, Sheraz Markar, is set to run the 2026 London Marathon on Sunday 26 April in support of the Oxfordshire Oesophageal and Stomach Organisation (OOSO).

Male and female runner's legs

It is my tremendous pleasure to run the London Marathon for the Oxfordshire Oesophageal and Stomach Organisation (OOSO). Oesophageal and Stomach cancer are amongst the cancers with the worst survival in the UK, and further treatment including surgery has a profound and substantial impact upon patients’ quality of life. OOSO is an incredibly active organisation in bringing new and former patients together to give each other support during the most challenging time of their lives and organising regular sessions with clinicians and researchers to allow mutual learning about this cancer. The work undertaken by the team is so incredibly important and I have witnessed with my own eyes the importance of patients supporting each other and helping one another with acts as simple as dietary advice or kind words of support. The majority of my clinical research focuses on trying to improve quality of life and survival for patients with oesophageal and gastric cancer. Thus, it is my great privilege to run the London Marathon for OOSO.

People who know me will know I am not the best runner, but when the going gets tough I will be thinking of Matt and the team at OOSO and the more important reasons for running the Marathon. Please be generous with your donation and support this fantastic charity that entire purpose is to support patients and their families with oesophageal and gastric cancer.

Please be generous with your donation and support this fantastic charity, whose entire purpose is to support patients and their families with oesophageal and gastric cancer.

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COSECSA–Oxford Research Training Course 2025: Building research capacity for the next generation of surgical leaders

The Oxford University Global Surgery Group within the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences (NDS), in partnership with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), delivered a highly successful Research Training Course in December 2025, bringing together surgical trainees, surgeons, and clinical educators from across the region.