Our Team

Dr Emilie Wilkes

Dr Wilkes completed her undergraduate training at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospitals in 1998. Her post-graduate training includes sub-speciality accreditation in hepatology following completion of an advanced hepatology fellowship in transplant hepatology at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge.

Dr Wilkes is the hepatology lead for transition from child services, working with the East Midlands Adult Cystic Fibrosis Centre, and oversees the nurse-led genetic haemochromatosis service.

Dr Peter Eddowes

Dr Eddowes graduated from the University of Birmingham Medical School in 2005. In 2013 he took time out of clinical training to study for an MD, at the University of Birmingham. His thesis looked at techniques for the non-invasive assessment of chronic liver disease and he continues a research interest in this field. On returning to clinical training he completed a fellowship in transplant hepatology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. 

Dr Eddowes has a particular interest in the non-invasive evaluation of chronic liver disease, autoimmune liver disease and portal hypertension. He provides outreach clinics at King’s Mill and Newark hospitals as well as Nottingham University Hospitals.

Professor Stephen Ryder

Prof. Ryder graduated from the University of Nottingham Medical School and trained in hepatology at St Mary’s Hospital and Kings College Hospital, London. 

Prof. Ryder is the Nottingham University Hospitals lead for reducing alcohol related harm.  He runs the viral liver disease service and is lead clinician for the Hepatitis C NHS England Operational Delivery Network

He is the Director of Research and Innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals. His major clinical and research interest is hepatitis C infection and large clinical trials in hepatology. He was recognised as one of the leading recruiters to commercial clinical trials in the “NIHR at 10” awards.

Prof. Ryder was the national lead for the Hepatology Clinical Research Network (CRN) until 2015 and is now the Co-Director of the East Midlands CRN 

He was hepatology Vice President of the British Society of Gastroenterology between 2012-2015.

Dr Martin James

Dr James has been a consultant hepatologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust since 2008.  After postgraduate training in South Africa, he completed an MRC Clinical Research Fellowship PhD and undertook sub-specialty training in transplant hepatology & ERCP at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney. 

He helped develop the joint Nottingham-Cambridge transplant hepatology service and interventional EUS/ERCP biliary endoscopy fellowships in Nottingham. He is co-director of the Nottingham Endoscopy Masterclass and delivers regional & national hepatopancreatobiliary endoscopy training programmes.

After 4 years as clinical lead for hepatology and gastroenterology, he is now hepatopancreatobiliary endoscopy lead in Nottingham and is one of the clinical investigators in the National Institute of Health Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC)  at Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre.

Dr Aloysious D Aravinthan

Dr Aravinthan is an associate professor and honorary consultant in hepatology. He completed his postgraduate training in hepatology at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK and Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto, Canada. His doctoral thesis, awarded by the University of Cambridge, focused on the role of hepatocyte senescence in the progression of chronic liver disease. He was awarded the prestigious Sheila Sherlock Research Award by the British Association for the Study of the Liver in 2014 and the Sheila Sherlock Travelling Fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians in 2015. His research continues to focus on the prognostic and therapeutic role of cellular senescence in liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, and outcomes following liver transplantation.

Dr Aravinthan is the clinical lead for the Nottingham Primary Liver Cancer (HCC) service.

Professor Guruprasad P. Aithal

Prof. Aithal graduated with MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and an MD in Internal Medicine from Bangalore Medical College, Bengaluru, India. He completed his specialist training in gastroenterology with the northern deanery, UK. He achieved PhD from the University of Newcastle and was an International Fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.

He holds the position of President of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL). He is professor of hepatology as well as Deputy Director and Gastrointestinal & Liver Disorder Theme Lead for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham.

Prof. Aithal is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2019) and is an invited faculty member for post-graduate courses in Europe, USA, Asia and Africa. He has also been a member of the Gastroenterology Specialty Certificate Examination Board responsible for standard-setting in gastroenterology since its inception in 2007.

His research interests include drug-induced liver injury (DILI), metabolic liver diseases and both endoscopic and magnetic resonance technology in the evaluation of liver and biliary disorders.

Professor Neil Guha

Neil Guha is a professor in hepatology based at the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre. His research focus is on biomarkers of liver fibrosis and experimental diagnostics including novel MRI imaging. An important area of his work is the application of diagnostic tests in chronic liver disease to develop clinical practice.

Dr Suresh Venkatachalapathy

Dr Venkatachalapathy completed his undergraduate training in India in 2002. He undertook postgraduate training in gastroenterology and hepatology at King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He has completed a sub-speciality fellowship in hepatopancreatobiliary endoscopy.

He is the governance lead for hepatology and endoscopy and the regional lead for the hepatopancreatobiliary multidisciplinary team meeting. He also oversees the pancreatic cyst clinic.

His research interests include therapeutic hepatopancreatobiliary endoscopy.

Dr Naaventhan Palaniyappan

Dr Naaventhan Palaniyappan is a Clinical Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant Hepatologist. He completed his postgraduate training in Hepatology and General Internal Medicine in Nottingham.

His research focus is on cirrhosis and its related complications. An important area of his work is using non-invasive imaging including novel MRI technology to evaluate patients with advanced liver disease.

Dr Prarthana Thiagarajan

Dr Thiagarajan graduated from Guys, Kings and St Thomas’ school of medicine in 2010. After this, she undertook postgraduate training in general internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology in the East Midlands. Dr Thiagarajan received a PhD from the University of Nottingham in 2021, with a research focus on precision imaging and dietary intervention in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). She spent the final year of her training at the Birmingham Liver Unit, completing an advanced fellowship in transplant hepatology in August 2022. Her specialist interests include metabolic liver disease, portal hypertension and endohepatology. 

Maggie Nicholls

Maggie completed her BA(Hons) in health studies in 1994 and has gained experience within the hepatology service ever since. She started as a specialist nurse post at the Queens Medical Centre in April 2005. She delivers a nurse-led cirrhosis clinic, neuroendocrine tumours treatment clinic and supports the joint liver transplant clinic.

Tel: 0115 924 9924 Ext: 83169

Andy Mierkalns

Andy qualified in Nottingham and has been in her current role with our team since 2000. Andy has a special interest in patients with neuroendocrine tumours, and has been delivering a nurse-led clinic for over 19 years for those patients receiving specialist treatment. She delivers a nurse-led cirrhosis clinic and supports the joint liver transplant clinic. Andy has a passion for education around liver disease and delivers two types of liver courses – one for registered nurses and another for non-registered staff. The courses are open to staff in Nottingham and from other healthcare providers.

Tel: 0115 924 9924 Ext: 83457

Karen Bennett

Karen qualified in 2001 with a diploma of nursing from the Nottingham University School of Nursing and has worked in our team since. Karen has been deputy ward sister on our ward between 2008–2019 after which she was appointed as a specialist nurse with a primary responsibility in the Hepatocellular Cancer care pathway. She is responsible for coordinating Transarterial Chemoembolisation (TACE) therapy. She also delivers a nurse-led cirrhosis clinic and supports the joint liver transplant clinic.

Tel: 0115 924 9924 Ext: 80128

Vicki Sugden

Vicki qualified in 1989 as an enrolled nurse from Charles Frear School of Nursing in Leicester. She completed the conversion course to become a registered nurse at Ipswich in 1992-1993 and went on to achieve a diploma in nursing in 1997. Vicki started her role in Nottingham as haemochromatosis nurse specialist in 2010. She provides the nurse-led haemochromatosis service including consultations, venesection, monitoring and surveillance. She also delivers a nurse-led cirrhosis clinic.

Tel: 0115 969 1169 Ext: 54139

Maria Appleyard

Maria has over thirty years’ experience working as a nurse with the NHS. She previously worked on our ward for ten years before joining our specialist nursing team in October 2020. She has a particular interest in assessing and managing pancreatic cysts.

Tel: 0115 924 9924 Ext: 80128

Sherrelle Fanthorpe

Sherrelle qualified with a BSc(Hons) in health and social care in Nottingham and has been with our team as a viral hepatology specialist nurse since 2001. She provides viral hepatitis clinics for assessment and treatment of hepatitis C at the Nottingham treatment centre, HMP Ranby and HMP Nottingham as well as a joint clinic with the CGL Nottinghamshire drug recovery organisation. She also assesses, monitors and treats patients diagnosed with hepatitis B.

Liz Blackwell

Liz qualified in 2005 with a diploma in adult nursing followed by a BSc in healthcare studies in Nottingham. Liz has been a virology nurse specialist with our team since 2010. Her clinical time is shared between our hospitals and several outreach locations across Nottinghamshire, including the Mary Potter practice and several clinics held jointly with CGL Nottinghamshire’s drug recovery organisation.

Within this role, Liz assesses and begins treatment for those diagnosed with Hepatitis C. She also takes a lead role in our Hepatitis B service.

Jasmina Khaldi

Jasmina qualified as a registered nurse with a BSc in health and social care in Nottingham and has been a viral hepatology specialist nurse with our team since 2009. She provides viral hepatitis clinics for assessment and treatment of hepatitis C at HMP Lowdham Grange and multiple drug and alcohol outreach centres within the Nottingham city area.