Rachel Rolph

Royal College of Surgeons Research Award, MD Anderson Houston - Surgical Technology

Rachel has devoted her life to medicine to make a substantive difference to those in need. Her aim is to provide patient care at the highest level through research by harnessing advances in surgical technology to define the benchmark in her chosen speciality, breast cancer surgery. Rachel studied at University of Oxford and UCL. Her personal achievements include double first-class degrees and a Scholarship from Oxford. Her clinical training provided experience in plastic and breast cancer surgery in major training centres within the UK. Rachel believes that the future of surgery is assessing innovative technologies to move the field of breast surgery forward for patient benefit. Minimally invasive surgery has been adopted in other surgical fields however is yet to be translated into breast surgery in the UK. As a Fulbrighter, Rachel plans to visit major centres in the US which have developed clinical trials into robotics in breast surgery. Her main focus will be at MD Anderson, Houston, the largest cancer hospital in the US. She is excited to study both the professional and institutional learning curves and patient outcomes associated with this new technique assessing its applicability in the UK healthcare system.