Consultant in anaesthesia and pain medicine at the James Cook University Hospital Middlesbrough and Clinical Professor of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at Exeter and Durham Universities. His interests include the use of neuromodulation for the treatment of neuropathic pain particularly Failed Back Surgery Syndrome, which has led him to an interest in medication management with particular reference to opioids. He published more than 60 articles on the subjects of pain relief and cost effectiveness of various pain procedures and is currently Chief Investigator of 8 research projects.