Roger Kirby

Professor Roger Kirby

Born	1950
Education	Berkhamsted School for Boys, Hertfordshire (1961-1969) University of Cambridge (1969-1972) St John’s College: BA Hons Medical Sciences 2.1 University of London – the Middlesex Hospital (1972-1975) MB BChir (Cantab) 1975 – Distinction in Surgery MD University of Cambridge (1986) Professor of Urology, University of London, 2001
Degrees	MA, MB, B.CHIR., MD, FRCS(Urol), FEBU
Accreditation in Urology	March 1986
Current occupation (since July 2005)	Director of The Prostate Centre, London
Website	www.theprostatecentre.com

Professor Roger Kirby is a prostate surgeon in the UK. He has performed over 2000 radical prostatectomy operations in his career and has written over 60 books and published more than 300 scientific papers. He is the founder and previous editor of the Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases journal and has been heavily involved in the development of national guidelines for prostate healthcare.

In 2005 Kirby was awarded the St Peter's Medal by the British Association of Urological Surgeons, which is the highest accolade the association bestows for work in the field of Urology. Professor Kirby is Trustee of the British Association of Urological Surgeon (BAUS); Secretary of The Urological Foundation, and former Chairman of the charity Prostate UK. In 2010, Professor Roger Kirby was named one of the UK’s Top 100 Doctors by The Sunday Times. In June 2007, Professor Roger Kirby was named one of Britain’s 250 Best Private Doctors by Tatler Magazine.

Professor Kirby is Director and founder of The Prostate Centre in London, a leading private centre for the care and treatment of prostate-related health issues. He has performed life-saving surgery on many celebrities including Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tony Elliot, owner of Time Out magazine, and Dr Thomas Stuttaford, medical columnist at The Times.

Career

Roger Kirby trained at the University of Cambridge and the Middlesex Hospital, London, before becoming Professor of Urology at St George's Hospital, London and University College London. He was Director of Postgraduate Education at St George's Hospital, until retiring from the NHS in 2005. Professor Kirby is now Director of The Prostate Centre located in Wimpole Street, London and operates at The London Clinic and the King Edward VII Hospital, London. He has performed over 2000 radical prostatectomy operations, using the the da Vinci robot during the last 800 procedures.

Kirby, along with his brother, Professor Mike Kirby, launched the annual Better Health for Men conference in 2007, a national conference addressing the major issues surrounding men’s health in the UK. The BHFM conference has grown into one of the UKs premier men’s health events, attracting delegates and key opinions leaders from around the UK.

Publications

Professor Kirby has authored over 60 books and over 350 peer-reviewed papers. He is founder and past Editor of the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, Associate Editor of the British Journal of Urology International (BJUI); has been heavily involved in the development of national guidelines for prostate healthcare, and maintains his state-of-the-art expertise by attending scientific meetings and lecturing around the world. In 2000 Professor Kirby authored Prostate: Small Gland Big Problem (now in its Third Edition; the Fourth Edition is currently in production) as a handbook for men suffering from prostate disorders. In autumn 2010, Professor Kirby founded a new journal for GPs, hospital specialists and urology nurses, Trends in Urology and Men’s Health, published in collaboration with BJUI.

Media

Professor Kirby has an international reputation as a clinician, researcher, communicator and writer. He is often asked by the media to comment on newsworthy items; he has been quoted or published in The Times, The Guardian, Daily Express, Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, The Wall Street Journal and the Taipei Times, amongst others. In August 2010, Professor Kirby was interviewed by Channel 4 News, The Sunday Times and The Herald Scotland about Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi’s prostate cancer.

Other media work includes:

• Does prostate cancer have to end your sex life, published in The Daily Mail on 5th April 2011.
• Interviewed by BBC World Service in July 2010 for the Health Check: Prostate Cancer programme.
• Gun that can vaporise your enlarged prostate, published in The Daily Mail on December 14th 2010.
• GSK drug reduces risk of prostate cancer published in The Sunday Times on April 27th 2009.
• The agonising male “cystitis” that affects half of all men published in The Daily Mail on 12th February 2008.
• Cancer warning for stressed-out men published in The Guardian on Sunday 2nd September 2007.
• First genetic test for prostate cancer published in The Sunday Times on September 16th 2007.
• Anaylsis of the medical advice that led to the early release of Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, published in The Daily Telegraph and The Independent on 27th July 2011.

Charity involvement

Professor Kirby has had a long association with two urological charities: Prostate UK (now Prostate Action) and The Urological Foundation (TUF), both of which he helped to establish. He has recently retired as Chairman of Prostate UK (he held the position for 16 years) and is Secretary of TUF, which together have raised millions of pounds for research, education and patient awareness.

Every year Professor Kirby leads several fund-raising challenges, often accompanied by Prostate Centre patients. Past challenges include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kinabalu in 2004; a five-day trek in the Kerala region of India, a 450km cycle around the island of Madagascar, and completing Europe’s most challenging trek – the GR20 – through the mountains of Corsica in 2010. In March 2012, Professor Kirby is cycling over the Andes from Argentina to Chile, finishing at the Pacific Ocean to raise funds for The Urology Foundation.

Personal life

Professor Kirby’s personal interests include trekking, fundraising, theatre and tennis. He lives with his wife and three children in Wimbledon, London.