Staff Profile | Faculty of Medical Sciences

Current Appointments

NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Neurosurgery - Newcastle University

Speciality Registrar in Neurosurgery - NHS England (North East)

Academic Representative - British Neurosurgical Trainee Association (BNTA)

Committee Member - British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative (BNTRC)

Surgery Representative and Academic Representative - Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Resident Doctors Forum

Advanced Life Support Instructor - Resuscitation Council (UK)

Qualifications

2021 - MBBS Medicine and Surgery - Newcastle University

2020 - MClinRes Clinical Research - Newcastle University (Distinction)

2014 - BSc (Hons) Medical Science - University of Westminster (First Class Honours)

Memberships

Society of British Neurological Surgeons

Royal College of Surgeons of England

European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS)

British Neurosurgical Trainee Association (BNTA)

British Neurosurgical Trainee Research Collaborative (BNTRC)

Resuscitation Council (UK)

Research

My background is in the basic medical sciences and then in NIHR-funded NHS clinical research appointments prior to commencing medical and then neurosurgical training. I completed my MClinRes (Newcastle, 2020) under the supervision of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, performing an international investigation into the surgical management and molecular characteristics of incidentally discovered low-grade gliomas. I am the North East's first integrated academic neurosurgical trainee, affording dedicated research time.

My current research involves laboratory-based experimental neuro-oncology and the development of clinical trials within neurosurgical oncology to bridge the basic and clinical sciences to ultimately improve the survival and quality of life of those patients living with brain tumours. I also have a keen interest in functional neurosurgery and investigating outcomes in head trauma.

Published Research

The CRANIAL Consortium (including Allison C.M.) (2024) “The impact of obesity on rates of post-operative CSF leak following endoscopic skull base surgery: results from a prospective international multi-centre cohort study” Frontiers in Endocrinology. Published June 2024; https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2024.1353494. PMID: 38899009

The CRANIAL Consortium (including Allison C.M.) (2023) “CSF rhinorrhoea after endonasal intervention to the skull base (CRANIAL): A multicentre prospective observational study” Frontiers in Oncology. Published January 2023; https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.1049627. PMID: 36688936

Plonkowski A, Allison C.M, Philipson P, Brady R (2022) “Risk Factors Associated with Readmission Within 30 days Following Stoma Surgery: Development of a “Traffic Light” Prediction Model”. Colorectal Disease. Published November 2022; https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.16423. PMID: 36411954

Allison C.M, Scoones D, Batra A, Sinclair G (2022) “13-year long-term follow-up in a rare case of anaplastic Astroblastoma: what makes the difference?”. Surgical Neurology International. Published May 2022; https://doi.org/10.25259/SNI_1065_2021 PMID: 35673675

Allison C.M, Shumon S, Stummer W, Holling M, Surash S (2021) “A cohort analysis of incidental low-grade gliomas”. World Neurosurgery. Published December 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2021.12.050 PMID: 34942387

Jayakumar N, Hellwig S, Allison C.M, Holling M, Surash S (2021) “A tale of two cities: Residents’ operative experience in the United Kingdom and Germany during COVID-19”. World Neurosurgery. Published July 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2021.07.053 PMID: 34280539

Allison C.M, Shumon S, Joshi A, Quaegebeur A, Sinclair G, Surash S (2021) “A case of Malignant Intracerebral Nerve Sheath Tumour in a patient with Noonan Syndrome: Complex and Rare”. Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons. Published June 28, 2021; https://doi.org/10.3171/CASE21146. PMID: 35854906

Allison C.M, Bonanos G, Varma A (2021) “A case report of bilateral ganglion cysts at L4/5 causing central canal stenosis producing sciatica and neurogenic claudication”. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Published August 20, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2021.0064. PMID: 34414791

The CRANIAL Consortium (including Allison C.M.) (2021) “CSF rhinorrhoea after endonasal intervention to the skull base (CRANIAL) – Part 2: Impact of COVID-19”, World Neurosurgery. Published May 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.12.169 PMID: 33444833

The CRANIAL Consortium (including Allison C.M.) (2021) “CSF rhinorrhoea after endonasal intervention to the skull base (CRANIAL) – Part 1: Multicentre Pilot Study”, World Neurosurgery. Published May 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2020.12.171. PMID: 33444844

Published Abstracts

Plonkowski A, Allison C.M, Philipson P & Brady R R (2022) “Risk Factors Associated with Readmission Within 30 days Following Stoma Surgery: Development of a “Traffic Light” Prediction Model”. Abstracts of the ACPGBI 2022 Annual Meeting, 4-6 July 2022, https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.16261