Taner is a Surgical Resident and PhD candidate at University College London (UCL). He is actively involved in surgical training and education, holding multiple roles. He is the Vice President and previous Robotic Representative for The Dukes’ Club, the UK’s national trainee colorectal society. He also serves on the executive committee of STEER, a regional surgical trainee education and research group; and is a committee member of the Robotic and Digital Surgery Trainee Committee (RaDiST). Within these roles, he has helped design and deliver structured training courses, including Robotic Skills Courses at centres such as The Griffin Institute. He has led the ALSGBI Robotic Driving License since 2024, a 4 day intensive course, training over 50 surgeons worldwide. He has also been involved with simulation-based and speciality specific cadaveric training. In addition, he has led multiple national educational events, including organising and leading a 6 part international webinar series. Academically, he has authored over 25 peer-reviewed papers, with his work spanning new technologies, innovative training methods, and the integration of artificial intelligence and extended reality within education and training. Notable works include exploring the role of virtual and augmented reality in training and planning, and an article advocating early laparoscopic skills training. His current PhD research focusses on technology enhanced robotics training. Through this, he has formed the first collaboration with the market leaders extended reality division, conducting an RCT assessing training methods. Having presented numerous times internationally, including at SAGES and EAES, his most recent presentation was awarded a prize at EAES 2025 during the prestigious Gerhard Buess Prize Session, acknowledging his innovative research on developing a novel robotic docking assessment tool as part of his PhD. This was also officially implemented during the first-ever UEMS Robotic Surgery Diploma conducted at EAES 2025—a step towards standardising clinically orientated robotic credentialing.
Selected publications from PubMed
Expert consensus on robotic colorectal surgery proctoring in the UK.
Harris M, Shakir T, Dixon F, Krishna A, Evans C, Davies RJ, Vasudevan S, Campbell K, Hance J, Speake D, Varghese P, Ali O, Leong K, Keeler B, Morton J, Yassin N, Ahmed S, Shaikh IA, Miskovic D, Khan J, Harji D, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland Robotic Clinical Advisory Group
Colorectal Dis. 2026 May;28(5):e70468 doi: 10.1111/codi.70468.
Single-port robotic colorectal surgery: a scoping review of outcome reporting and future directions for standardisation.
Borgas P, Shakir T, Francis N, Keller DS
J Robot Surg. 2026 Apr 21;20(1) doi: 10.1007/s11701-026-03402-9.
Acclimatising with 3D virtual reality video improves simulator performance: initial findings of a randomised controlled feasibility trial.
Shakir T, Lingam G, Francis N, Chand M
Surg Endosc. 2025 Nov;39(11):7658-7665 doi: 10.1007/s00464-025-12153-x.
Standardising robotic system setup: an international expert consensus.
Shakir T, Lingam G, Boal M, Chand M, Francis N
Surg Endosc. 2025 Nov;39(11):7640-7648 doi: 10.1007/s00464-025-12144-y.
ACPGBI position statement on robotic-assisted colorectal surgical training.
Evans C, Shakir T, El-Sayed C, Harji DP, Miskovic D, Shaikh I, Khan J, Kinross J, Davies RJ, Dukes' Club and The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) Robotic Clinical Advisory Group
Colorectal Dis. 2025 Jul;27(7):e70161 doi: 10.1111/codi.70161.
Help your network discover Dr. Taner Shakir's clinical expertise.
