Meet the Medical Advisory Committee Members - Dr James Walken

We are delighted to take this opportunity to begin to introduce the members of the Medical Advisory Committee individually, with Dr James Walkden, Neurosurgeon at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, the first in the limelight.

I am from Angus, Scotland and grew up in a small town called Kirriemuir, which is famous for Peter Pan author JM Barrie and AC DC singer Bon Scott. I studied at St Andrews University obtaining a Bachelor of Medical Science before switching to Manchester University to complete my medical degree which I achieved with Honours. I worked in Tauranga Hospital, New Zealand for 4 months prior to starting my junior doctor rotation at Salford Royal. I was successful in applying to the national Neurosurgery training programme and was matched to North West which meant a return to Salford as well as Royal Preston and Manchester Children's hospitals. I completed training in 2014 and moved to the Walton Centre in Liverpool for a year Fellowship in Neuro-oncology surgery. I was subsequently appointed as Consultant Neurosurgeon in Aberdeen in September 2015.

I have a 6 month old baby boy to entertain at the moment but my other hobbies are football, tennis and fishing. My interest in CSF leak as with most things started by chance having encountered some complex patients with CSF disorders during my time in Salford and Walton and some of my previous consultants there having an interest in ICP monitoring. There is still a huge amount we don't know about CSF disorders but a logical and stepwise approach to diagnosis and investigation is critical.