Dr Ahmir Ahmad

Consultant Gastroenterologist

Digestive Health

Overview

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Overview

Dr Ahmad is a Consultant Gastroenterologist and specialist endoscopist with a particular interest in diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy including advanced colonoscopy, gastroscopy and polypectomy. He is an expert advisor for optical diagnosis in the NHS England Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and has a research interest in improving efficiency and quality in endoscopy practice.

About Dr Ahmir Ahmad

Dr Ahmir Ahmad is a gastrointestinal endoscopist and luminal gastroenterologist at OneWelbeck, who was appointed to the consultant staff at St Mark’s Hospital in 2023. He is an experienced endoscopist with a particular interest in complex polypectomy, optical and AI-assisted diagnosis and advancing colonoscopy practice. 

He completed his undergraduate training with distinction at University College London in 2010 and undertook a 4 year specialist clinical and research endoscopy fellowship at St Mark’s Hospital from 2018 to 2022. His PhD at Imperial College London involved a portfolio of research exploring “Efficiency in Colonoscopy” throughout the patient pathway under primary supervision of Professor Brian Saunders.

Findings from DISCARD3, a major study he led exploring optical diagnosis with a “resect and discard” strategy, are now being adopted nationally. As an expert advisor and committee member he is supporting implementation of optical diagnosis within the NHS England Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

He has published widely, enjoys teaching and most recently co-authored the 8th edition of the classic textbook Cotton & Williams’ “Practical Gastrointestinal Endoscopy”.

 

Areas of Expertise

Dr Ahmir Ahmad commonly treats:

Conditions:

Tests and Treatments:

Additional Information

Active memberships:

  • British Society of Gastroenterology Endoscopy Research Group
  • Member of the Royal College of Physicians 
  • Member of the British Medical Association

Professional awards:

  • Best Endoscopy Poster Award at BSG (2022)
  • John Nicholls' Prize for Research (2021) 
  • ESGE Registration Grant Award (2021) 
  • Joint Prankerd Jones Memorial Prize & Austin Heady Prize in Biometry for the Professional Development Spine (2006) 
  • Jean Shanks Foundation Award (2006)

 

Research Highlights

Notable Publications:

  • Ahmad A et al. 2024. Randomised trial of ‘hybrid’ water-assisted colonoscopy (modified water immersion) versus water exchange colonoscopy: WAVE study. Frontline Gastroenterology, 15(4): 305-313. DOI: 10.1136/flgastro-2023-102606 
  • Orlovic M and Ahmad A et al. 2023. Economic impact of implementing optical diagnosis with a “resect and discard” strategy within the English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme: Findings from the DISCARD3 study. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 98(1):73-81. DOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2023.01.054 

  •  Ahmad A et al. 2023. NBI International Colorectal Endoscopic–derived high-confidence optical diagnosis of small polyps compared with histology: understanding errors to improve diagnostic accuracy. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 97(1):78-88. DOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2022.08.032

  • Ahmad A et al. 2022. Implementation of optical diagnosis with a 'resect and discard strategy' in clinical practice: DISCARD3 study. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 96(6):1021-1032. DOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2022.06.019
  • Ahmad A et al. 2023. Evaluation of a real-time computer aided polyp detection system (CADe) during screening colonoscopy: AI-DETECT study. Endoscopy, 55(4)313-319. DOI: 10.1016/j.gie.2022.08.032