Rate My Professor James Haddow

James Haddow is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, within the Faculty of Medicine. His academic qualifications include MB ChB from the University of Glasgow, BSc and MB BS from Imperial College London, MDRes from Queen Mary University of London focused on perianal fistula disease, and FRCS. Haddow's clinical expertise encompasses laparoscopic colorectal surgery, including TEMS, TAMIS, and TaTME; abdominal wall reconstruction; perianal fistula disease; pelvic floor disorders and anorectal physiology; and ventral mesh rectopexy. His research specializations include clinical audit software, collaborative research networks, perianal fistula disease, and quality improvement in healthcare. As Director of the Otago Clinical Audit, he applies his early interest in programming—dating back to a BBC Microcomputer—to develop relational databases and outcomes research tools, such as the DIVA clinical audit software and a COVID-19 tracing app deployed at Dunedin Hospital.

Prior to joining the University of Otago in 2019, Haddow trained as a surgeon in the UK, where he founded the London Surgical Research Group in 2010, a trainee-led collaborative that expanded to 800 members, generating 21 publications with 787 co-authors. He also coordinated the NIHR healthcare technology co-operative Enteric, bridging researchers and industry for innovations in digestive diseases, and completed a Darzi Fellowship with training from the King's Fund and Manchester Business School. In New Zealand, he has redesigned patient pathways, including the Day-case Abscess Pathway at Canterbury District Health Board, and contributed to quality improvement as Clinical Lead at Southern DHB. Haddow has co-authored key publications such as Woodfield et al., 'Integration of a patient-orientated eHealth intervention in the setting of an established enhanced recovery after surgery program can reduce complications and length of stay: An observational study' (mHealth, 2026); STRATA Collaborative, 'External validation of CholeS conversion from laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy (CLOC) risk score in Aotearoa New Zealand' (ANZ Journal of Surgery, 2024); Amer and Haddow, 'External validation of the Oakland Score to assess safe hospital discharge among adult patients with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding' (ANZ Journal of Surgery, 2024); and STRATA Collaborative, 'Variation in the practice of cholecystectomy for benign biliary disease in Aotearoa New Zealand' (HPB, 2023). His involvement in international collaboratives like STRATA demonstrates his impact on surgical outcomes research.