Jonathan Evans qualified from Liverpool Medical School in 2006 and started working as a colorectal and general surgery consultant at Nottingham University Hospital in 2020. He completed general surgery training in the West Midlands and a specialist fellowship at Nottingham University Hospital (NUH) after obtaining his certificate of completion of training in 2019. Through his training he has developed a subspecialist interest in inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal failure, complex abdominal wall reconstruction and neuroendocrine tumours in the bowel.

He is trained in keyhole (laparoscopic) and open surgical techniques, and can perform all common colorectal procedures such as inguinal hernia repairs and treat the common proctology conditions such as anal fissures, fistulas and haemorrhoids. His specialty interest in abdominal wall reconstruction and complex incisional hernias led to him developing this service at NUH, instigating and leading an abdominal wall reconstruction MDT. He also introduced the use of BOTOX® injections to relax the lateral abdominal wall muscles to facilitate abdominal wall closure in large incisional hernias to Nottingham and now performs this technique regularly in the larger hernias he deals with.

He is a high volume endoscopist, specialising in colonoscopy, and is currently training to be a bowel cancer screener, having achieved the key performance indicators and outcomes necessary to successfully apply for this through a competitive process. He teaches on the colonoscopy skills courses, aiming to improve the abilities of less experienced endoscopists.

In addition to a busy clinical practice Jonathan is the principal investigator on several clinical trials and is a successful grant holder, obtaining funding for a clinical trial examining advanced imaging techniques in perianal Crohn's disease. He has always had an interest in improving outcomes through research which was enhanced when he completed a research-based PhD in improving the response to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer at the University of Liverpool in 2016. He has published 38 full manuscripts and has presented his research and teaching sessions at numerous conferences and meetings nationally and internationally, including eight prize winning presentations. The highlight was winning firstly the John of Ardene Medal, followed by the Wesleyan Prize at the Royal Society of Medicine for presenting some of the data from his PhD.

Jonathan is an Honorary Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham and regularly teaches medical students at the University. He has received very positive feedback for the teaching he delivers and uses these teaching opportunities to keep his own knowledge up to date.

His desire to improve patient outcomes has also led to management responsibilities, he was previously governance lead in the colorectal department and has become head of service for the entirety of endoscopy at Nottingham University Hospital. Through these experiences he has developed an interest in improving patient safety and care which he integrates into every aspect of his clinical practice.

Jonathan enjoys his job and his interactions with colleagues and patients and strives to provide the best possible care. He also has multiple interests outside of the profession having played rugby to a semi-professional level, achieved grade 8 in piano and is a keen guitarist.

Five example publications:
2025 The ACCURE Study Group (PI). Appendicectomy plus standard medical therapy versus standard medical therapy alone for maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis (ACCURE): a pragmatic, open-label, international, randomised trial. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. Published online April 11, 2025 

2023 ENiGMA CODE collaborators. Development of a core descriptor set for Crohn's anal fistula. Colorectal Dis. 2023 Apr;25(4):695-706

2023 NIHR Global Health Unit on Global Surgery; COVIDSurg Collaborative, Dissemination Committee Elective surgery system strengthening: development, measurement, and validation of the surgical preparedness index across 1632 hospitals in 119 countries. Lancet. 2022 Nov 5;400(10363):1607-1617

2018 Evans JP, Winiarski BK, Sutton PA, Jones RP, Ressel L, Duckworth CA, Pritchard DM, Zhi-Xiu L, Copple IM, Tweedle EM, Costello E, Goldring CE, Park BK, Palmer DH and Kitteringham NR. The Nrf2 inhibitor brusatol is a potent antitumour agent in an orthotopic mouse model of colorectal cancer. Oncotarget. 2018 June; 9(43): 27104-27116.

2017  Jones RP, Sutton PA, Evans JP, Clifford R, McAvoy A, Lewis J, Rousseau A, Mountford R, McWhirter D, Malik HZ. Specific mutations in KRAS codon 12 are associated with worse overall survival in patients with advanced and recurrent colorectal cancer. Br J Cancer. 2017 Feb 16

Clinical Interests

Beyond the competencies required to qualify as a colorectal surgeon, which includes small bowel resections, colonic resections, the treatment of proctology conditions and the simpler hernia repairs e.g. inguinal and paraumbilical hernias, Jonathan has a more subspeciality interest in abdominal wall reconstruction and incisional hernia repair. 

His practice also focuses on the surgical management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Intestinal Failure. 

He is also a very experienced colonoscopist who has achieved the exacting standards required to become a bowel cancer screener and is currently training in this field having successfully applied for this role.

• General Medical Council
• Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland
• Royal College of Surgeons of England.