The first day of the AUGIS ASM is here and we’re officially underway! 🎉 We’re delighted to welcome colleagues, reconnect with friends, share ideas, learn from inspiring speakers, and celebrate the incredible work happening across our community. It’s already been a fantastic start to the day, with the Legacy Project, Andrew Smith’s Presidents Welcome, and our keynote speaker Sir @Keir_Starmer. Here’s to a fantastic few days of collaboration, innovation, knowledge-sharing and learning! 🚀 #AUGISASM2026 #AUGIS #UpperGI

🎤 SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT | Who’s taking the stage at AUGIS ASM? 🌟 Christian Macutkiewicz Christian Macutkiewicz is a Consultant General, HPB and Hernia Surgeon at Manchester University Foundation Trust. He is the current President of @asgbi. His clinical interests lie in complex biliary disease and abdominal wall hernias. He is passionate about training and education and modern clinical leadership. 🌟Dimitri Pournaras Dimitri Pournaras graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and undertook all his postgraduate training in the UK. He was awarded a Royal College of Surgeons of England Research Fellowship to conduct research on obesity, diabetes and metabolic surgery. He completed his PhD in the Department of Investigative Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London investigating the mechanism of action of bariatric surgery and the role of the gut on appetite and glucose homeostasis.  He then trained in oesophagogastric surgery in Cambridge and Norwich. Following a Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Fellowship approved by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, he was appointed as a Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon in North Bristol NHS Trust where he currently works as part of the multidisciplinary team treating obesity as a disease. He also has an honorary position at the University of Bristol Medical School as associate professor. Dimitri is the inaugural British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society/Royal College of Surgeons of England bariatric Surgical Specialty Lead and is committed to high quality, collaborative, patient centred research with the objective to improve obesity care. 🌟Marc van Det Studied Medicine at the University of Groningen, graduated Cum Laude 2004 Surgical training in Leeuwarden Medical Centre and University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) Graduated in 2012. PhD thesis Training and Ergonomics in Minimally Invasive Surgery, defence in 2012. Fellowship gastro-intestinal surgery in Leeuwarden Medical centre. Oncologic, benign and bariatric Upper-GI surgeon in ZGT since 2014. Performing Robot-assisted upper-GI since 2015. Proctor/trainer for Intuitive since 2016. 🩺 AUGIS ASM 📍 @HgtConventions 📅 23–25 September More fantastic speakers are coming your way! Keep an eye on our channels for the latest announcements ahead of this year’s ASM. View the full programme and register via augis.org #AUGISASM2026 #UpperGI #SpeakerSpotlight