Ajay Kumar Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, (born 28 April 1964) is professor of surgery at University College London.

Early life and education

Ajay Kakkar was born in 1964 in

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, to professor of vascular surgery Vijay Kakkar and his wife, a consultant anaesthetist. He was educated at Alleyn's School before gaining admission to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where he gained at first a bachelor's degree in pharmacology in 1985 and then a medical degree in 1988. Subsequently, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree by Imperial College London: his doctoral thesis was submitted in 1998 and was titled "Tissue factor, thrombin generation and cancer". Son of Professor of vascular surgery

Vijay Kakkar Vijay may refer to: People * Vijay (name) *Vijay (actor) (born 1974), an Indian Tamil actor *Vijay (director), Kannada film director Fiction * ''Vijay'' (1942 film), a 1942 Indian Hindi film * ''Vijay'' (1988 film), a 1988 Indian Hindi film dire ...

, pioneer in the use of low-molecular weight

heparin Heparin, also known as unfractionated heparin (UFH), is a medication and naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan. Since heparins depend on the activity of antithrombin, they are considered anticoagulants. Specifically it is also used in the treatm ...

therapy, he followed in his footsteps as a surgeon and medical researcher.

Career

Kakkar is Chair of King's Health Partners, the Academic Health Science Centre, Director of the Thrombosis Research Institute, London, and lectures and publishes widely on his specialism. He has worked with the NHS on its strategy to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE). He is a Commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, chair of the Board of Governors at Alleyn's School, Dulwich, and a Trustee of the Dulwich Estate. Kakkar was created a life peer on 22 March 2010 as Baron Kakkar, of Loxbeare in the County of Devon, and introduced in the House of Lords the same day. He sits on the crossbenches. He was Chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission from 2013 to 2018. Kakkar has been noted for his work promoting British business as an ambassador for the United Kingdom. He has taken 11 trips in 2014 to promote business relations. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to healthcare and for public service.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakkar, Ajay 1964 births Living people People educated at Alleyn's School Alumni of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Alumni of Imperial College London Crossbench life peers People's peers English surgeons British politicians of Indian descent Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English people of Punjabi descent Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Dartford Academics of University College London Life peers created by Elizabeth II