Post by British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST)

🚨 #BURSTatBAUS 2026 - 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓‘𝐒 𝐀 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏! 🚨 Three days. Three sessions. One unmissable programme. British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) brought the debate, the talent and the controversy to #BAUS26 in London. Take a look at what went down👇 🔍Day 1- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐩 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Chaired by Arjun Nathan, we started off strong as four bold speakers defended four provocative statements. Aishah Azam made the case for mandatory ultrasound before scrotal exploration, John McGrath challenged CT urograms as first-line imaging in haematuria, Susan Willis argued against routine stenting after uncomplicated ureteroscopy, and John Kelly questioned whether blue light cystoscopy earns its place. With Helena Burden, Prokar Dasgupta OBE, HonFREng and Chi-Ying Li on the panel, dogma met doctrine head-on whilst research on some of urology’s most controversial topics was torn apart ⚠️ We finished day one with our wonderful annual BAUS dinner, kindly sponsored by Post Op. An opportunity to reflect and celebrate with those who have continually supported BURST. 🎤Day 2- 𝐓𝐔𝐅 𝐱 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐓: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐗 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 It was a pleasure to see The Research X-Factor, in partnership with The Urology Foundation, make its long awaited return to a packed room on day two! Chairs Mary Garthwaite and Aqua Asif kicked things off with a keynote from Sinan Khadhouri on turning research ideas into reality, before four contestants pitched projects spanning ureteric injuries and fertility preservation to MDT governance and undergraduate exposure to urology. Buzzers were pressed, votes were cast, and our finalists went head to head… the suspense was palpable! We are thrilled to announce this year’s winners: 🏆Judges’ Prize: Michael Smart ⭐️People’s Choice Award: Sindhu Sankaran Thank you to all our contestants and wonderful judges Rakesh Heer, Nikita Bhatt and Steven MacLennan who did not have an easy job with such a high standard for this year’s entries. 🤖Day 3- 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐁𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐓? No better way to close this year’s programme than with some fiery debates. Benjamin Lamb and Stephanie Smith brought AI’s biggest questions to the floor. We went global with David Canes (Lahey Institute of Urology, USA) on how AI is already reshaping day-to-day urological practice. Nicholas Raison and Freddie Hamdy then went head-to-head on whether AI belongs in research, before Tamsin Greenwell and Simon Fulford debated its place in everyday clinical care. Hype or substance? The room had no shortage of opinions either way🔮 A huge thanks to all our speakers, chairs, panellists, organising committee and everyone who joined us in the room. We can’t wait to see you all next year in Liverpool!👋 #UroSoMe The British Association of Urological Surgeons Veeru Kasivisvanathan Alexander Ng Kevin Gallagher Kevin G Keane Nikki Kerdegari Quentin Mak Ranya Kumar