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

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Early life and education

Ajay Kakkar was born in 1964 in Dartford, to professor of vascular surgery Vijay Kakkar and his wife, a consultant anaesthetist. He was educated at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

before gaining admission to King's College London, 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 A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(PhD) degree by

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

: his doctoral thesis was submitted in 1998 and was titled "Tissue factor, thrombin generation and cancer". Son of Professor of vascular surgery Vijay Kakkar, pioneer in the use of low-molecular weight heparin 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 The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

, chair of the Board of Governors at

, 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 House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

the same day. He sits on the

crossbenches A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

. 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 (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