Exit edit profile

Edit your staff profile

Your staff profile is made up of information taken from systems including Pure and Subscribe.  This page explains how to update each section of your profile.

Dr Ben Gaastra

 MA, MB, BChir, MRCS, PhD
NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Neurosurgery

Connect with Ben

Email: B.Gaastra@soton.ac.uk

ORCID
LinkedIn

Profile photo 
Upload your profile photo in Subscribe (opens in a new tab). Your profile photo in Pure is not linked to your public staff profile. Choose a clear, recent headshot where you are easily recognisable. Your image should be at least 340 by 395 pixels. 

Name 
To change your name or prefix title contact Ask HR (opens in new tab)  If you want to update an academic title you'll need to provide evidence e.g. a PhD certificate. The way your name is displayed is automatic and cannot be changed. You can also update your post-nominal letters in Subscribe (opens in a new tab).

Job title 
Raise a request through ServiceNow (opens in a new tab) to change your job title (40 characters maximum) unless you're on the ERE career pathway. If you're on the ERE path you can not change your main job title, but you can request other minor updates through Ask HR (opens in new tab). If you have more than one post only your main job title will display here, but you can add further posts or roles in other sections of your profile.

Research interests (for researchers only) 
Add up to 5 research interests. The first 3 will appear in your staff profile next to your name. The full list will appear on your research page. Keep these brief and focus on the keywords people may use when searching for your work. Use a different line for each one.

In Pure (opens in a new tab), select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading 'Curriculum and research description', select 'Add profile information'. In the dropdown menu, select 'Research interests: use separate lines'.

Contact details 
Add or update your email address, telephone number and postal address in Subscribe (opens in a new tab). Use your University email address for your primary email. 

You can link to your Google Scholar, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts through Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’.  In the 'Links' section, use the 'Add link' button. 

ORCID ID 
Create or connect your ORCID ID in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’ and then 'Create or Connect your ORCID ID'.

Accepting PhD applicants (for researchers only) 
Choose to show whether you’re currently accepting PhD applicants or not in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. In the 'Portal details' section, select 'Yes' or 'No' to indicate your choice. 

About Research Publications Supervision Teaching External roles and responsibilities Biography
Exit edit profile

About

Ben Gaastra graduated in medicine from The University of Cambridge in 2013 and entered the Academic Foundation Programme in neurosciences. Mr Gaastra commenced neurosurgical training at University Hospital Southampton in 2015 and joined the University of Southampton initially as a visiting academic is 2016 and then as a Clinical Research Fellow in 2021. He was awarded his PhD entitled 'Outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage' in 2023. Mr Gaastra is now an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Neurosurgery.

He has been awarded research fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons, Society of British Neurological Surgeons, Barrow Foundation, Guarantors of Brain and Institute for Life Sciences, working with Professor Ian Galea, Professor Nicci Campbell and Professor Diederik Bulters. He is a founding member of the Haemoglobin After InTracranial Haemorrhage (HATCH) consortium. 

His interest is outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) and has published in Nature Reviews Neurology, Neurology and Stroke. Mr Gaastra uses multi-omic techniques to explore the pathophysiological mechanisms underpinning outcome after aSAH.

You can update this in Pure (opens in a new tab). Select ‘Edit profile’. Under the heading and then ‘Curriculum and research description’, select ‘Add profile information’. In the dropdown menu, select - ‘About’.

Write about yourself in the third person. Aim for 100 to 150 words covering the main points about who you are and what you currently do. Clear, simple language is best. You can include specialist or technical terms.

You’ll be able to add details about your research, publications, career and academic history to other sections of your staff profile.

Update this section in Pure