The chairman of a hospital charity focused on specialist bowel research has stepped down after ten years at the helm.

Michael Liebreich leaves the St Mark’s Hospital Foundation, based in Harrow, having transformed it into a “proactive fundraising charity with a track record in supporting world-leading research into bowel disease”.

He hands over to Sir Tom Troubridge, who joined the foundation’s board earlier this year.

“During my ten years as chairman, I pushed the St Mark’s researchers to be ambitious and committed the foundation to supporting them,” Mr Liebreich said.

“The foundation is now an organisation focused on securing funding for St Mark’s Hospital and the Institute for Bowel Disease to do research that will move us one step closer to a future free from bowel disease.

“When I joined as a Trustee, St Mark’s Hospital was diamond in the rough – with a 180-year history of excellence in research and education, but punching below its weight in terms of fundraising.

“I believe the re-structure I pushed through during my tenure as chair has already helped St Mark’s Hospital remain at the forefront of its field, and paved the way for more vital research to be done.”

He added that he believes Sir Tom will be able to “build on the current momentum” and has urged him and the team to push through the foundation’s most important project – utilising a surgical robot.

Upon assuming his role in 2007, Mr Liebreich appointed a number of experienced business-people onto the board, retaining two medical trustees to represent the medical staff at the hospital and working closely with the clinical director and dean.

He also set up a ‘seed-corn’ facility to fund preparatory work on major projects, to help researchers ready themselves for larger-scale fundraising efforts.

These efforts resulted in an increase in annual funds raised from around £0.5 million to around £2 million per annum, and so helped researchers at St Mark’s Hospital undertake a number of ground-breaking projects.