Tipu Zahed Aziz, FMedSci (; born 9 November 1956) is a Bangladeshi-born British professor of neurosurgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Aarhus Denmark and Porto, Portugal. He specialises in the study and treatment of Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, dystonia, spasmodic torticollis, fixed abnormal posture of the neck, tremor, and intractable neuropathic pain. Besides his medical work, he is also notable as a public commentator in support of animal experimentation. Early life and education Aziz was born in Bangladesh into what The Guardian called a "medical dynasty". He arrived in Britain at the age of 17 with just three O-levels, but after passing A-levels, he studied Neurophysiology at University College London, where he became interested in deep brain stimulation. He went on to study for a doctorate at Manchester University, where he began his research on animals. Career In February 2006, Aziz came to public prominence in the UK when he spoke out in favour of the use of animals in medical research to several hundred demonstrators during a rally held by Pro-Test, a new British group set up to promote the construction by Oxford University of a new biomedical centre in which research on animals, including primates, will be conducted. Aziz is one of two Oxford neurosurgeons who sit on the Pro-Test committee. Pro-Test was formed to counter SPEAK, an animal rights organisation aiming to end vivisection in the UK. In March 2006, he came to public attention again when he defended the use of animals in cosmetics testing, which is banned in Britain. His comments were described as "perhaps unfortunate" by one colleague. Research interests Aziz's work involves inducing Parkinsonian symptoms in monkeys, either surgically or using drugs, then switching off the symptoms using electrodes he has implanted in their brains. During development of his techniques he has used around 30 monkeys in tests over 20 years, and many believe that as many as 40,000 people around the world have benefitted from the techniques. The Guardian writes that some patients have described the surgery as "miraculous". In a 2006 BBC Two documentary Monkeys, Rats and Me: Animal Testing, animal rights philosopher Peter Singer described Aziz's research as "justifiable" on utilitarian grounds. Singer later clarified his statement saying that it would only be justified, in his opinion, if Aziz were willing to do the same experiments on humans of a similar mental capacity. Aziz has said that the