Awards & Qualifications
National and International Government and Society Awards
12/1999 | Australian Government | Australian Students’ Prize
11/2013 | Australian Orthopaedic Association | Exceptional Performance Award in Surgical Training (Orthopaedics)
02/2014 | Victorian and Tasmanian Regional Training Committee Annual Orthopaedic Trainees’ Prize
09/2016 | Scoliosis Research Society 51st Annual Meeting 2016 | Moe Award for Best Basic Scientific Poster
03/2018 | American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting 2018 | Best Poster- Adult Hip Reconstruction
03/2018 | American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons | Best Scientific Exhibit
04/2019 | International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Annual Meeting 2019 | Leon L. Wiltse Award – Best Overall Paper
04/2019 | International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Annual Meeting 2019 | Charles D. Ray Award – Best Clinical Paper
07/2021 | The Hip Society | Clinical Research in the Management of Hip Disorders | Otto Aufranc Award
05/2022 | Spine Society of Australia Annual Meeting 2022 | Alistair Robson Award | Best Clinical Paper
Education
12/2005 | Bachelor of Medical Science | Research – Medicine | University of Melbourne | Melbourne, Vic, Australia
12/2005 | Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) | Medicine | University of Melbourne | Melbourne, Vic, Australia
Postdoctoral Training
01/2006- 01/2007 | Internship | St Vincent’s Hospital | Melbourne, Vic, Australia
01/2007- 01/2010 | Resident | Basic Surgical Training | Royal Australasian College of Surgeons | Melbourne, Vic, Australia
09/2013- 10/2013 | Registrar Travelling Spine Fellowship | Australian Orthopaedic Association | Australia
01/2010- 08/2014 | Resident/Registrar | Orthopaedic Surgery | Australian Orthopaedic Association, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons | Melbourne, Vic, Australia
08/2014- 07/2015 | Fellowship in Spinal Surgery | NYU Langone Health | New York, NY, USA
02/2019 – 11/2019 | APEX Leadership Certificate | American Orthopaedic Association – University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA, USA
Specialty Certification
08/2014 | Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS – Ortho)
09/2022 | American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery – Board Certified
Research Activities
Having previously been the Director of Spine Research at NYU Langone Health, Department of Orthopedics, I lead the Spine Research Center comprising of 8 full-time staff, and producing over 70 publications per year between all our faculty between 2016 and 2021. My initial research focus has been the collaboration with the Adult Reconstruction Division in investigating the ‘Hip-Spine’ relationship, especially as it pertains to the effect of spinal pathology on Total Hip Replacement instability. While the Spine Research Center previously focused only on Adult Spinal Deformity, I expanded our research program to include Minimally Invasive Surgery, Pediatric Deformity, adult degenerative conditions, patient satisfaction and health related quality of life outcomes.
In 2020-21 I founded ‘Spine and Scoliosis Research Associates Australia Ltd’ (link), a not -for profit charity organization in Australia with the mission to foster collaborative spine research and spinal surgery education in Australia. In the past 4 years, through this organization, we have focused on multicenter collaborative studies between USA and Australia, particularly in the field of Single Position Lateral Decubitus Surgery. Our multicenter research has demonstrated improved perioperative outcomes, reduced operative time, reduced complications and fusion rates as high as traditional anterior-posterior fusion, the previous ‘gold standard’.
In addition, through Spine and Scoliosis Research Associates Australia Ltd, we have developed both a pediatric spine registry and adult spine registry. We continue to collaborate with the Harms Study Group, Paediatric Spine Study Group in the USA, and AO Foundation Deformity Knowledge Forum in Europe.
Clinical research is in important aspect of my practice, to ensure that our outcomes are in line with an International Best Practice, and to improve outcomes for patients in the future.
Educational Activities
I have the honor and privilege of teaching medical students, Orthopaedic trainees and spine surgery fellows on a daily basis through my private practice at Melbourne Orthopaedic Group, public hospital at Royal Children’s Hospital, in addition to clinical research activities. These activities include teaching in the operating room, clinics, didactic teaching, as well as indications and education conferences. Surgeon training is also provided in advanced techniques such as anterior column reconstruction, single position surgery and spinal deformity surgery through proctorship.
