What is your role and what does your work focus on? 

I am a balanced Clinician-Academic. I work as a Consultant General Surgeon at Flinders Medical Centre and I coordinate MD Advanced Studies in the College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University. My surgical and research interests are in Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary surgery (HPB), including acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. These are reflected in my two books, entitled “Dilemmas in Abdominal Surgery: A Case-Based Approach” and “Surgical Diseases of the Pancreas and Biliary Tree”. I have also started to investigate the evolving global problem of young-, or early-, onset cancers.

Where did you work before joining CMPH? 

I worked as a Consultant Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgeon at two premier surgical centres in India, the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai and Medanta Hospital, the Medicity, in Gurugram.

What journey brought you to this point in your career? 

I was born, and grew up, in the scenic and peaceful state of Goa, on the West coast of India. I did my schooling in the capital city, Panjim, and went on to pursue my undergraduate medical degree, as well as, general surgical training at the Goa Medical College and Hospital. I then completed a fellowship in Gastrointestinal (GI) & HPB Surgical Oncology at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India – one of the Premier Global Cancer centers. I have trained in GI, HPB and Liver Transplant Surgery in India and Australia (including Flinders Medical Centre, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and the Modbury Hospital) and hold surgical qualifications in both countries.

I moved to Adelaide in 2008 to pursue research in Acute Pancreatitis with Professors Jim Toouli and Gino Saccone. I obtained my Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Flinders University in 2010 for my work on the neuropeptide galanin, its antagonists, and their effects on pancreatic exocrine secretion and their role in acute pancreatitis. Over the years, my research has been a mix of clinical and basic science always guided by its translational value.

What is something you love most about your work? 

The ability to make a meaningful difference to the lives of my patients, and to support and nurture our medical students, the doctors of tomorrow.

If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be? 

Be patient, mate! The best things in life are the hardest to obtain. Nothing worth having comes easy (T. Roosevelt).

If you had a super power what would it be?

To empower people with an appreciation of self-worth, and the realisation that it is only in giving, that we will receive.

How do you like to relax or spend your spare time? 

I am most relaxed when I am with my family and when I am operating. I enjoy watching soccer (and also playing it), listening to jazz music, reading and playing the guitar in my spare time.