Celebrating Member Achievements

RACS 2023 Learning and Development Grants Recipients

In their recent edition of Surgical News, RACS announced the recipients of their 2023 Learning and Development Grants. USANZ was delighted to see that a number of our members were listed as having received a grant.

Congratulations to Dr Sunny Nalavenkata who received one of three Bongiorno National Network Younger Fellows Travel Grants. Sunny, a urological surgeon at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, received a $10,000 grant to travel to New York and undertake a combined uro-oncology research and clinical Fellowship. In this Fellowship, Sunny will be researching prostate cancer prognostic models. 

We would also like to congratulate Dr Andrew Shepherd, a urological surgeon from Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, who received one of three Pickard Robotic Training Grants. This grant, worth $32, 000, will support Andrew in undertaking a senior robotic clinical Fellowship in urology at Guys' and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.

Finally, congratulations to Dr James Churchill, a urological surgeon at St George Hospital in NSW, on receiving one of two Hugh Johnston Travel Grants. Valued at $10, 000, this grant will enable James to undertake a Fellowship in urological oncology at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, UK.

For further information, view RACS Surgical News March-April 2023.

Advancements in Robotic Surgery

The Society was pleased to hear of recent advances in urological and robotics surgery in Australia and Hong Kong.

Professor Vincent Tse, a USANZ Member and one of the scientific Co-Chairs of the upcoming NCOI-FUS 2023 Conference, worked with his international colleague Associate Professor Wayne Lam to perform the first robotic sacrocolpopexy at the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong.

Additionally, Vincent worked with USANZ Members Dr Mark Liu and Dr Audrey Wang on the first robotic female artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) Urethral cuff in Australia.

These are noteworthy developments and we would like to congratulate Vincent, Mark and Audrey on their involvement.

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