HCF Medical Advisory Panel is comprised of specialists appointed by HCF to help us deliver Uncommon Care for our members. This expert panel provides specialist input to our policies, procedures, programs and materials that we use to support members in their health care.
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Dr Katherine Benson Dr Katherine Benson is a consultant endocrinologist with over 15 years’ experience in specialist private practice as well as hospital practice. She graduated from The University of Sydney with first class honours in 1994. Katherine completed physician’s training at Concord Hospital and was a visiting medical officer there until 2020. She also has appointments at the Sydney Adventist Hospital, North Shore Private Hospital and The Mater Hospital Sydney. She contributes to rural health and visits the Orange Specialist Centre regularly. She also participates in fly- in- fly- out clinics as well as telehealth services to Brewarrina and Bourke through The University of Sydney Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Katherine has been a clinical senior lecturer at The University of Sydney for ten 10 years, with active involvement in teaching medical students at the Sydney Adventist Hospital Campus. Over the years she has also enjoyed participating in registrar teaching. |
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Professor Luke Bereznicki Professor Luke Bereznicki is a pharmacist with 18 years’ experience in the health care sector. He has been an academic at the University of Tasmania since 2007, where he currently holds the positions of professor of pharmacy and associate head of learning and teaching within the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. His career has focussed on improving medication safety through his academic and professional work in the domains of learning and teaching, research and advocacy. He has held a number of numerous leadership positions at the University of Tasmania, including Head of Pharmacy and Deputy Head of the School of Medicine, and has also served in a number of various senior roles within peak professional pharmacy organisations. Luke’s research is internationally recognised and has had a major impact on shaping the future of the pharmacy profession and improving the quality use of medicines. He has published over 200 original, and professional peer-reviewed papers and attracted over $13 million in competitive research funding. |
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Dr Andrew Booker Dr Andrew Booker graduated from the University of Newcastle in 1996 and began his training in obstetrics and gynaecology at Royal North Shore Hospital in 1999. After completing his membership training, Andrew established his private practice in 2005 at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. Both aspects of this specialty are important to Andrew: from the great joy of guiding families through pregnancy and birth to the respectful care required through various gynaecological issues. His work experience has been obtained during undergraduate, postgraduate and specialty training terms at Hornsby Hospital, Royal North Shore Hospital, Manly Hospital, Port Macquarie Hospital and overseas in the United Kingdom and Nepal. |
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Professor Rachelle Buchbinder AO Professor Rachelle Buchbinder is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) investigator fellow and a professor in the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. She is a rheumatologist and clinical epidemiologist who combines clinical practice with research in a wide range of multidisciplinary projects relating to arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. |
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Professor Anand Ganesan Dr Ganesan’s philosophical approach to cardiology is one of holistic care, aiming to help patients make positive incremental changes at each visit to improve their cardiovascular health. He leads a research group at the Flinders University School of Medicine, whose primary focus is on developing and applying new cardiac technologies to clinical practice for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Dr Ganesan has received several awards including the Heart Rhythm Society Young Investigator Award, Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Young Investigator Award, and the Michel Mirowski Fellowship of the Heart Rhythm Society. |
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Professor John Grigg John Grigg is head of the discipline of ophthalmology at The University of Sydney and consultant ophthalmologist Sydney Eye Hospital and The Children’s Hospital Westmead. The discipline of ophthalmology oversees all ophthalmic teaching and research at The University of Sydney including the Save Sight Institute, which has grown to be a leading ophthalmic research institute in Australia. Professor Grigg completed his vocational ophthalmology training on the Sydney Eye Hospital program. He completed further subspeciality clinical training fellowships in glaucoma, paediatric ophthalmology and visual electrophysiology in Australia and the UK. |
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Professor Ken Hillman AO Ken Hillman is professor of intensive care and foundation director of the Simpson Centre for Health Services Research at the SWS Clinical School, University of New South Wales, which is affiliated with the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research. He is an intensive care clinician at Liverpool and Campbelltown Hospitals. He graduated from Sydney University and trained at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Upon returning to Australia, he became director of anaesthetics, intensive care and coronary care at Liverpool Hospital. He is internationally recognised as a pioneer in the introduction of the medical emergency team, has been awarded over $24 million in grants and has published extensively. He presented at TEDx 2016 at the Sydney Opera House and now researches the care of the elderly frail. |
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Professor Tom Hugh Professor Tom Hugh is the chair of surgery at the Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney. He is an upper gastrointestinal surgeon based at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) and North Shore Private Hospital, Sydney. His clinical interests include the management of benign and malignant liver tumours, gallstone disease, and repair of groin and complex abdominal wall hernias. He has a long-standing interest in clinical audit and has been the instigator and driver of several ongoing prospective clinical databases in the Northern Upper Gastrointestinal Surgical unit at RNSH. In addition to upper gastrointestinal surgery, Professor Hugh performs liver resection and cholecystectomy. In 2001, he was a co-founder of the Kolling Institute’s liver tumour biobank. It currently contains around 500 banked tumour specimens which are all linked to a long-term clinical database. |
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Dr Auriel Jameson Dr Auriel Jameson is a physician (general) and practices at Wahroonga. Dr Jameson graduated in 1978 and completed physician training in 1985. She is a consultant physician in general medicine and endocrinology, with special interest in complex medical issues and perioperative medicine. |
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Associate Professor Larry Kalish A/Prof Kalish is an adult and paediatric ear, nose and throat surgeon with subspecialty interests in rhinology, allergy, voice and snoring. He is the director of the Sydney Sinus & Allergy Centre, the head of department of Concord Hospital ENT department, which is a tertiary referral centre for advanced rhinology and anterior skull base surgery. Dr Kalish is a clinical associate professor at The University of Sydney and is involved in several research projects with numerous publications and presentations at international meetings. He is a faculty member on various courses and the current NSW continuing professional development coordinator of ASOHNS, the national representative organisation for ear, nose and throat, head and neck surgeons. |
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Dr Phillip Katelaris Dr Phillip Katelaris is a senior consultant urological surgeon with over 35 years’ experience in the field of urology. Dr Katelaris trained in Australia with post fellowship training in Germany. Dr Katelaris has special expertise and experience in the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer, robotic prostate surgery as well as the diagnosis and management of erectile and bladder dysfunction. He is an expert urological prosthetic surgeon. |
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Associate Professor Winston Liauw A/Prof Winston Liauw is a medical oncologist with his primary practice in gastrointestinal oncology. He is co-trained as a clinical pharmacologist with experience in pharmaceutical development and the public policy of medicines. He is director, Cancer Services Stream and chief medical information officer, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. He is a co-chief investigator for the Centre for Research Excellence in Implementation Science in Oncology and sits on the Executive Leadership Group of UNSW Sphere Cancer Group. |
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Professor Kei Lui Professor Kei Lui started his medical career in 1977 after graduating and receiving his research doctorate degree (doctor of medicine) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). After his paediatric training in Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Camperdown, he subspecialised in neonatology at Westmead Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children from 1984. He became staff neonatologist at Westmead Hospital in 1988. Prof Lui was deputy director and later acting head of its neonatal department. In 1997, he took the UNSW clinical academic appointment in neonatology at the Royal Hospital for Women which combined his academic career with clinical care of sick neonates. Professor Lui was soon appointed medical director of newborn care for the next 23 years, up until recently, in December 2020. He is also the current Chairman of the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network. Prof Lui has published more than 200 research articles and been a chief investigator on receiving more than $11M from NHMRC/MRFF grants. |
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Dr Mike Millard Dr Mike Millard is the Clinical Director of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) based at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and the University of NSW. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist who specialises in youth and adult mood and anxiety disorders and is the Director of the NSW Anxiety Disorders Clinic. He is a Senior Lecturer with the University of NSW. Dr Millard has expertise in digital mental health and is Director of THIS WAY UP, a leading provider of digital mental health treatment and wellbeing services. His sub-speciality skills include psychotherapy, neurostimulation, innovative pharmacological treatments and the application of health technology. |
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Associate Professor Jill Newby A/Prof Jill Newby is a NHMRC Emerging Leader and Clinical Psychologist at the Black Dog Institute and UNSW. Jill is a leading expert on the technology-based treatment of depression and anxiety, and leads a program of research into digital mental health, smartphone apps, and virtual reality interventions. |
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Professor Richard Page Professor Page is Academic Chair of Orthopaedics at Deakin University and Director of Orthopaedic Research University Hospital Geelong, a specialist shoulder, upper limb and trauma surgeon. He is founder and Director, Barwon Centre for Orthopaedic Research and Education. Authored over 250 referred journal articles, book chapters on shoulder, elbow and joint replacement surgery. Invited lectures internationally, over 180 scientific papers at a national or international level. Research interests include outcomes of shoulder replacement surgery, biomaterials and upper limb biomechanics, as well as orthopaedic trauma. Collaborator on published Delphi Consensus guidelines in shoulder arthroplasty, rotator cuff surgery and joint replacement infections. |