RPA-IAS Operative Anatomy & Dissection Course
16 - 18 January 2026
About
our Course
Cost
$3,850 AUD (GST included)
This fee covers the full 3-day program and pre-reading materials.
Spots are limited. Interested in attending? Simply register to express your interest.
Expressions of interest close on 17 October 2025 (AEST).
Selection Process
All submissions will be reviewed by the IAS Surgical Panel. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of October.
Program Details
Want to know more about the course structure and topics?
Explore Our Program below for full details.
**Offers are now being issued to successful applicants.
The course will feature live demonstrations and guided participant dissections. Instruction will be led by experienced RPA surgical consultants representing a broad range of specialties, including upper gastrointestinal, colorectal, urology and head and neck surgery.
Meet our Course Organisers
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David Storey - Adjunct Director of Surgical Skills Laboratory
Associate Professor David Storey lives and breathes surgical education. The considerable experience and knowledge that he brings to the role of inaugural Director of Surgical Education is a significant asset to the IAS, and the overall advancement of surgical education.
Having been a Hepatobiliary and Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon at RPA for many years, Associate Professor David Storey is currently the Director of Training for the Sydney South West Surgical Skills Network and a Clinical Advisor to the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission relating to surgical supervision. He has also held numerous positions within the Royal College of Surgeons.
Through the establishment of the Surgical Skills Facility on Level 9 at RPA, Associate Professor David Storey has provided guidance and mentoring to countless budding surgical trainees and the opportunity for ongoing surgical skills training onsite at the hospital. Under his leadership, this facility will be greatly enhanced with the drive to establish new training facilities at RPA.
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Associate Professor Jonathan Hong is a Colorectal Surgeon who has a strong commitment to the continuous improvement of training and standards in surgery. He has been an enthusiastic teacher of medical students, trainee surgeons and colleagues throughout his career. He is particularly interested in assessment of technical and non-technical skills within a competence based surgical education framework. He is a member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) Fundamentals of Rectal Cancer assessment subcommittee.
Associate Professor Hong has undertaken extensive training in both Colorectal and General surgery, predominantly at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He also has international experience having spent 2 years completing the Colorectal Surgical Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto, Canada, as well as a visiting Scholar at The Wilson Center for Medical Education at Toronto General Hospital.
In addition to being the Deputy Director of Surgical Education at the IAS, Jonathan undertook a Masters of Philosophy in 2016 exploring the use of MRI to personalise the surgical approach to rectal cancer treatment, as well as a Masters of Surgical Education
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Dr David Robinson is a highly experienced surgeon who treats a wide range of vascular conditions. He has considerable expertise in minimally invasive procedures and has particular interest in arterial disease.
David trained in both general and vascular surgery in Australia, finishing his vascular surgical training in 2003. He is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Surgeons, a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Vascular Surgeons, the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Vascular and Endovascular Surgical Society. David has worked as a consultant at St Mary’s Hospital (UK), St Vincent’s Hospital and Gosford Hospital and is now a senior Vascular Surgeon at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is a former chairman of the Division of Vascular Surgery at the Sydney Adventist Hospital.
David is committed to research and education and is involved in teaching students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He is extensively involved in governance and was a former chairman of the committee overseeing the Collaborating Hospitals Audit of Surgical Mortality (CHASM) and has served on several governmental and hospital committees including the Prostheses List Advisory Committee (PLAC). His current committee appointments include Chair of the Division of Surgery at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) and Ethics of Clinical Practice sub-committee. He is Head of the Vascular Diagnostic Service at RPAH. He is a Senior Fellow at the Heart Research Institute. He has authored papers and textbook chapters on carotid and aortic interventions, access for anterior spinal surgery and non-technical skills in surgery and is currently involved in research investigating several aspects of peripheral arterial and aortic disease, and research looking at several facets of surgical education.
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Associate Professor James Wykes is a head and neck surgeon with a special interest in treating mouth, throat and jaw tumours; salivary gland conditions; thyroid and parathyroid disease; advanced skin cancers; and microvascular reconstructive surgery. He practises across Sydney and Wollongong at several major hospitals and cancer treatment centres.
A UNSW graduate (2005), he completed general surgical training in Sydney and completed his fellowship in general surgery in 2012, He practises across Sydney and Wollongong. Dr Wykes is the director of the head and neck fellowship program at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and holds several teaching positions including Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Wollongong and clinical lecturer at UNSW, and is regularly involved in undergraduate and post-graduate teaching. His research interests include clinical research in advanced cutaneous and mucosal malignancy of the head and neck, thyroid and salivary gland cancer and microvascular reconstruction outcomes.
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A/Prof Michael Elliott is an ENT, Head and Neck Surgeon working at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. He is the Lead for Clinical Research in the Head and Neck Department, Chair of the Thyroid Cancer MDT and chair of the Stylojugular MDT. His specialised interest includes oncological surgery of the head and neck with a focus on thyroid, parathyroid and salivary gland disease and surgical management of patients with extracranial venous hypertension syndrome
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BSc/LLB (Hon I); MBBS; MSurgicalEd; FRACS
Dr Coker is a surgical oncologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA), specialising in the management of sarcoma of the retroperitoneum, abdomen, pelvis, and extremities as well as melanoma, advanced cutaneous malignancies and rare tumours. He has undertaken fellowships at world renowned surgical oncology centres including Melanoma Institute Australia (Sydney) and The Royal Marsden Hospital (London). Dr Coker is passionate about teaching and education, and to further his expertise he completed a Masters of Surgical Education through the University of Melbourne in 2021. He is the current Director of Surgical Education at the Institute of Academic Surgery.
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Dr. Nipu Jayatilleke is a Breast and General Surgeon, and is the Director of the Surgical Skills Network at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She is a member of the NSW RACS council, and is an advocate for early surgical education, and women in surgery.
She is now a VMO at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, BreastScreen NSW at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and BreastScreen NSW at Royal North Shore Hospital.
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Dr Laurence undertook medical school, internship and junior resident training in Surgery in the United Kingdom. He subsequently came to Australia, as a Northcote Scholar, to complete a PhD focused on transplantation immunology at the University of Sydney. He then completed a two-year post-fellowship training program in Hepatobiliary (HPB) and Upper Gastro-Intestinal (UGI) surgery in Australia.
Dr Laurence then relocated to Toronto to undertake a two-year fellowship program in HPB and Transplantation surgery, approved by both the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the Americas Hepatobiliary Association. During this time he gained extensive experience in Transplantation including live donor hepatectomy and laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy, in addition to recipient liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation. During his tenure as a fellow at the Toronto General Hospital, Dr Laurence was also trained in Oncological HPB surgery techniques including complex resection and reconstruction required for advanced cancer involving major blood vessels of the abdomen.
Dr Laurence returned to Australia in 2015 to commence practice as Transplant and Upper GI surgeon based at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He was simultaneously appointed as an Associate Professor at the RPA Institute of Academic Surgery.
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Alexandra is a second year ANZTBCRS colorectal fellow currently based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She has a keen interest in surgical teaching and mentorship
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Dr Leba Michael Sarkis is a dual international fellowship trained Head and Neck and Microvascular reconstructive surgeon. He completed a Master of Surgery, specifically in Head and Neck Surgery and then went on to complete five dedicated years of training in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery attaining Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. (FRACS)
He then undertook two further years of dedicated fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular reconstruction, the first of which was completed at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Subsequently, he entered the highly selective University of Toronto Head and Neck Surgical Oncology program under the auspices of the American Head and Neck Society. Here he gained a significant amount of experience in skull base surgery, Thyroid and Parathyroid surgery, Robotic surgery, melanoma and complex Head and Neck Reconstruction in Toronto, Canada. This allows him to uniquely practice the entire spectrum of Head and Neck Surgery and further incorporate his dental background to facilitate dental rehabilitation of patients who undergo tumour resection, having practised as a dentist for more than five years prior to his medical training.
He has a strong academic interest having published multiple publications in peer reviewed international journals and currently leads several multi-institutional studies being conducted across high volume head and neck centres around the world. He is a Senior clinical Lecturer at the University of Sydney and thoroughly enjoys teaching medical students, residents and registrars.
Meet our Instructors
More Instructors will be announced soon!
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Sanjay is a respected Consultant Breast Oncology and Oncoplastic Surgeon whose career is distinguished by leadership, academic dedication and impactful research. An Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and a lead researcher with the Royal Prince Alfred Academic Institute, he has championed academic development within the Breast Department and co-founded the world’s first Master of Advanced Surgery (Breast Surgery). As a former President and current Council member of BreastSurgANZ - and Chair of its Post-Fellowship Training program - he plays a key role in shaping the education of future breast surgeons across Australia and New Zealand.
His research spans breast cancer biology, surgical innovation and clinical outcomes, with national and international presentations including ASCO and the San Antonio Breast Symposium, award-winning scientific work, and numerous peer-reviewed publications. A pioneer of novel surgical technologies, he introduced SPY imaging to Australian breast reconstruction, performed the first robotic breast surgery in the Southern Hemisphere, and has led advances in volume-replacement and 3D-printing-assisted surgical planning.
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Dr Oliver is originally from the UK and after completing a trauma research fellowship at Los Angeles County Hospital, he arrived in Australia to complete his Emergency Medicine training and completed a masters in trauma science. Matthew is also interested in Critical Care and Resuscitation Medicine and has published over 30 articles in these fields.
Dr Oliver is part of the RPA Green Light Institute for Emergency Care, a research initiative established in 2020 within the Sydney Local Health District.
The Green Light Institute collaborates with other research bodies and teaching hospitals, including the University of Sydney, and is backed by RPA’s world-class research infrastructure.
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Dr David Eisinger completed Urological training as the Gordon Craig Fellow at RPA (1986). He has spent much of his career in private practice and at RPA but since 2019 he has worked as a full time Staff Specialist in Urology at RPA and has been Head of Department. His major interests are Urological oncology, pelvic and abdominal anatomy in which he has taught at Sydney University, and complex urinary tract problems including fistula and pelvic exenteration.
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Daniel Novakovic, FRACS (OHNS), MBBS (USyd), MPH, BSc
The Canterbury Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaA/Prof Daniel Novakovic is an Australian ENT with subspecialty training in Laryngology/Neurolaryngology and Care of the Professional Voice (New York).
Dr Novakovic is past President of the Laryngology Society of Australasia. He is head of ENT department at Canterbury Hospital, co-director of the University of Sydney Voice Lab. He is director of the Sydney International Laryngology Fellowship. He is also lead of the laryngology research stream at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
A/Prof Novakovic has active research interests in Laryngeal Papillomatosis, laser-tissue interaction, laryngeal/upper airway surgery and office based laryngeal treatments including minimally invasive surgery and laryngeal botulinum toxin.
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Dr Susanna Lam (BSc (hons) MBBS (hons) G Dip (Anatomy) MPhil PFET FRACS) is a consultant surgeon at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Dr Lam trained in General Surgery and underwent subspecialty training in Abdominal Transplantation, Organ Retrieval and Hepatobiliary Surgery. Dr Lam is passionate about improving transplantation outcomes as well as surgical education and training and is enthusiastic about improving training with the use of video and surgical coaching.
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Dr Scott Leslie is a robotic surgery specialist, treating urological cancers with a focus on oncological outcomes and functional results. Dr Leslie trained in robotic surgery at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles and is a high-volume robotic surgeon in Sydney.
Dr Leslie completed undergraduate medical training with honours at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He then undertook a prestigious two-year fellowship in minimally invasive uro-oncology at the University of Southern California.
He is currently chair of the NSW urological training committee and actively involved in mentoring urologists both in Sydney and throughout Australia in robotic surgery
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Academic Affiliation:
Professor, Macquarie University
Associate Professor Sydney University
Professor Tsu-Hui (Hubert) Low holds academic appointments as Professor at Macquarie University and Associate Professor at the University of Sydney.
He serves as a Visiting Medical Officer (VMO) at several major academic hospitals, including Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, and Macquarie University Hospital.
Professor Low holds several key leadership positions. He is the Chair of the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Team at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Programme Director and Founding Member of the Sydney Facial Nerve Multidisciplinary Clinic, and Principal Investigator of the Sydney Head and Neck Cancer Institute Database.
He is actively involved in education and training. He previously served as Director of Education for the Head and Neck Department at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. He supervises Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Fellows, ENT registrars across multiple hospitals (Macquarie University Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital), and unaccredited ENT registrars. In addition, he is a research supervisor for postgraduate students enrolled in the Master of Philosophy (University of Sydney), Master of Surgery (University of Sydney and University of Edinburgh), and MD programs at Macquarie University.
Professor Low is also the Convener of the Sydney Head and Neck Dissection Course (held biennially) and Co-Convener of the Melbourne–Sydney Head and Neck Dissection Course (held in alternate years).
He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications.
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Chahaya is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (general surgery). He is currently a Fellow in the department of Colorectal Surgery at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He has completed previous fellowships in Colorectal Surgery at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney and at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. He has held Lecturer positions at both the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. He enjoys good food and lazy weekend at home with his wife, dog and young son, although can be convinced to go for a run occasionally.
Express Your Interest
Interested in attending? Send us your details now by completing the registration form.
**Offers are now being issued to successful applicants.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Interested to be one of our Sponsors? Check out our Prospectus to find out more.