Professor Amanda Dawson

Overview

Professor Amanda Dawson is a Specialist General Surgeon, specialising in upper gastrointestinal and advanced laparoscopic surgery in Gosford on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Amanda Dawson graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1992, completed her general surgical training at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, and was awarded fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1999. During her training she was awarded the D.R. Leslie Prize in 1995 by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. She then undertook a two year fellowship in upper gastrointestinal surgery and advanced laparoscopic surgery at Concord Hospital in Sydney.

In 2002, Amanda commenced a period of research, with a Masters of Surgery at the University of NSW. Her thesis on the molecular biology of pancreatic cancer was completed at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. This was supported by the Raelene Boyle Royal Australasian College of Surgeons scholarship.  Concurrently, she also completed a Masters of Medicine in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Sydney.

Amanda commenced as the inaugural Senior Lecturer in Surgery based at the Central Coast Medical School with the University of Newcastle in 2004 and achieved tenure in 2008.  She was appointed Clinical Dean of the Central Coast Medical School in 2017, and was promoted to Professor in 2023.

She believes education is integral to her role, and sees this as part of her professional responsibility. As a result Professor Dawson is involved in the educational paradigm at a local, national and international level for all levels of student, from undergraduate, through pre-vocational, and trainees.   With a sustained history of senior education roles with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Australian Medical Council, Central Coast Local Health District and the University of Newcastle, she was awarded the inaugural Women in Surgery Leadership Award and the University of Newcastle Leadership Excellence Award in 2023.

She is also particularly diligent in updating her own knowledge and skill base by constantly reviewing the medical literature, attending professional meetings and interaction with colleagues.

Professor Dawson’s current roles include:

• Specialist General Surgeon
• Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle
• Chair, Surgery Writing Group, Australian Medical Council
• Oceania Lead, Alligator Trial, Global Surgery Unit, University of Birmingham.
• Academic Lead, Near Peer Teaching Central Coast
• Academic Lead, Surgical Trainee Organisation for Research, Central Coast Collaborative