Rate My Professor Amanda Dawson

Professor Amanda Dawson is an Honorary Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle. She earned her MBBS from the University of Melbourne in 1992, Master of Surgery (Research) from the University of New South Wales, and Master of Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology) from the University of Sydney. A Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons since 1999, she completed general surgical training at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre and a two-year fellowship in upper gastrointestinal and advanced laparoscopic surgery at Concord Hospital, Sydney. In 2004, she became the inaugural Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the University of Newcastle's Central Coast Clinical School, achieving tenure in 2008. She was appointed Clinical Dean of the Central Coast Clinical School in 2017, promoted to Associate Professor in 2019, and to Professor in 2023. Dawson practices as a General Surgeon at Central Coast Local Health District, including Gosford and Wyong Hospitals, and as a Visiting Medical Officer at Gosford Private Hospital and Brisbane Waters Private Hospital. Her career includes leadership roles such as Chair of Gosford Medical Staff Council (2016-2018) and involvement in national surgical education governance.

Dawson's research specializations encompass surgical outcomes, perioperative complications, medical education, near-peer teaching, and global surgery collaborations. She has led Australian efforts in international trials including COVIDSurg, GlobalSurg, HIPPO, GECKO, and STORCC, contributing to 48 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as The Lancet, Anaesthesia, and British Journal of Surgery. Notable works include 'Timing of surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international prospective cohort study' (Anaesthesia, 2021), 'Effects of preoperative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery' (Anaesthesia, 2022), and the COVIDSurg mortality prediction model (British Journal of Surgery, 2021). She has secured over $2 million in research funding and founded the Near Peer Medical Teaching Central Coast (NPMT) program and Surgical Trainee Organisation for Research Central Coast Collaborative (STORCC), supervising numerous undergraduate and postgraduate projects. Major awards include the Inaugural Royal Australasian College of Surgeons NSW Women in Surgery Leadership Award (2022), University of Newcastle Leadership Excellence Award (2022), Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Educator of Merit of the Year (2018), D.R. Leslie Prize (1995), and Raelene Boyle Scholarship for Cancer Research (2003).