David Sonnabend AM is Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic and Traumatic Surgery in the Medicine faculty at the University of Sydney, having held the professorial chair from 2001 until 2016. He obtained his BSc(Med) with honours in biochemistry and MBBS from the University of Sydney in 1972, along with an MD, and holds fellowships FRACS and FAOrthA. His doctoral thesis focused on the pathology, repair, and comparative anatomy of the rotator cuff, aligning with his clinical interests in shoulder surgery and arthritis. As Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatic Surgery at Royal North Shore Hospital, he has supervised over 50 fellows in a specialized shoulder and elbow surgery training program. A pioneer in the field, he was a founding member of the Australian and New Zealand Orthopaedic Research Society and served as inaugural president of the Shoulder and Elbow Society of Australia, of which he is now an honorary life member.

Sonnabend's leadership extends to editorial roles as Australasian Editor of the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery for nine years and member of the Journal of Orthopaedic Science editorial board. He chaired the 7th International Congress of Surgery of the Shoulder in 1998, delivered the keynote at the 9th in 2004, and served on the International Board of Shoulder Surgery for 16 years and the RACS Court of Examiners for eight years. He has been a visiting professor at George Washington University, Hebrew University, and University of Calgary, and lectured to major orthopaedic associations globally. His research at the Raymond Purves Research Laboratories investigates musculoskeletal biomechanics, tendon pathology, repair, and arthritis treatment; he directs the Bone and Joint Research Foundation since 2003. With over 70 peer-reviewed papers—including the largest series of 710 rotator cuff repairs—and 18 book chapters, his work has significantly influenced shoulder surgery. Awards include AOA research (2007) and education (2011) prizes, L.O. Betts Medal (2013), AOA Research Foundation Fellowship (2016), and AM (2018).