Rate My Professor Liz Dennett

Associate Professor Liz Dennett serves in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Otago, Wellington, within the Division of Health Sciences. She holds qualifications including MBChB, MMedSci, and MApplMgt(Healthcare), and was promoted to Associate Professor effective February 2017, following her role as Senior Lecturer. A Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (FASCRS), she practices as a general and colorectal surgeon, integrating clinical work with research leadership. Additionally, she acts as Chief Clinical Advisor (Kaitohu Mātāmua Haumanu) at Te Aho o Te Kahu, New Zealand's Cancer Control Agency.

Dennett's research centers on addressing disparities in cancer outcomes, particularly higher post-operative mortality rates among Māori patients, patient experiences during cancer journeys, and developing novel biomarkers for colorectal cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. Through the Surgical Cancer Research Group, she oversees projects such as a colorectal cancer biobank for blood and tissue samples, retrospective and prospective analyses of patient outcomes, plasma microRNA and extracellular vesicles as diagnostic tools, inflammatory markers for detecting cancer spread, and autologous fat grafting to enhance breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. Her contributions include key publications like 'Under the Knife: Why are Māori more likely to die shortly after surgery?' (2023), 'Potential role of volatile organic compound breath testing in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer' (2023), 'Patient volume and clinical outcome after pancreatic cancer resection' (2022), 'Regional variation in post-operative mortality in New Zealand' (2022), 'Prognostic value of multiple cytokine analysis in colorectal cancer' (2019), and 'Survival outcome in New Zealand after resection of colorectal cancer' (2013). Her work, with over 58 research outputs and 1,615 citations, advances equity in surgical care and biomarker innovation in New Zealand oncology.