Speakers
Dr Kris Lundine, MD MSc FRCSC FRACS
Dr Lundine is an Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon based at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Epworth Private Hospital in Melbourne. He completed medical school and Orthopaedic training in Calgary, Canada. He has also completed a Master’s Degree in Medical Education from the University of Calgary that was funded by a CanMEDS Research and Development Grant from the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.
Dr Lundine was fortunate enough to enjoy fellowship opportunities as the combined Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical Spine Fellow at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne in 2010/2011 and as the Paediatric Spine Fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in 2012. Kris then set up practice in Canada before deciding to move back to Australia in 2013 to help his Australian wife defrost.
Dr Lundine was part of a team that developed and published a Core Curriculum for Spine Fellowship Education in Canada. His current research interests focus on the improvement in the treatment of spinal deformity in children and, in particular, those with neuromuscular scoliosis. He currently sits on the AOA/NSA Spine PFET Committee. His goals as an educator are to help improve collaborative relationships within the field of spine surgery and between spine surgeons and the various medical, surgical, and allied health professionals with whom we interact.
Dr Geoff Askin
Dr Askin is known worldwide as a leader in the field of innovative treatment of complex spine deformity in children and adults. He pioneered the thoracoscopic correction of scoliosis technique in Australia such that he has the largest single surgeon case series and is considered a world authority. He was the first Australian user of 3D printed patient-specific Biomodels to assist in complex spine deformity cases and the first to publish on this in 1999.
Dr Askin is pivotal in the spine research landscape in Australia and internationally, founding the QUT Biomechanics and Spine Research Group in 2002 in conjunction with the department of Medical Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane. The Spine Research Group is a multi-disciplinary research group, including both engineers and spine surgeons, and since its foundation has published over 140 internationally peer reviewed medical journal papers and ten book chapters.
Dr John Cunningham OAM
John is an experienced spinal surgeon with a special interest is spondylolisthesis and sagittal balance. His private practice is at Epworth Richmond and he also manages complex trauma at RMH.
Associate Professor Augustus Gonzalvo
A/Prof Gus Gonzalvo is the Director of Neurosurgery at Austin Health, trained both in neurosurgery and orthopaedic spine surgery.
He is actively involved in the management of patients with spinal cord injuries at the Victorian Spinal Cord Service and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre.
He also lectures at the University of Melbourne and supervises the postgraduate (PFET) spinal fellowship at Austin Health. His research interests include: spinal cord injury; spinal, pituitary, and skull-base tumours; and the teaching-learning process in surgery.