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Professor Owen Ung is Director of the Metro North Comprehensive Breast Cancer Institute in Brisbane, Australia. After graduating from Queensland University, he worked in rural and metropolitan hospitals throughout the state and then completed his advanced surgical training at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. From there, he undertook a fellowship at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia, and went on to the University of Wales College of Medicine in the United Kingdom in breast and endocrine surgery. From 1995 to 2008, he was a consultant surgeon at Westmead, Head of the Breast and Endocrine surgical unit, Director of the Department of General Surgery and Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. At the beginning of 2009, he returned to Queensland to head the Breast and Endocrine unit at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RWBH) and join the academic Department of Surgery at the University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine; there, he progressed to full professor in 2015. Professor Ung is an active member of the International Surgical Society and will assume the Presidency of Breast Surgery International at the meeting in Vienna 2022.

He has a longstanding interest in clinical trials relating to management of the axilla and sentinel node biopsy. Currently he heads the breast reconstructive research program of the Herston Bio-fabrication Institute, and this novel research is in a translational phase. Future planned endeavours are to develop system improvements in early breast cancer care by the introduction and combination of novel new technologies to shorten the treatment pathway. These protocolised pathways are being implemented within a research framework along with the development of clinically verifiable data systems across an extensive health network.

Dr Ung is Professor of Surgery at the University of Queensland and a visiting specialist surgeon at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is also a Federal Councillor for the Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS); Director, Medical Insurance Australia (MIGA); Director, Specialist Services Medical Group (SSMG); and President Elect and executive member of Breast Surgery International (BSI) of the International Surgical Society (ISS).

Professor Ung has obtained extensive administrative and management experience through his various clinical leadership roles and is active on numerous state and national committees in Australia.

We would like to welcome Professor Ung and thank you in advance for your good service!