Associate Professor David Read CSC is the Director of Trauma and a Colorectal Surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He is also an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne.
David completed his undergraduate training at the University of Adelaide in 1992 then trained in General Surgery in Adelaide and the United Kingdom, receiving his FRACS in 1999.
He is a very broadly trained surgeon, completing post-fellowship training in colorectal surgery, upper gastrointestinal surgery, thoracic surgery, breast cancer surgery, rural surgery, paediatric surgery, and burns.
David worked as Consultant General Surgeon at the Royal Darwin Hospital from 2002 to 2017, the latter half of this as Director of Trauma and Burns Surgery at the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC).
David has an interest in disaster response and conflict surgery and was involved in the surgical responses to both Bali Bombings, East Timor, and Ashmore Reef. He pioneered the development of the surgical capability of the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT) and responded to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013.
He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for his response to the 2002 Bali Bombings.
David is an active researcher with an interest in the epidemiology of trauma, particularly the effect of remoteness and generalism in surgery and how it relates to rural surgery and disaster response.
David is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences. He has been an active member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Trauma Committee, an advocate for both road safety and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health.
He teaches on many trauma and disaster-related courses and is an examiner in General Surgery for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.