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Outstanding work and research celebrated The Young Investigator Award winner and the DCAS Course winner share a thirst for learning Having an impact and making the most of the opportunities that come their way are strong motivators that William and Peter share. “The opportunity to go to the Annual Academic Surgical Congress in the United States is one I’ll make the most of. It will be a great chance to network with the international research community, obtain feedback on my work, and refine concepts for future research. I’m very grateful to the Section of Academic Surgery and Surgical Research Society, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons,” Peter said.
The work of outstanding, upcoming clinical researchers was celebrated at the November 2021 Annual Academic Surgery Conference as a virtual event. This event provides a forum for surgical Trainees to present original research and continues a long history of supporting the advancement of surgical research and academic surgery initiated by the Surgical Research Society of Australasia (SRS) when it was established in 1961. SRS Research Funds are used to support the Annual Academic Surgery Conference, and to fund prizes awarded at the event, including the Young Investigator Award, the Developing a Career in Academic Surgery (DCAS) course award, and four Travel Awards. Among those awarded prizes at the 2021 event were Dr Peter Russell and Mr William Xu. Both recipients have an unquenchable thirst for learning and the desire for their research to have a positive impact on clinical practice. Peter was awarded the Young Investigator Award for his research paper on Acute pancreatitis causes mesenteric lymphatic contractile dysfunction despite aggressive fluid resuscitation in a rodent model. William won the DCAS Course Award for presenting the research paper entitled The effect of intraperitoneal drain placement on postoperative outcomes after colorectal surgery: A propensity score matched analysis. William was also awarded one of four Travel Grants for his paper: Wearable wrist sensors for continuous ambulatory vital sign monitoring in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a clinical validation study. Peter and William shared what winning these awards means to them. “We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us,” explained William, whose award is for a Traineeand student-led research project run by the EuroSurg collaborative involving hundreds of international collaborators. William completed his Bachelor of Medical
Mr William Xu
Science (Honours) under the supervision of Professor Gregory O’Grady in 2019 and is entering his final year of medical studies at the University of Auckland in 2022. As he pursues a surgeon-scientist career, the impact of winning the award is two-fold, as he explained: “Having the opportunity to attend DCAS in person is very exciting. Conferences like DCAS and NAASC inspire you to challenge the statusquo and tackle difficult clinical problems.” William talked about the momentum that Trainee and student-led research projects have gained over the past decade, and more recently in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. “The fact that these projects are winning awards at conferences is a testament to the hard work collaborators put in, and the overall quality of these studies,” William said. For Peter, who is a Clinical Research Fellow and PhD student in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, winning the Young Investigator Award is an encouraging experience. “The research [I’m doing] still has a way to go but it’s showing very promising signs regarding the potential to modulate lymphatic dysfunction to improve outcomes in patients with acute pancreatitis. Winning the award reminds me that what I’m doing has the potential to translate into a significant improvement in patient care,” Peter said.
Both researchers have a high level of determination, or what Peter describes as ‘stickability’. “It’s the ability to stick at something when things start to get tough, which happens all the time in research,” he said. For William, it’s also the relationship between the researcher and supervisor that’s important. William and Peter talked about the role of mentors in their lives. “I don’t think I would be anywhere near where I am today without the help and guidance of mentors. They probably saw something in me that I didn’t yet see in myself,” William said. He gives credit to his honours’ supervisors, Professor Gregory O’Grady and Dr Cameron Wells, as well as Professor Ian Bissett, for being hugely influential in his clinical and research career.
Dr Peter Russell
