Dr Philip Townend

Associate Professor Philip Townend is an expert in Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery as well as General Surgery.

After graduating in Medicine from the University of New South Wales in 2007, Assoc. Prof. Townend completed his internship/residency in Newcastle, NSW. He then went to South Africa, where he completed a trauma surgery residency at Stanger Hospital in KwaZulu Natal.

Assoc. Prof. Townend successfully gained a position on the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons SET trainee program for general surgery, where he was based at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. This is where he developed an interest in complex Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery.

After obtaining his FRACS in general surgery in 2017, he went on to receive further training as a fellow in HPB Surgery (doing high volume complex pancreatic and liver surgery) at Royal North Shore Hospital and the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery Fellow at The Canberra Hospital, ACT.

In 2018, Assoc. Prof. Townend was one of 6 successful candidates throughout Australia and New Zealand to be offered an ANZGOSA (Australia and New Zealand Gastric and Oesophageal Surgery Association) Fellowship for 2 years. He continued his ANZGOSA training at  Bankstown/Liverpool Hospital in Sydney, with a particular focus on both Oesophagogastric and Hepatopancreaticobiliary surgery.

In 2019, Assoc. Prof. Townend took his family to the United Kingdom, where he worked as the oesophagogastric fellow at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, performing large volume oesophagogastric surgery.

He commenced consultant practice in 2020 at Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast Private Hospital and Pindara Private Hospital. During his training and as a consultant, he produced multiple research papers (some of which have received awards) and presented in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, USA and Europe.

Assoc. Prof. Townend is on committees locally, nationally and internationally, where he is responsible for improving patient care and supporting research projects. He was made Associate Professor at Griffith University School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2021 for his work in research and teaching.