Professor Darrell Crawford

Director of Research

Professor Darrell Crawford is Director of Research at GMR and has more than 25 years of experience as a respected leader in hepatology, with expertise in iron overload disorders, liver transplantation, and viral hepatitis.

His previous roles include Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at The University of Queensland, Dean of Medicine at UQ and Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he fostered a strong research culture that continues today.

Professor Crawford has held senior positions in professional organisations, including President of Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) and The Asian Pacific Association of the Study of Liver (APASL).

He has contributed extensively to national and international research policy and practice. His research has informed global best practice in the management of liver disease and he continues to supervise and mentor the next generation of clinician-scientists.

Professor Rachel Thomson

Head of Bronchiectasis & Mycobacterial Disease Research

Professor Thomson has an international reputation for her research into lung disease, in particular nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). She is at the forefront of research and treatment of patients with NTM infection.

She has an international reputation in the area of Pulmonary Nontuberculous mycobacterial disease and has published widely in the area and is regularly invited to speak at international and national meetings.

Her current research focuses on immunological and environmental aspects of susceptibility to NTM infection, characteristics of the lung and gut microbiome in NTM, and improving treatment outcomes.

Professor Thomson also has a special interest in respiratory problems of the elite athlete. This includes asthma management, vocal cord dysfunction, and the requirements of national and international doping organisations for asthma medications.

Dr Kim Bridle

Liver Disease Research Lead & Lab Supervisor

Dr Felicia Goh

Research Fellow

Professor Kenneth O’Byrne

Prof Kenneth O’Byrne is a specialist Medical Oncologist. He is the founder of the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG), and founder member of the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP), a member of the ESMO chest tumours faculty, is on the education and fellowship committees of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and on the board of the Thoracic Alliance for Cancer Trials (TACT).

He is co-chair of the advanced lung cancer sub-committee of the Australian Lung cancer Trials Group (ALTG), and a member of the Medical Oncology Group of Australasia (MOGA), Australian Genomics Health Alliance (AGHA) and Queensland Genomics Health Alliance (QGHA).

Prof O’Byrne has been involved in more than 200 clinical trials in his career, including designing investigator-initiated, grant-funded Phase II and III studies. He has established collaborative studies and networks for biomarker detection and validation and has been involved in biomarker driven clinical trials including the LUX-Lung (Boehringer-Ingelheim), checkpoint immunotherapy (BMS, MSD) and the ETOP programs.

He is clinical lead for the ‘Cancer and Ageing Research Program’ at the Queensland University of Technology Translational Research Institute laboratories on the Princess Alexandra Hospital campus, his research including biomarker identification in solid and liquid biopsies, drug resistance linked to cancer ‘stemness’ and genomic instability. His collaborations are global with ongoing projects on drug resistance, DNA repair and genomic instability, and whole genome and exome sequencing linked to groups in Europe and the US.

He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has recently patented novel anti-cancer therapeutics and predictive biomarker tests in Australia and Ireland. He and his collaborators have successfully applied for grants from research, government and philanthropic sources including the NHMRC, Cancer Council Australia, Cancer Council Qld, Advance Queensland, Queensland Genomics Health Alliance, Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia and National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Professor Victoria Atkinson

Professor Victoria Atkinson graduated from the University of Queensland in 1998. She then completed her Physician training at the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital before training in Medical Oncology at the Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane Hospitals completing her fellowship in 2006. In 2007 she was appointed as a full time Staff Specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

She commenced private practice at Greenslopes Private Hospital in October 2011 and continues to work at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Her main tumour interests are melanoma oncology and gastro-intestinal oncology.

She has an active interest in clinical trial work and is involved as Principal Investigator or Co-investigator in trials at Greenslopes Private Hospital, through the Gallipoli Medica Research Foundation. She in an Associate Professor with the University of Queenlsand, Clinical School of Medicine.

Assoc. Professor Rahul Ladwa

Associate Professor Rahul Ladwa is a Medical Oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and Greenslopes Private Hospital.

He was awarded his Bachelor of Science (BSc) in 2007 from the University of Leicester, England. It was while completing this degree and participating in cancer biology research, his desire to train in oncology was ignited.

Dr Ladwa completed his medical oncology training in Brisbane before undertaking a fellowship at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. There he completed a higher research degree (MPhil) in the field of Cancer Imaging and Therapeutics with the University of Queensland. This resulted in a conjoint role as an Associate Professor of Medicine.

He is an expert panel member for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and is the deputy chair of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Collaborative Group.

Dr Ladwa has been extensively published in over 30 peer review journals and has had more than 300 citations in prominent scientific and clinical journals.

He has conducted multiple clinical trials and has attracted approximately $7 million in research funding to support and advance the care of his patients, including introducing new ways to address cancer frailty and cancer fatigue. Currently, he is the clinical lead for a study using immunotherapies prior to surgery to reduce the burden of skin cancer.

Dr Ladwa is a recognised national and international speaker who supervises PhD students, trainee doctors and mentors medical students.

To promote safe work practices he sits on a variety of committees including the Queensland Cancer Control Safety and Quality Partnership and the Human Research Ethics Committee.

Dr Ladwa also works with the Head and Neck Cancer Consumer Advocacy Group and is a regular speaker at charitable cancer organisations conferences. Through his multi-disciplinary treatment approach, patient-centred care and compassionate manner, Dr Ladwa provides an informed and holistic health journey for his patients.

Dr Warren Joubert

Dr Warren Joubert graduated from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa in 1995. He completed his Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and training as a Medical Oncologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in 2006, having previously trained in Auckland, New Zealand and worked at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

In 2007 Dr Joubert started working as a full-time staff specialist in medical oncology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, and began private practice at Greenslopes Hospital in early 2010. Due to an ever increasing private practice Warren commenced full-time private practice at Greenslopes Private Hospital April 2020.

Warren specialises in gastrointestinal cancer, including colorectal and pancreatic cancer; urogenital cancer and neuroendocrine tumours (NET). He is a member of the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group and has been cited as a principal and associate investigator on a number of clinical trials in gastrointestinal, urogenital cancer and sarcoma. Dr Joubert is a principal and associate investigator in clinical research in collaboration with Gallipoli Medical Research at Greenslopes Private Hospital.

Dr Margaret McGrath

Dr Margaret McGrath graduated from the University of Queensland in 1997 and commenced advanced training in Medical Oncology at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals in 2003. She attained her FRACP in 2008 after working in all areas of medical oncology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals.

In 2009, Dr McGrath took up the position of Staff Specialist at Princess Alexandra Hospital where she is actively involved in the multi-disciplinary clinics for lung, upper-gastrointestinal, and head and neck cancers, as well as consulting in general oncology.

Dr McGrath is an investigator in several clinical trials and is a member of ASCO, IASLC and ANZHNS.

Adjunct Professor Jeffrey Goh

Dr Jeffrey Goh is a Brisbane-trained Medical Oncologist who consults privately at Greenslopes Private Hospital and ICON Chermside. He also has public appointments at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and The Prince Charles Hospital (TPCH).

He is a Medical Oncologist with interests in gynaecological, pulmonary, GI and urological malignancies. He is a Principal Investigator for several international, multi-centre trials in gynaecological and urological malignancies. In addition, he is also a co-investigator in several colorectal and pulmonary malignancy trials at RBWH/TPCH. Dr Goh is a board member and QA Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG). He is also an active member of ANZUP and ASCO.  He is also a Senior Lecturer in Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.

Dr Goh understands the specific needs of patients suffering from cancer, both in the adjuvant and palliative setting. Do not hesitate to contact Dr Goh, if you have a specific patient to discuss.