Gabriel Lee, MBBS (Hons), MS, FRACS
Current Employer:
Senior Registrar at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth WA.
Achievements:
- Keith-Sheridan prize medicine/surgery in 1994
- Ruth Heighway medallion/prize for obstetrics 1994
- WA Dibden prize for psychiatry 1995
- Awarded RACS/University Scholarship 1999
- Awarded Justin-Miller Prizes 1999 & 2001, Nimmo prize 2001, Johnson and Johnson prize 2002
Research in the Neurosurgery Department: 1999
Dr Lee considered that macrophages (inflammatory cells) may play a central role in the formation of syringomyelia, or cystic cavities within the spinal cord. A novel technique of using ‘radiation bone marrow chimeras’ allowed Dr Lee to determine that these cells arise from both the blood as well as the spinal cord tissue. This finding is of fundamental neurobiological interest and has implications on further research in assessing the effect of depleting macrophages on syringomyelia.
As a third year medical student, I did not know that neurosurgery actually existed. While spending time at a local hospital in Borneo, I met a Japanese neurosurgeon who invited me to participate in all his neurosurgical operations. He also taught me to make my first ever burrhole in a patient’s skull with the perforator drill, a memorable moment for a young medical student.
“Over the years, the NRF has provided valuable support toward neurosurgical research. Research eventually translates into improved care of our patients. These skills will undoubtedly enable me to better serve the community in the years to come.”
