A key visionary and lead researcher from the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD) team, Professor Peter Choong, has been recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Professor Choong received Officer (AO) in the General Division of The Order of Australia, for distinguished service to orthopaedic medicine, to research and tertiary medical education, and to professional associations.
Erol Harvey, CEO of the ACMD said, “He has been one of the architects of the model for ACMD, combining his research experience with his deep understanding of clinical needs.“
Professor Choong AO’s illustrious career has included his fundamental contribution to the ongoing success of St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. He has been the Sir Hugh Devine Professor and Chair of Surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne since 2009. In 2020, he was appointed Head, Department of Surgery within the Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne.
As founder of St Vincent’s Melbourne Arthroplasty Outcomes (SMART) Registry (1998) and a key driving force behind the establishment of the Advanced Biofabrication Facility (BioFab3D) (2016), Professor Choong was also St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne’s Director of Orthopaedics (1996-2020), Chief Medical Officer (2005-2008) and Program Director of Surgery (1997-2002).
Professor Choong is lead researcher for the ACMD AxceldaPen project. The AxceldaPen presents a new way to treat cartilage injuries by enabling surgeons to print stem cells into the defect site. It also allows the surgeon to tailor the implant to the size of the cartilage defect during surgery.
The AxceldaPen represents an exciting advance, not only in the prevention of osteoarthritis but also other fields where in situ tissue regeneration and replacement are critical to quality of life, such as burn wounds, wound healing, corneal regeneration and cardiac muscle regeneration.
“On behalf of the ACMD Board, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Professor Choong for this richly-deserved recognition of his extraordinary contributions to orthopaedic medicine and his ground-breaking research,” said Erol Harvey.
