Research Groups

On the Royal North Shore Hospital campus there are a number of research groups conducting surgical research. They include:

The Kolling Institute

  • Royal North Shore Hospital has the luxury of being co-located with the Kolling Institute of Medical Research.
  • The Kolling Institute was established in 1920 making it the oldest medical research institute in NSW. It has been at the forefront of research for more than 90 years. It is an unincorporated joint venture of the University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD).
  • There is a strong focus on collaborative, translational research within the Kolling,  Surgeons of various specialities contribute to a number of the groups within the Kolling Institute including the Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory, the Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Laboratory, the Cancer Genetics Laboratory and others.

The Institute of Bone & Joint Research

The IBJR  was established in 1999 to provide an Institute devoted to advancing our understanding of the disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, their diagnosis and treatments. The Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatic Surgery at RNSH provide a strong contribution to this Institute

Sydney Vital

Sydney Vital is a Translational Cancer Research Centre based at the Royal North Shore Hospital. Its aim is to take research from the laboratory bench and put this into practice.  By doing so, it is able to provide patients with access to the latest medical discoveries and improve both their care and outcomes.

The Data Analysis and Surgical Outcomes Unit

This unit was established in 2016 with the primary objective of providing professional data support in order to deliver high-quality surgical audit and to stimulate surgical outcomes research across the RNSH campus. As well as employing a full-time manager, the DASO Unit provides support and education for as many as 10 data managers across various surgical units within RNSH.

The Kolling Institute of Medical Research Cancer Genetics Laboratory

The Kolling Institute of Medical Research Cancer Genetics Laboratory is a world-class endocrine research facility located in the Kolling Building, at the Royal North Shore Hospital. The mission is to apply cutting edge science to examining actual patient cancers that have been removed by surgeons in the University of Sydney Endocrine Surgery unit. Once molecular markers of disease have been identified these are then tested in cell lines and animal models to try to develop diagnostic and therapeutic targets for patient treatment. The aim is the development of endocrinology research which moves seamlessly from “bedside to benchtop and back to the bedside again.”

RNSH Hand and Peripheral Nerve Surgery Research

The Department of Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery is involved in numerous research projects within Royal North Shore Hospital and North Shore Private Hospital. Research projects are run in collaboration with The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Royal North Shore Hospital’s Department of Orthopaedics, Tetraplegia unit, multi-disciplinary Spasticity Clinic, and the Department of Physiotherapy; The Kolling Institute’s Maxwell Murray Biomechanics Research Laboratory and Sutton Laboratories; International hospitals and universities (e.g. ERASMUS Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Loma Linda University, California, USA); Pharmaceutical companies and external groups with a hand surgery interest. Research conducted within the Department of Hand and Peripheral Nerve Surgery includes surgical outcome reviews, surgical technique developments (animal models), multi-centre international trials and publishing of case reports.

The Cancer Surgery Research Foundation

This not-for-profit charity was established in 1999 with a focus on furthering research into cancer, with a particular focus on pancreatic cancer. CanSur funding has resulted in many research projects and funding of PhD students

Care2Cure – The Brain Cancer Group

The Brain Cancer Group is a collaborative team of leading brain cancer specialists. They apply insights from frontline patient care to inform activities across research, support and education, to ensure they make a difference in the lives of those affected by brain cancer.