Professor Amanda Dawson is a General Surgeon, specialising in upper gastrointestinal and advanced laparoscopic surgery at Gosford Private Hospital. Prof Dawson’s main interest area is advanced laparoscopy including hernia, fundoplication and bile duct exploration.

Prof Dawson graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1992, completed her general surgical training at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre, and was awarded fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1999. She then undertook a two year fellowship in upper gastrointestinal surgery and advanced laparoscopic surgery at Concord Hospital in Sydney.

In 2002, she commenced a period of research, with a Masters of Surgery at the University of NSW. Her thesis on the molecular biology of pancreatic cancer was completed at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Concurrently, she also completed a Masters of Medicine in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Sydney.

Prof Dawson commenced as the inaugural Senior Lecturer in Surgery based at the Central Coast Clinical School with the University of Newcastle in 2004 and achieved tenure in 2008, and was promoted to Professor in 2023. She believes education is integral to her role, and sees this as part of her professional responsibility. As a result Prof Dawson is involved in the educational paradigm at a local, national and international level for all levels of student from undergraduate through pre-vocational, accredited trainees to specialist consultant.

With over 25 years of practice on the Central Coast, she is recognised internationally for her laparoscopic expertise, leading Australia in surgical trials on hernia (HIPPO 2023), cholecystectomy/ gallbladder surgery (GECKO 2024) & appendicectomy (ALLIGATOR 2025) as published in THE LANCET.

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Awards include:

• Inaugural Women in Surgery Leadership Medal (2022)
• Educator of Merit of the Year (2018)
• D.R. Leslie Research Prize (1995)