Background to A/Prof Michael Back
Background to A/Prof Michael Back
A/Prof Michael Back is Director of Radiation Oncology for the Northern Sydney Cancer Centre at Royal North Shore Hospital. He solely subspecialises in Neuro-oncology with clinical and research interests in improving the outcome of patients managed for brain cancer through sophisticated tumour targeting and radiation therapy delivery.
He is also a visiting consultant in radiation oncology at the Central Coast Cancer Centre @Gosford Hospital; Western NSW Cancer Centre @Orange and Dubbo Hospitals; and for GenesisCare Private Centres across Sydney including North Shore Health Hub, Frenchs Forest, St Vincent’s Clinic, Macquarie University Hospital, Mater Hospital Crows Nest and Waratah Medical Centre Hurstville. Prior to commencing his practice at RNSH he was a specialist radiation oncologist in Singapore (2001-2007) and Newcastle NSW (1996-2000). At both of these prior specialty positions he was integral in establishing a structured approach to brain tumour management, especially during his time in Singapore where he was appointed as an Honorary Consultant for Neurosurgery at the National Neuroscience Institute.
Michael has a large academic profile which includes over 100 peer reviewed publications. In 2020 he received his PhD from the University of Sydney entitled Optimising the Management of Anaplastic Glioma in the era of Molecular Classification. He is not only currently supervising 3 PhD candidates but also has a strong emphasis on academic presentations including major international meetings and community forums.
With the support of the brain cancer community and The Brain Cancer Group he established a Brain Cancer Imaging Laboratory in 2019, collaborating with Dr James Drummond a neuroradiologist to enhance a sophisticated imaging based research programme which includes clinical trials. A specific aim of the research programme is to develop treatment protocols that can optimise the amount of radiation delivered to a brain tumour, whilst protecting the surrounding normal brain tissue. The benefits of this research is directly translated to the patients managed in his daily practice across NSW.
A/Prof Back has been a not-for-profit Board Director of The Brain Cancer Group since 2009 and Cancer Council NSW (2011-2014). He sees community based organisations such as TBCG playing an integral role in co-ordinating research for brain tumours that occur in NSW, and subsequently making an impact through leadership and implementation of research breakthroughs across Australasia.
