For over 25 years, Professor David J David AC has been a leader in Australia's health industry through his innovative work in developing the treatments, tools, technology, research and systems required for providing total, long-term health care for individuals with craniofacial deformities in Australia and internationally. His work has successfully bridged public and private sectors here and abroad and has helped to bring university research and private industry and technology to the forefront of craniofacial treatments and knowledge.
A key component of Professor David's approach to total health care system delivery is his commitment to establishing an infrastructure that supports treatment, education and research. To this end, he worked with the South Australian and Commonwealth Governments to create the world renowned Australian Craniofacial Unit for the treatment of patients, both children and adults. With the support of Australian community groups, Professor David founded the Australian Craniomaxillofacial Foundation as a means of raising funds for patient care, education and research. More recently, collaboration among the Women’s and Children's and Royal Adelaide Hospitals, the University of Adelaide and community leaders saw the establishment of the Australian Craniofacial Institute to foster research and provide education and training in craniofacial systems of care. Professor David serves as the Head of Unit, President and Executive Director of each of these organisations.
Through emphasising the importance of working and training within multidisciplinary teams, Professor David has brought together highly skilled professionals from surgery (including plastic and reconstructive surgery, ENT, neurosurgery, ophthalmology), radiology, orthodontics and dentistry, speech pathology, nursing, social work, psychiatry and psychology, education, research, engineering and genetics. A very special component of the multidisciplinary team effort - whether in Adelaide or overseas - is that all team members meet with the patient and the patient's family to develop long-term, linked treatment strategies and to answer questions.
The multidisciplinary approach has also provided a bridge across education and research units in universities, public and private hospitals, and industry in Adelaide and internationally. Researchers at the Australian Craniofacial Institute work with colleagues from the University of Adelaide and other Australian universities on projects that enhance the morphological understanding of normal and abnormal measurements, the epidemiology of conditions, computer simulation for the prevention of trauma, engineering technology for the development of implants and other treatments. In addition, Professor David provides annual workshops in management and treatment in Australia and in hospitals in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East. He is regularly invited to give guest lectures to groups in Australia and all over the world.
Professor David has dedicated years of personal commitment to the craniofacial discipline - establishing the Australian Craniofacial Unit and related organisations in Adelaide; founding the Australian and New Zealand Society of Craniofacial Surgeons and training and establishing multidisciplinary teams in public and private hospitals across the Asia Pacific region. In addition, his contributions internationally are recognised by his inaugural Presidency of the Asia Pacific Craniofacial Association (just completed) and his current role as President for the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery.
The broader success of Professor David's contribution to the advancement of health care is also represented through the formal arrangements and Memorandum of Understanding he has organised with national governments and Ministries of Health over the last 25 years. Overseas governments continue to seek Professor David's advice on systems for service delivery, treatment, research, and even niche business development areas (such as speech therapy and engineering technology) that are not easily filled in developing economies. Professor David's significant knowledge and understanding of health system issues among Australia's trading partners was the reason for his inclusion in a Commonwealth Government Trade in Services Working Group in the early 1990s.
Professor David's commitment to the development of the craniofacial discipline is ultimately reflected in the faces and lives of the patients he has served and of their families. His dedication to the development of ethical, effective health care delivery systems in general is less well known but equally important for the communities enhanced by the care thus provided. The restoration of dignity and equity to these patients and their families reflects Australian humanitarianism and professionalism at home and abroad.
|
Enquire about
Dr. David J. David
for your next event |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
