Orthopaedic Research Staff
Professor George A. Murrell
MD (UNSW), PhD (Oxon)
Director
Professor George Murrell was appointed Director of the Orthopaedic Research Institute at St George Hospital and Associate Professor at the UNSW in September 1995. He graduated from Adelaide University and was the 1984 South Australian Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford he completed a DPhil (PhD) thesis on "Dupuytren's Contracture" and was awarded the Royal College of Surgeons Arris and Gale medal for this work.
Professor Murrell completed his orthopaedic training at Duke University, USA where he also established a research program on tendon healing and was supported by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation. He then completed a two year fellowship in sports medicine, shoulder surgery and research at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York. During this time he gained a National Institutes of Health First Award, an American Orthopaedic Association North American Travelling Fellowship.
Professor Murrell specialises in shoulder surgery and has a special interest in arthroscopic methods to repair and restore damaged ligaments and tendons. His basic research interests include the role of free radicals, especially nitric oxide in the musculoskeletal system.
- T: +61 2 9113-2827
- W: georgemurrellshoulders.com.au
- Awards
- E: murrell.g@ori.org.au
- Publications
Dr Patrick Lam
BE, MEngSc, PhD (UNSW), MIEAust, MIEEE
Director of Biomechanics
Patrick joined the Orthopaedic Research Institute as the Director of Biomechanics in July 2007. Patrick completed a PhD in surgery at the University of New South Wales, having completed a Master of Engineering Science (Biomedical Engineering) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Telecommunications) from the same institution.
His major research interests include mechanical properties of bone and soft tissue, with special interest in biomechanical factors relating to arthroscopic surgery. Other interests include wireless data acquisition of joints and gait analysis as well as prototyping testing devices, rehabilitation devices and clinical study designs.
He has experience in biomechanical testing systems, data acquisition, wireless network and sensors, computer aided design (CAD) and computer programming (MatLab etc) as well as biostatistics.
Currently, Patrick is developing devices to aid tendon healing after surgery. He is also working on several test jigs for biomechanical evaluation on tendons and bones.
Patrick is a member of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), Engineering in Medicine and Biology society and Signal Processing Society. He is also a member of Engineers Australia.
- T: +61 2 9113-4062
- patlam.ori@gmail.com
Dr Ashish Diwan
MBBS, DipNB (Ortho), PhD(UNSW)
Director, Bone Biology
Dr Ashish Diwan is the director of Bone Biology at the Orthopaedic Research Institute, St George Hospital. Following his basic orthopaedic surgical training at St George Hospital he received training in advanced spinal surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) at Cornell University in New York City, the oldest and largest orthopaedic hospital in the USA. During his stay at HSS, Dr Diwan was awarded the Philip D. Wilson Award and the National Orthopaedic Surgery Fellows Foundation Award for outstanding achievements in the field of orthopaedic surgery. He was subsequently awarded the Merrill Lynch Innovation Award in 2000.
Dr Diwan specialises in surgery for degenerative disorders of the spine and in spinal deformities (scoliosis & kyphosis). His expertise includes minimally invasive intradiscal treatments, microscopic spinal decompression, spinal stabilisation using computer-aided-guidance, anterior and posterior surgery for adult spinal deformity.
Dr Diwan's research interests include the molecular regulation of fracture repair and intervertebral disc regeneration. For patient related enquiries:
- Suite 16, Level 5, St George Private Hospital
- 1 South Street Kogarah
- T:(02) 8566 7166
- F: (02) 85667177
- E: info@spine-service.org
- Publications
Dr Robert Molnar
MBBS BSc (Med) FRACS (Orth)
Dr Molnar is an Orthopaedic Surgeon, specialising in hip, knee and trauma surgery. After completing his orthopaedic training in Sydney, he underwent fellowship training in both joint replacement surgery and trauma. Following a fellowship in lower extremity reconstructive surgery and hip and knee arthroplasty surgery and arthroscopy, he worked as a trauma fellow at Harborview Medical Centre in Seattle, USA. Dr Molnar went on to work as a consultant trauma surgeon at Harborview for a further 6 months before returning to Sydney to begin his own practice.
Dr Molnar's special interests and areas of expertise include, 1. Joint replacement surgery of the hip and knee; 2. Revision arthroplasty for failed, painful or infected prosthetic joints; 3. Arthroscopic surgery of the hip and knee including ACL reconstruction, sports knee surgery, hip arthroscopy, labral repair and femero-acetabular impingement (FAI) hip surgery; and 4. management of hip and knee and pelvic trauma. He operates using minimally invasive techniques combined with computer navigation when appropriate.
Dr Molnar has a strong interest in research, overseeing his own research as well as being part of multicentre trials and a member of the Orthopaedic Trauma Research Consortium. He also participates in a number of teaching activities, regularly lecturing to other Orthopaedic Surgeons, orthopaedic trainees, medical students and nursing staff. He is a faculty member of AO Australasia and has presented at local and international conferences.
Dr Molnar's primary practice is in Kogarah. He also sees patients at Castle Hill and travels monthly to both Dubbo and Moree. He operates at St George, Sutherland and Westmead Public Hospitals as well as St George Private Hospital, Castle Hill Day Surgery, Dubbo and Moree Hospitals.
Website: http://www.orthotrauma.com.au/
Dr Justin Paoloni
MBBS (UNSW), PhD, MSpMed, FACSP
Sports Physician
Dr Justin Paoloni graduated in 1996 from the University of New South Wales, and has been the Sports Medicine Research Fellow at the Orthopaedic Research Institute at St George Hospital since 2000. He has trained extensively in musculoskeletal medicine and sports injury management, completing a PhD thesis on tendon injuries (Achilles tendon, tennis elbow, and shoulder tendon injuries) and has received numerous awards for his clinical research. He was awarded the 2003 St George Hospital Young Clinical Investigator of the Year, the 2004 Herodicus Society Fellowship from the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine, and the 2004 Gold Medal from the NSW Sporting Injuries Committee for Outstanding Research Achievement in Science and Medicine in Sport.
Dr Paoloni completed a Masters of Sports Medicine at the University of New South Wales, and after four years of specialist training was awarded a Fellowship of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians. He is a keen sportsman who is a qualified grade 1 tennis coach, an Amateur League soccer player, Vice-captain of the Australian Medical Soccer Team, and an accomplished hiker who has trekked in Australia, South America, Canada, China, Thailand, the Middle East, and Kyrgyzstan.
Dr Paoloni has a long history of sports team care and has been the Medical Director of the Canberra Raiders NRL team, the Wests Tigers NRL team, Parramatta Rugby Union teams, and has toured with Australian sporting teams including the Australian volleyball team, and Australian soccer teams.
Dr Justin Paoloni is a qualified Sports Physician specialising in the non-surgical management of musculoskeletal injuries. He currently holds the Senior Lecturer position at this institution and specialises in the management of tendon injury, major joint, and muscle injury, osteoarthritis, and training and injury prevention strategies for all sports.
- T: +61 2 9553-9655
- E: premierortho@bigpond.com
Dr Zoltan Szomor
MD, PhD, FRACS, FA(Orth)
Director of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery
Dr Zoltan Szomor completed his training with the Australian Orthopaedic Association Training Program. He is a Fellow of The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and completed a PhD Degree in shoulder rotator cuff pathology at the University of New South Wales. He also completed an 18 month fellowship at Kyoto University, Japan, focusing on arthroplasty and cartilage research, and a fellowship on Shoulder and Sports Surgery in Sydney. He is currently a Conjoint Senior Lecturer at the UNSW and the Medical Director of the NSW Bone Bank.
Dr Szomor has published several papers in international journals and is currently involved in research projects related to bone and tissue banking. He also enjoys undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.
Dr Szomor's main clinical interest and experience extend to knee surgery and arthroplasty, shoulder and trauma surgery. Dr Szomor has affiliations with St George and Sutherland Hospitals, St George Private and Hurstville Community Private Hospitals.
Associate Professor Sam Adie
A/Prof. Sam Adie is an academic orthopaedic surgeon providing care in the St. George, Sutherland Shire, and Macquarie Park regions. A/Prof. Sam Adie graduated with Honours from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and completed his orthopaedic training in Sydney followed by three clinical Fellowships at the Universities of Toronto (Canada), Oxford (UK) and Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association. Sam holds two Masters degrees and a PhD from UNSW. As of 2023, he has published 85 papers in high level medical and surgical journals, and won multiple awards with competitive funding of >$5million for his research into joint replacement and orthopaedic trauma. At only 38, he was appointed Associate Professor at UNSW. He currently supervises several PhD/Masters students. He is also an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at St George Hospital, a Level 1 trauma centre where he is often referred complex cases from across the state.
A/Prof. Adie's specialist clinical interests include hip and knee replacement (including primary and complex revision surgery), computer navigated and robotic joint replacement, arthroscopic knee surgery/ligament reconstruction, sports injuries and orthopaedic trauma/fracture management. A/Prof. Adie's academic interests include clinical effectiveness research (randomised trials and systematic reviews) and is currently leading a series of clinical trials to improve the care of joint replacement and trauma patients.
Dr Michael Symes
Dr Michael Symes is an Orthopaedic Surgeon with a subspecialty interest in foot and ankle surgery as well lower limb trauma. Dr Symes completed his general orthopaedic training in Australia, before undertaking subspecialty training in Canada, the USA and Australia. He has also completed subspecialty training in deformity correction and reconstruction for neuromuscular and spasticity related disorders.
Dr Symes is a current Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Orthopaedic Association, and an international member of the American and Canadian Foot and Ankles Societies. He graduated with honours from the University of Sydney Medical Program in 2009 and was awarded the university medal for his physiotherapy degree at the University of Sydney in 2005. He is actively involved in clinical research with numerous international publications and presentations and he completed his Masters of Public Health in 2018. He is also a conjoint senior lecturer with the University of New South Wales. Dr Symes is married with a young family and keeps active, playing golf and cycling