He is an ex-Executive Member of the Spine Society Australasia, previously held a senior lecturer position at Monash University and co-founded The Alfred Spine Service. He began his training in his hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand in 1982, graduating in 1989 from the University of Otago with MBChB (distinction) and prizes in both surgery and medicine. Moving to Melbourne in 1997, he continued advanced training in Neurosurgery, gaining his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRACS) in 2000. His main interests during training years focused on brain tumours, in particular meningioma and skull based tumours. He continues to maintain an interest in spinal cord tumours.