Rate My Professor Alistair Royse

Professor Alistair Royse, MBBS, MD, FRACS, FCSANZ, GAICD, is a Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery, Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne, a position to which he was promoted in 2011 through the academic stream. He serves as Deputy Head of the Department of Surgery and Deputy Director of Surgery. As a cardiothoracic surgeon, he has practiced at the Royal Melbourne Hospital since 1995, Western Hospital since 1999, and Melbourne Private Hospital. He is Co-director of the Ultrasound Education Group since 2004, Director of eLearning Technologies, and Director of the Mobile Learning Unit at the Melbourne Medical School. Additionally, he holds board positions with the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, and is an Honorary Professor at Swinburne University and Visiting Professor at UKM University, Malaysia.

Professor Royse pioneered the use of arterial coronary bypass grafts and complex arterial reconstructions, significantly influencing coronary surgery practices in Australia. His research specializations include total arterial coronary bypass surgery, vein avoidance strategies, clinical ultrasound such as transoesophageal echocardiography and point-of-care ultrasound for heart, lungs, abdomen, and vascular assessments, postoperative quality of recovery, and medical education. He leads the TA Trial, a multicentre randomized controlled trial on total arterial revascularization funded by a $5 million Medical Research Future Fund grant. With over 240 peer-reviewed publications, notable works include 'Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Without Saphenous Vein Grafting' (2022), 'Survival Benefit of Multiple Arterial Revascularization With and Without Saphenous Vein Grafts' (2023), and 'Arterial Conduit Choice or Vein Avoidance in Coronary Bypass Surgery?' (2026). Together with his brother, anaesthetist Professor Colin Royse, he co-directs an eLearning program that has enrolled nearly 40,000 students in three years. His contributions earned him the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for service to medicine as a surgeon, researcher, educator, and trainer, as well as the Sir Louis Barnett Medal.