Anita Skandarajah

Associate Professor Anita Skandarajah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from the University of Melbourne in 1999, Postgraduate Diploma in Surgical Anatomy in 2002, Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2006, Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS) in General Surgery in 2007, and Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) in 2016. Clinically, she serves as Head of the Breast and Endocrine Unit and Deputy Director of General Surgery at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and as a Breast and Endocrine Surgeon at The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The Royal Women's Hospital. She completed post-fellowship training at Hôpital La Timone in Marseille, France, and Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, from 2008 to 2009. Additionally, she contributed to research at the Joint Proteomics Laboratory of The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

Her academic interests encompass clinical trials for tailored treatments in early breast cancer, prevention and screening for patients at high risk of breast and endocrine malignancies, outcomes in emergency general surgery, value-based outcomes research in surgery, patient-reported outcomes following breast cancer surgery and risk-reducing surgery, and de-escalation of therapies after cancer diagnosis. In 2011, she helped establish the surgeon-led Emergency General Surgical service at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, resulting in a 47% reduction in mortality and 56% decrease in length of stay based on analysis of over 7,000 patients. Notable publications include 'Preoperative loco-regional imaging in rectal cancer' (ANZ Journal of Surgery, 2006), '18F-FDG–Avid Thyroid Incidentalomas: The Importance of Contextual Interpretation' (Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 2018), and recent works on universal germline testing for breast cancer and pancreatic cancer resection rates. With over 2,300 citations from 88 publications, her work influences surgical oncology and emergency care. She holds positions as Examiner for the Court of General Surgery at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (Deputy Chair 2024–2025), on the Executive Committee of the Endocrine Section of RACS, the Scientific Advisory Committee for BreastScreen Victoria, and the Locoregional Committee for Breast Cancer Trials.

Professional Email: anitas@unimelb.edu.au