Associate Professor Sarah Aitken

Co-Chair, Vascular Surgeon
 

Associate Professor Sarah Aitken, Vascular Surgeon, is an inaugural Co-Chair of the Concord Institute of Academic Surgery since 2020. She has a broad range of high impact research interests that relate to her desire to see equitable, patient-centred care provided by a diverse and skilled surgical workforce. She was awarded Australia’s Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowship to study health policy and practice in the United States in 2024/2025 as a Visiting Professor at the University of California, San Francisco.  She is Chair of the RACS Board of Vascular Surgery, Head of Specialty of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health and Lead for Medical School Admissions at the University of Sydney.  Most recently she was awarded the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 2025 Women in Leadership Award, supported by NSW Health in recognition of outstanding surgical leadership and promoting and achieving equality in New South Wales. 

Professor Lewis Chan

Co-Chair, Urologist
 

Professor Lewis Chan is Head of Urology at Concord Hospital and Conjoint Professor of Surgery at the University of Sydney. He has been closely involved in operational activities of the Concord Institute of Academic Surgery from its inception in 2020 and appointed Co-Chair in 2024. Professor Chan has been on staff at Concord since 1999 having completed much of his urology training in Sydney Local Health District and Fellowship at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. His research interests are bladder dysfunction, surgery in older persons and urological imaging. He coordinates an active basic sciences and clinical research program in functional urology investigating bladder dysfunction, collaborating with anatomical pathology, geriatric medicine, neurology and the CHAMP (Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project) group.  Over the past 25 years he has held various leadership roles including Director of Prevocational Training, Chair of Patient Safety Committee and Chair of Medical Staff Council. His contributions to Concord have been recognised by the ‘Pride of Concord’ and AMA Training Supervisor awards.

Associate Professor Matthew Rickard

Executive Clinical Lead, Colorectal Surgeon

Associate Professor Matt Rickard is the Head of Colorectal Surgery at Concord Hospital, the Chair of Colorectal Surgery at the University of Sydney and a member of the Concord Institute of Academic Surgery Executive and Advisory Council since its inception in 2020. He is a past Chair of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, past Chair of the Australia and New Zealand Training Board in Colon and Rectal Surgery, and previous councillor of the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand. He has a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Sydney and is nearing completion of a PhD on Emotional Intelligence in Surgeons. He is deeply committed to compassionate patient care and to enhancing the quality of surgical education and training.

His research interests include:

• Colorectal cancer. Publications have centred around the surgical management of, pathology of and prognostic factors for bowel cancer
• Benign colorectal diseases: Surgical management and investigations for anal fistula. Surgical management of complicated inflammatory bowel disease
• Surgical Training: Improving surgical training, compartmentalisation of surgical procedures to improve training
• Emotional intelligence in Surgeons: The importance of EI for leadership, non-technical skills, prevention or reduction in stress and burnout, patient centred care and patient satisfaction

Jean Mah-Collins

Director

Jean Mah-Collins, the first Director of the Concord Institute of Academic Surgery, has been a vital member of Concord Hospital since 2000.  Throughout her career, she has fostered essential relationships within clinical teams and demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting Doctors in Training, advocating for equity and fairness.  Her extensive experience in key roles such as Senior Medical Support, Network Physician Training, Manager of Medical Allocations Unit and Medical Executive Operations Manager, all of which equipped her with the significant knowledge to lead the Institute of Academic Surgery since 2020.  Recognised for her approachable leadership style, she has received numerous accolades from the Health Education Training Institute accreditation teams for her dedication as a Junior Medical Officer (JMO) Manager for leadership.  Additionally, she has actively participated in various hospital and NSW Health committees where her corporate knowledge was invaluable.  Her unwavering support for the junior medical workforce earned her the distinction of AMA NSW JMO Manager of the Year.