Chris O’Neill graduated from Melbourne University with honours in 2000. From 2000-2004 she trained in Melbourne (and rural Victoria) gaining experience in a wide range of surgical specialities. In 2005 she moved to Newcastle to undertake general surgical training and passed the General Surgical Fellowship Exam in 2008.
In 2009-10, Chris completed a 2-year endocrine surgery fellowship with the University of Sydney Endocrine Surgical Unit with extensive subspeciality training in thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal surgery. She also has gained comprehensive experience in the treatment of breast cancer and benign breast disease. Chris returned to Newcastle in 2010 and has been in specialist surgical practice since this time.
Chris has a particular interest in surgical research and has completed a Masters of Surgery at the University of Sydney with research in thyroid cancer. She has presented research papers and been an invited speaker at many local and international meetings and has published multiple research papers in medical journals. Chris also acts as a reviewer for national and international peer reviewed journals. After a decade in clinical practice, Chris has become passionate about ensuring that her patients make well informed decisions that will optimise their long term health. To this end, Chris is now pursuing a PhD investigating quality of life issues in patients with thyroid cancer. She also supervises Masters and PhD students and is a conjoint associate professor through the University of Newcastle.
Chris is the current Research and Scientific Officer for ANZ Endocrine Surgeons, the Endocrine Surgery Associate Editor for the ANZ Journal of Surgery and a member of Endocrine Surgery Section committee of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons. Within Newcastle, she chairs the Newcastle Endocrine Surgery Multidisciplinary Team, is the head of the department of general surgery at John Hunter Hospital and co-deputy director of the HMRI Surgical and Perioperative Care Research Group. She was the supervisor of General Surgical Training for the Newcastle/Gosford Network for 9 years and continues to be involved in surgical education in NSW and nationally. Chris is also a mother of three children and in her (very limited) spare time she tries to keep up with musical and sporting interests.
Chris operates at Lake Macquarie Private, Newcastle Private, John Hunter and Belmont Hospitals. All patient referrals (public or private) should be directed to Top Floor, Lake Macquarie Specialist Centre, 8 Sydney St, Gateshead.