I grew up in regional Victoria in East Gippsland. I originally started out my career as a breast cancer rersearcher, earning a doctorate at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre researching breast cancer metastasis and it's interacation with the immune system and investigating potential new therapies for advanced cancer. I then continued studying medicine at the University of Melbourne developing a keen interest in surgery. My surgical training was undertaken at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and during that time I spent time in regional Victoria, including in Wangaratta. After finishing training to become a surgeon, I spent a further 2 years learning advanced hernia surgery, robotic surgery and colorectal surgery.