Brian Kenneth Owler is an Australian

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

who was elected as president of the

Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not reg ...

in May 2014. Prior to taking the presidency of the AMA, Owler was president of the AMA (NSW).

Early life and education

Owler was educated at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

, studying for a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery between 1990 and 1996. During this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science (Medicine), graduating with first-class Honours in 1993. Subsequent to this, he commenced work as a doctor. Owler later studied at the University of Sydney again for a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in Surgery between 2000 and 2004. He gained his neurosurgery fellowship from the

Royal Australian College of Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand. Known by its common acronym RACS, it is a not-for-profit organisation, sup ...

in 2006. Owler earned his Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2012. After his presidency with the AMA, Owler subsequently earned a Graduate Certificate of Finance from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third univer ...

Career

AMA presidency

In his campaign to attain the presidency of the AMA, Owler advocated for a co-payment for visits to general practitioners in order to gain the support of general practice for his presidency and to provide "windfall profits" for medical practitioners. Following the strong opposition of the Australian Labor Party to the proposed changes to the remuneration of general practitioners, Owler publicly opposed the measures.

Academic career

Owler holds the position of Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School (also known as

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

. He operates on paediatric and adult conditions in several Sydney hospitals, including

Sydney Adventist Hospital Sydney Adventist Hospital, commonly known as the San, is a large private hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Fox Valley Road in Wahroonga. Established on 1 January 1903, as a not-for-profit organisation, it was originally named the Sydne ...

and

Macquarie University Hospital The Macquarie University Hospital (abbreviated MUH) is a private teaching hospital owned by Macquarie University. The hospital is located within Macquarie University and is the first private hospital to be located on a university campus in Aus ...

. Owler is involved in several clinical studies including those on the topic of

normal pressure hydrocephalus Normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), also called malresorptive hydrocephalus, is a form of communicating hydrocephalus in which excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs in the ventricles, and with normal or slightly elevated cerebrospinal fluid p ...

and deep brain stimulation surgery for the treatment of

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

. He has co-authored more than 40 academic papers. He has also written several opinion pieces for leading Australian papers and online media. Owler is a driving force and the face of the NSW 'Don't Rush' anti-speeding campaign, and has appeared on billboards and in television ads warning of the risks and damage associated with road accidents. This advocacy arose from discussions with the relevant state minister while Owler was president of the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association. In 2015,

The Medical Journal of Australia The ''Medical Journal of Australia'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 22 times a year. It is the official journal of the Australian Medical Association, published by Wiley on behalf of the Australasian Medical Publishing Company. Th ...

removed professor

Stephen Leeder Stephen Leeder AO FRACP FFPH FAFPHM FRACGP (born 13 December 1941 in Grafton, New South Wales) is an emeritus professor of public health and community medicine at the University of Sydney, where he was dean of medicine from 1997 to 2002. Leeder ...

, formerly the journal's

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

after he criticised the decision to outsource production of the journal to the global publishing giant

Elsevier Elsevier () is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as '' The Lancet'', '' Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, '' Trends'', ...

. All but one of the AMJ's editorial advisory committee resigned following the decision to sack Leeder, and wrote to Owler asking him to review the decision. In May 2015, Owler criticised a Federal Government plan to assist

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

open a medical school for undergraduates, arguing that medical students struggle to find internships or specialist training places. In 2017, Owler chaired a Ministerial Advisory Panel that provided advice on the Victorian Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017. The Bill was introduced into the

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, repres ...

on 20 September 2017.

Political career

On 30 October 2018, he became the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...

's candidate for the Sydney seat of

Bennelong Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813), also spelt Baneelon, was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Bennelong ser ...

for the

2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...

. Owler was defeated in his attempt to win a seat in Federal Parliament.

References