A/Prof David Macfarlane is a well-known nuclear medicine physician with over 30 years’ experience in nuclear medicine therapy and molecular imaging. He has made significant contributions to the implementation and clinical governance of theranostics in Australia with a commitment to making this treatment option more widely available at a high clinical standard.
Biography
A/Prof David Macfarlane is an experienced nuclear medicine physician coordinating the Theranostics service at Icon Cancer Centre North Lakes.
A/Prof Macfarlane completed his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS. Hons I) at the University of Queensland. He received several scholarships and awards during his studies, concluding with a University Medal.
He undertook specialist training in Nuclear Medicine at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, with a two year fellowship including a role as Chief Fellow at the University of Michigan. He is a fellow of both the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and the Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists (AANMS).
A/Prof Macfarlane was the nuclear medicine lead in the development and implementation of Brisbane’s first public theranostics program at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital during his tenure as Deputy Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine from 1999 to 2015. He contributed to the establishment of Queensland’s first and most comprehensive public sector Specialised Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Service, serving as Clinical Director of the service from 2006 to 2015. He was also the clinical lead from inception in the development of the Herston Imaging Research Facility (HIRF), a purpose-built multi-modality facility dedicated to clinical research.
With a strong interest in clinical research, he is committed to expanding the range of treatments available in theranostics and making these treatments more accessible for more people. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in leading publications and served as Principal or Associate Investigator on clinical trials spanning Phases I to IV.
A/Prof Macfarlane has previously held appointments in the Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy at Austin Health; Gold Coast University Hospital and Nuclear Medicine Physician and Medical Monitor at GenesisCare. He has also served as Chair of the Australian PET Data Collection Working Committee and Vice Chair of Australian and New Zealand Association of Physicians in Nuclear Medicine forerunner of the AANMS.
Together with his practice at Icon, A/Prof Macfarlane’s current appointments include Nuclear Medicine Physician at Lumus Imaging and Associate Professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Clinical Medicine. He is an active member of the AANMS Theranostics Committee and AdvanCell Scientific Advisory Board. He is also a reviewer for several journals and publications, including for European Journal of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging and ‘Frontiers in Medicine’.
A/Prof Macfarlane accepts theranostics referrals for patients with advanced prostate cancer and selected neuroendocruine tumours.