Avni sali biography books

Australian professor and surgeon

Avni Sali, AM (born 19 October 1940) is an Australian professor, surgeon, and academic primarily known for advocating an integrative approach to medicine, combining evidence-based complementary therapies with conventional medicine.

Medical career

Medical training

Sali graduated as a medical doctor at Monash University in Melbourne with an MBBS, and was "the first person of Albanian heritage in Australia to attend university", and one of Monash University's first cohort of medical students. He further pursued a PhD at Monash University, graduating in 1977.

Surgical career

After graduating from Monash University, Sali worked in Scotland, with Sir Andrew Kay, the Regius Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University. After returning to Australia from Scotland in 1977, Sali was appointed as an associate professor at the University of Melbourne. Between 1989 and 1991 he was the deputy chairman and Acting Head of the Department of Surgery at the University of Melbourne. From 1977 to 1995, he was a specialist surgeon at the university's Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital (now called Austin Hospital). During this time Sali was also a contributing author to several abdominal surgery textbooks. Between 2002 and 2004, Sali was director of the Victorian Public Health Research and Education Council.

Integrative medicine

Avni Sali was appointed as a professor and made Founding Dean of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne) from 1996 until its closure in 2005.^&#

MBBS, PhD, FRACS, FACS, FACNEM
Member of the Order of Australia

Founding Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine.

Professor Avni Sali AM is often referred to as the father of Integrative Medicine in Australia. In 1996 he was the Founding Head of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at the Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2009 he established the not-for-profit, charitable National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM), and became its founding Director. In the past he was also Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery at Heidelberg Hospital.

Professor Sali donates his time to several positions on medical boards and associations. He is past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and sits on numerous medical and other boards. He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the AIMA & Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) establishing the Integrative Medicine (IM) Network which oversees GP training, continuing professional development, and standards for safe ethical practice in the field of integrative medicine. He is also a patron and ambassador for several organisations including: The Melbourne Therapy Centre, GVConnect and others.

Professor Sali’s previous appointments include: Australian and New Zealand Representative of the International Society for Digestive Surgery, and Director of Victorian Health Research and Education Committee (VPHREC). Professor Sali was a part of the Federal Government Complementary Health Care Consultative Forum and the National Scientific Advisory Committee in Complementary Medicine. More recently he has been appointed to the Australian Advisory Council on the Medical Use of Cannabis, providing an important opportunity for an ‘Integrative Medicine’ voice to be part of a national government committee.

Professor Sali is also involved with a number of Educational Medical & Teaching Research Faciliti

Professor. Avni Sali, MBBS, PhD, FRACS, FACS, FACNEM, Member of the Order of Australia,  Founding Director of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine.

Professor Avni Sali AM is often referred to as the father of Integrative Medicine in Australia. In 1996 he was the Founding Head of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at the Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2009 he established the not-for-profit, charitable National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM), and became its founding Director. In the past he was also Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery at Heidelberg Hospital.

Professor Sali donates his time to several positions on medical boards and associations. He is the current President of the International Council of Integrative Medicine (ICIM); past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and sits on numerous medical and other boards. He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the AIMA & Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) establishing the Integrative Medicine (IM) Network which oversees GP training, continuing professional development, and standards for safe ethical practice in the field of integrative medicine. He is also a patron and ambassador for several organisations including: The Melbourne Therapy Centre, GVConnect and others.

Professor Sali’s previous appointments include: Australian and New Zealand Representative of the International Society of Surgery, and Director of Victorian Health Research and Education Committee (VPHREC). Professor Sali was a part of the Federal Government Complementary Health Care Consultative Forum and the National Scientific Advisory Committee in Complementary Medicine.

Professor Sali is also involved with a number of Educational Medical & Teaching Research Facilities, such as the Brain Sciences Institute at Swinburne University; Southern School of Natural Therapies, Box Hill Institute, and the