Research Biography

Richard Lewandowski has been a fellow in both General and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for over 30 years. He has also trained in Craniomaxillofacial surgery in the USA in 1994. 

Since his return to Australia, he has been involved in teaching and research at the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland, where he is a clinical Associate Professor. His interests are in the areas of Cleft and Craniomaxillofacial Surgery and Skin Malignancy.

The former has led to him founding Operation Smile Australia, for which he was awarded a Queensland Great Award in 2004 and the University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor’s Diversity Award for Alumni in 2013. The latter has led to him establishing the Global Advances and Controversies in Skin Cancer meetings, run biennially since 2013.

In 2023, he completed his MPhil through the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland in the area of Psychosocial outcomes following the completion of Cleft Surgery. He continues to assist others with higher research degrees and studies into cleft, craniofacial, and skin malignancy and continues to collaborate widely with research networks.

He is the Director of the Young Adult Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic at the Mater Hospital Brisbane. This role includes supervising prevocational trainees in plastic surgical research at an early stage in their careers. 

Research topic areas include: Cleft Lip and Palate, Craniomaxillofacial, Head and Neck, Melanoma, and Skin Cancer.