Cancer specialists      

Dr Ben Lawrence

Medical Oncologist

MBChB, MSc, FRACP

Dr Lawrence specialises in gastro-intestinal cancers. He also has a special interest in the pancreas, neuroendocrine tumours, and cancer genomics.

Ben first graduated from the University of Otago with a BSc with first class honours and an MSc with Distinction. He then completed his medical degree at the University of Auckland in 2003, and registered as an oncology specialist in 2011.

He completed fellowship training in the USA. In 2008 he was a Drug Development Scholar at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Scottsdale Arizona, USA. From 2009 he was the Murray Jackson Clinical Fellow completing a two-year Research Fellowship at Yale University in Connecticut, USA.

Ben returned to Auckland in 2012 to work as both a Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, and as a Medical Oncologist at Auckland Hospital.

Ben works on multiple research projects, including leading a nationwide translational project involving tumour collection and collaboration with specialists across NZ, Australia, Canada the USA and Europe.

Based at the University of Auckland, the team of talented researchers use multi-level genomic profiling of cancer using cutting-edge gene sequencing technologies, to choose a treatment strategy for each patient with special Neuroendocrine tumours.  He also sits on the Board of the Cancer Society Auckland Northland and is the of Head of Department of Oncology at the University of Auckland.

Canopy TV episode: Dr Ben Lawrence talks about how cancer cells work...

How cancer cells work

Dr Osama Salih

Medical Oncologist

MBBS, DTM&H, FRACP

Dr Osama Salih is a medical oncologist with special interest in gastrointestinal, colorectal and head & neck cancers.

In his early years of training, 2004 to 2008, Osama worked for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK before moving to settle in New Zealand in February 2008. He has worked in a number of hospitals in New Zealand before completing his medical oncology training at Auckland City Hospital and gaining the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in 2015. Following his FRACP qualification, Osama spent a year in Australia working as an Oncology Clinical Research Fellow for the Mater Hospitals as well as a clinical lecturer for Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland. The focus of his fellowship was on gynaecological and breast malignancies but also encompassed other types of cancer such as GI, prostate and lung cancer. The fellowship was a combination of clinical work and research. The research activities included assessment and management of patients involved in small phase I to large phase III national and international clinical trials.

When back to New Zealand, Osama worked as a medical oncologist for Waikato Hospital before he accepted a full-time position at Auckland City Hospital in 2018.

Throughout his work he has been involved in a number of researches as well as teaching and training in oncology. During his oncology training, Osama was selected for the finalists of New Zealand Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Trainee Research Award.

Osama’s focus is sharing management plan decisions with patients through providing comprehensive information about evidence-based treatment.

Dr Abbey Wrigley

Medical Oncologist

MBChB, FRACP, MMedSci

Dr Abbey Wrigley is a Medical Oncologist who treats a variety of cancer types, and has a particular focus on the treatment of breast, lung, and gastro-intestinal malignancies. Abbey is a practicing Medical Oncologist at Canopy Cancer Care at our Warkworth, North Shore and Epsom clinics.

She graduated from Otago University Medical School in 2006 and became a fellow of The Royal College of Physicians in 2014 after completing her advanced training in medical oncology.

In 2014 she received the inaugural NZ Breast Cancer Foundation Clinical Oncology Fellowship, supporting her research at The University of Auckland. She graduated with a Masters of Medical Science with first degree honours in 2017.

Her research thesis examined the genetic changes found in early breast cancer. Abbey is a compassionate, driven, and approachable oncologist. 

Dr Vincent Newton

Medical Oncologist

BSc, MBChB, FRACP

Dr Newton is a Medical Oncologist with a special interest in gynaecological and genitourinary cancers including renal and prostate cancer and also has experience in treating gastrointestinal and lung cancer.

Vince graduated from the University of Auckland with a BSc then undertook his medical degree at the University of Otago graduating in 2001. He worked in Auckland hospital in a range of areas including cardiology and geriatrics then completed his specialist training in Medical Oncology, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2014.

He currently also works as a Medical Oncologist in Whangarei at the Jim Carney Centre. He is actively involved in quality initiatives in cancer services and is dedicated to improving health services for Northland patients.

He provides an holistic, patient-centered approach, treating every patient with dignity and respect and aims to restore hope and health combining up-to-date evidence-based practice with individualised one-on-one care.

When not working Vince enjoys the lifestyle opportunities Northland offers including tramping and fishing with his family.

Dr Michelle Head

Medical Oncologist

BHB, MBChB, FRACP

Dr Michelle Head is trained as a general oncologist, with a special interest in a number of tumour types, including breast, head & neck and gastrointestinal cancers. She also has an active interest and welcomes referrals for patients with melanoma and lymphoma.

Dr Head was raised in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region and attended Katikati College. She graduated from Auckland University in 2002 and completed Medical Oncology training in 2011, having worked in a number of New Zealand centres.

Dr Head has been an investigator on more than 20 clinical trials, and has published in peer reviewed journals. She also works at the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, where she has assisted in protocol development in the Medical Oncology Unit. She is a Clinical Teaching Supervisor for senior nursing staff and involved in teaching of junior doctors and medical students.

Dr Head has a strong interest in the psychosocial and survivorship aspects of oncology, and was a founding member of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Psycho-Oncology Forum.

Outside of work, Dr Head can often be found running with her border collies.

Dr Richard North

Medical Oncologist

BHB, MBChB, FRACP

Dr Richard North trained as a general medical oncologist but maintains specific interests in gastro-intestinal and lung cancers along with melanoma.

He trained in Auckland and Waikato before moving to Newcastle in Australia to complete his fellowship training. Newcastle boasts a large cancer centre and includes the ANZ Breast Cancer Trials Unit and the Newcastle Melanoma Unit.

Richard came to Tauranga in 2008 and was the first medical oncologist based in Tauranga & Whakatane. He has been instrumental in building and expanding the service over the years. He has a passion for the people in the Bay of Plenty and his goal is to provide the optimal oncology experience for patients from the region.

Richard is, and has been the principal investigator in a large number of phase III multinational trials in oncology since moving to Tauranga in 2008.

At a National level Richard has been a member of Cancer Control New Zealand and is currently the chair of the Medical Oncology Work Group, a ministry of health committee dedicated to improving Medical Oncology services throughout the country.

Richard has a passion for medical education and has a academic position with the University of Auckland School of Medicine to teach both 4 th year and final year medical students based in the BOP. He is an examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Richard’s primary focus in oncology is to provide the best advice, care and support possible for patients with this terrible illness. This involves drug treatments but also excellent liaison with other services such as radiation oncology, surgery and palliative care when appropriate.

Outside of work Richard has a wife and 2 children. He is a devoted Christian with a strong faith. He sometimes goes running, but usually regrets it.

Dr Jody Jordan

Medical Oncologist

MD, FRACP

Dr Paula Barlow

Medical Oncologist

MBChB, FRACP

Dr Prashanth Hari Dass

Medical Oncologist

MBChB, FRACP

Prashanth is a Medical Oncologist based in Rotorua.  His goal is to provide specialised oncology care to the patients in the Rotorua lakes region in a timely manner. He provides cancer treatment advice, and up to date cancer treatment including unfunded treatment options that have been showed to benefit patients.

In 2016 Prashanth completed a Clinical Research Fellowship in Medical Oncology in Late Phase Cancer Clinical Trials at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia followed by a Clinical Research fellowship in Medical Oncology Early Phase Cancer Clinical Trials, Churchill Hospital, University of Oxford, United Kingdom in 2017.

His long term goals are to develop a cancer clinical trial unit in Rotorua in future with the hope to reduce barriers and improve access to investigational cancer treatment for patients locally.

Dr Alistair Wickham

Medical Oncologist

MBChB, MRCP, FRACP, DTM&H

Alistair is a Medical Oncologist based in Rotorua.  He is a general oncologist with a special interest in genitourinary cancers but enjoys treating a wide variety of cancers, including breast cancer.   

He graduated from Leicester Warwick Medical School in 2006 and spent time working as a junior doctor both in the UK and NZ before settling permanently in NZ in 2013.  He worked in Oncology both in the UK and NZ before undertaking his formal oncology training in the Bay of Plenty and Auckland.  At the end of his training, he completed a clinical fellowship in GU and lung cancer at with the Auckland Clinical Trials Team. 

Elsa Basevi

Specialist Oncology Nurse - Gastro-intestinal