Dr Talia Shepherd
MBBS (Hons), BSc (Hons), ChM, FRACS
Talia originally graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Science (Pathology) in 2008, and following a year of medical research at the Royal Perth Hospital Medical Research Foundation, she went on to complete her post-graduate Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2013 at the same institution. She has worked in metropolitan and rural Western Australia during her foundation years and while undertaking general surgery training, she completed a Masters in General Surgery at the University of Edinburgh before attaining her FRACS qualification in 2023.
She has completed a 2 year prestigious colorectal fellowship through the Colorectal Surgical Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSSANZ). Her first year was at Westmead Hospital in Sydney where she gained experience with a broad range of general colorectal pathology and minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer. She has a sub-specialist interest in complex colorectal and pelvic oncological surgery having completed a fellowship at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the world-leading centre for pelvic exenteration. Talia is experienced in the management of recurrent and locally advanced rectal cancer, and has clinical and academic appointments at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the state referral centre for pelvic exenteration. Her specialist training allows her to manage the complete spectrum of benign and malignant colorectal pathology, but she also maintains broad general surgical skills and is GESA certified for upper and lower endoscopy.
She remains actively engaged in surgical research, with a growing portfolio of peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and is particularly interested in multi-institution collaborative research projects to advance evidence-based practise in surgery. Her commitment to innovation is matched by her dedication to teaching, having held academic appointments and developed multiple structured education programs for junior doctors and trainees. Talia has also undertaken various clinical and academic leadership roles including being on the founding committee for the University of Western Australia Surgical Society, the Royal Perth Hospital RMO Society President, the General Surgeons Australia WA Trainees Representative and CSSANZ Fellow Representative. She is privileged to be on the organisation committee for the Asia Pacific Federation of Coloproctology Congress in 2027.
Talia is originally from Namibia and continues to nuture a love of remote landscapes through 4WD camping and multi-day hiking trips both locally and internationally.
Publications
Collaboratives
Acute Presentation of Colorectal Cancer: an international snapshot (APOLLO) study (EuroSurg Collaborative)
Global Evaluation of Cholecystectomy Knowledge and Outcomes (GECKO) study (GlobalSurg4 Collaborative)
The POSTVenTT Study Collaborative. The management of perioperative anaemia in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery in Australia and New Zealand: a prospective cohort study. Med J Aust 2022; 217 (9): 487-493. doi:10.5694/mja2.51725
COVIDSurg Collaborative. Elective surgery system strengthening: development, measurement, and validation of the surgical preparedness index across 1632 hospitals in 119 countries. The Lancet. 2022;400(10363):1607-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/S01406736(22)01846-3
Original research
Choi J, Shepherd T, Cao A, Pathma-Nathan N, El-Khoury T, Toh J. Contemporary major abdominal surgical management of Crohn’s disease in the era of biologics and minimally invasive surgery Laparoscopic, Endoscopic and Robotic Surgery. 2025 8(2): 73-79 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lers.2025.03.001
Choi J, Shepherd T, Cao A, El-Khoury T, Pathma-Nathan N, Toh J. Is centralization for rectal cancer surgery necessary?Colorectal Disease. 2024 Aug 6. https://doi.org/10.1111/codi.17119
Shepherd T, Trinder M, Theophilus M. Does virtual reality in the preoperative setting for colorectal cancer surgery improve patient understanding? A randomized pilot study. ANZ J Surg. 2024 Mar;94(3):391-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.18787
Shepherd T, Trinder M, Theophilus M. Does virtual reality in the perioperative setting for patient education improve understanding? A scoping review. Surgery in Practice and Science. 2022;10:100101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sipas.2022.100101
Trinder M, Clifford M, Jones AL, Shepherd T and Jacob A. The impact of sarcopenia on outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease undergoing colorectal surgery. ANZ Journal of Surgery 2022 92: 397-402. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.17439
Hammond T, Lee S, Watson MW, Flexman JP, Cheng W, Price P. Decreased IFNγ production correlates with diminished production of cytokines by dendritic cells in patients infected with hepatitis C virus and receiving therapy. J Viral Hepat. 2011 Jul;18(7):482-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01331.x
Hammond T, Lee S, Watson MW, Flexman JP, Cheng W, Fernandez S, Price P. Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression on CD4+ and CD8+ Tcells in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus. Cell Immunol. 2010;264(2):150-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2010.06.001
Lee S, Hammond T, Watson MW, Flexman JP, Cheng W, Fernandez S, Price P. Could a loss of memory T cells limit responses to hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigens in blood leucocytes from patients chronically infected with HCV before and during pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin therapy? Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 2010;161(1):118–126. doi: 10.1111/j.13652249.2010.04141.x
Case Reports
Lee S, Watson MW, Flexman JP, Cheng W, Hammond T, Price P. Increased proportion of the CD56(bright) NK cell subset in patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) receiving interferon-alpha and ribavirin therapy. J Med Virol. 2010 Apr;82(4):568-74. doi: 10.1002/jmv.21742.
Davis AL, Shepherd T, Cadogan M, Foo J. Bryant's sign as a manifestation of a retroperitoneal paraduodenal bleed and subsequent small bowel obstruction. BMJ Case Rep. 2022 Mar 28;15(3). https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2021-247442
Magee D, Shepherd T, Krisnadi Z, Yau HV, Samuelson S, Radeski D. A unique case of splenic rupture secondary to vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia managed with splenic embolization. ANZ J Surg. 2022 Jul;92(7-8):1949-1951. https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.17414.
Shepherd T, Wazir M, Cover J. Rare case of adult colocolic intussusception. BMJ Case Rep. 2020 Mar 29;13(3):e232761. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2019-232761.
Shepherd T, Teo A, Naunton-Morgan R. Orthodontic braces come back to bite: a novel presentation of a small bowel volvulus. BMJ Case Rep. 2017 Aug 7;2017 https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2017221152.
Books
The University of Western Australia Surgical Society ‘Slicing Through Surgery: Pocket Guidebook for students and junior doctors on surgical rotations’ Advanced Press, Perth WA 2014 [available online on RACS Jdocs website; http://jdocs.surgeons.org/externalresources]
Conference abstracts
Shepherd T, Ballal H, Hunt C, Bharat C, Murray K, Kamyab R, Saunders C. P5 Arm morbidity: Is there a difference if completion axillary dissection is undertaken in the same procedure as sentinel node biopsy or as a second operation?The Breast. 2018;38:192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2018.02.009
Shepherd T, Kunjuraman B. P6 Relevance of axillary procedure in elderly patients with low-risk breast cancer: A 5-year retrospective audit of a single tertiary centre. The Breast. 2018;38:192-3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2018.02.010
Presentations
Invited speaker
2024
Session Chair, Sydney Colorectal Meeting
2023
Women in Surgery Symposium Notre Dame Association of Surgical Specialties
RACS WA/GORE ‘Becoming a Consultant’ Dinner
RACS WA Southwest General Surgery Conference
Surgical Subspecialty Speaker Series ‘Setting up for SET’, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
Pre-SET Surgical Workshop Day, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
RACS International Women’s Day ‘Women in Surgery’ Brunch
Podium
The role of extended mesenteric resection and Kono-S anastomosis in reducing Crohn’s disease recurrence: A network meta-analysis. RACS ASC Mark Kilingback Prize Session, Sydney 3-5 May 2025
Does virtual reality in the preoperative setting for colorectal cancer surgery improve patient understanding? A randomised pilot study. RACS WA Southwest General Surgery Conference, Bunbury 11-13 Nov 2022 & SA, NT and WA Tristate ASM, Barossa Valley 25-27 Aug 2022
Clinical challenge: An abdominal collection after colorectal surgery: don’t abandon hope! World Society of Emergency Surgery 9th International Congress, Perth WA 27-30 Oct 2022
Does direct admission to ICU in emergency laparotomy patients with a NELA score > 10% affect outcome at Fiona Stanley Hospital? RACS Annual Scientific Congress, Melbourne 10-14 May 2021
Arm Morbidity: is there a difference if completion axillary dissection is undertaken in the same procedure as sentinel node biopsy or as a second operation? and Relevance of axillary procedure in elderly patients with low-risk breast cancer: A 5 year retrospective audit of a single tertiary centre. Australasian Society of Breast Disease 11th ASC, Gold Coast 5-7 Oct 2017
Posters
The role of mesenteric resection and Kono-S anastomosis in reducing recurrence after surgery for Crohn’s disease: a network meta-analysis RACS WA Southwest General Surgery Conference, Bunbury 22-24 Nov 2024 & CSSANZ Spring Meeting, Melbourne 3-5 Oct 2024
The efficacy and safety of extended thromboprophylaxis after colorectal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysisCSSANZ Spring Meeting, Melbourne 3-5 October 2024
Is centralization for rectal cancer surgery necessary? CSSANZ Spring Meeting, Melbourne 3-5 Oct 2024
Does virtual reality in the preoperative setting for colorectal cancer surgery improve patient understanding? A randomised pilot study and Does virtual reality in the perioperative setting for patient education improve understanding? A scoping review. RACS Annual Scientific Congress, Brisbane 2-6 May 2022
Does direct admission to ICU in emergency laparotomy patients with a NELA score > 10% affect outcome at Fiona Stanley Hospital? Association of Surgeons in Training (UK) International Surgical Summit, 17 Oct 2020
Normal renal function following REBOA inflation in the ‘no-go’ zone. Provincial Surgeons of Australia ASC, Armidale NSW 19-21 Oct 2017