Robert Lusby's story

Robert Lusby is an Honours graduate in Medicine from the University of NSW. He was a surgical trainee at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney and obtained his Doctorate in Medicine at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

While working at the University of California in San Francisco, Robert was appointed to the University of Sydney as Professor of Surgery, taking up a post at the Concord Repatriation General Hospital in 1983. He is a vascular surgeon who pioneered the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of vascular disease.

Robert was also a member of the Army Reserve. He was serving as a surgeon in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps when he was posted to Rwanda. Most of the 1st Australian contingent United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda II (UNAMIR II) arrived in Rwanda in late August 1994.

Despite the rushed nature of his deployment, and witnessing some grim experiences and outcomes, Robert saw his service in Rwanda as worthwhile because it gave purpose to his commitment to the Army Reserve.