About
Dr Douglas Samuel
Dr Douglas Samuel received his undergraduate degrees of BSc(Med), MBBS (Hons) at University of New South Wales in 1995 and also the UNSW Foundation Medal for leadership and fellowship. He trained in Sydney hospitals including St Vincent’s, Royal North Shore, Royal Prince Alfred and Prince of Wales Hospitals. In 2003, he became a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and then spent two post-fellowship years in London at St Mark’s Hospital and University College London Hospitals. During this time, he further developed his subspecialist and research interest in Crohn’s and colitis and colonoscopic mucosal resection of large colonic polyps.
He is a Senior Lecturer at both University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Sydney. He researches novel therapies in Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. He received the degree of Master of Medicine by research (UNSW) for original research in London on optical artificial intelligence techniques in early diagnosis of colonic "pre- cancerous" lesions. He is a clinical investigator on a number of national and international clinical trials.
Dr Samuel holds a Graduate Diploma in Medical Education (UNSW) and has won several “teacher of the year” awards. He has been employed as a teaching consultant developing both undergraduate and postgraduate medical programs. He has led “teach-the-teacher” workshops in Australia and in the UK. In London, he was on the faculty of the National Endoscopy Training Centre "training the trainers" in gastroscopy and colonoscopy. He has presented at national and international gastroenterology conferences and educational events covering general practice and gastroenterology. He supervises the training of specialist consultant physicians for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in both general medicine and gastroenterology.
Dr Sonia Alley
Dr Alley is a visiting Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the Mayo in Taree and Forster Private hospitals, and works as an associate of Dr Samuel. She is also available for telehealth consultations from Sydney, and face to face consultations at our St Leonards rooms.
She studied medicine at the University of Sydney, followed by residency, basic physician training and her first two years of Gastroenterology Advanced training at Royal North Shore Hospital. Her final year of Gastroenterology training was at Blacktown Hospital.
Dr Alley is accredited with the Conjoint Committee for Recognition of Training in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (CCRTGE) to perform diagnostic and therapeutic upper endoscopy and colonoscopy, and is a member of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia.
She is a general gastroenterologist and hepatologist, so she manages a wide range of conditions including iron deficiency, coeliac disease, gastroesophageal reflux, bowel cancer screening, inflammatory bowel disease and fatty liver disease. She has a particular interest in disorders of gut-brain interaction (previously known as functional gut disorders) such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia. She is passionate about the role of diet in health and disease.
Dr Alley provides wholistic, empathic care to her patients, and takes the time to listen to, understand, and educate her patients.
Outside of medicine, Dr Alley enjoys cooking, traveling, being a mum, and spending time with family and friends.
