Prof Makhan Singh Khangure awarded the Order of Australia

Perth based pioneering radiologist, Prof Makhan Singh Khangure has been named as a recipient of Order of Australia, or, AM.

Prof Makhan Singh Khangure, a pioneering radiologist based in Perth, and recipient of Order of Australia Source: Supplied

Born in India, he moved to England with his family at the age of 9, where he completed his tertiary studies and medical training. He worked in the US for two years before moving to Australia in 1976, as a registrar at the Royal Perth Hospital. He continued to work at the RPH until 2007, after which he joined St John of God Hosptial, also in Perth.

While at RPH, he pioneered the technology of treating a brain hemorrhage without any surgery or intervention. Called Interventional Neuro-radiology, this treatment can also be used for hemorrhages in the lungs, kidney, liver and other body parts.

Prof Khangure not only pioneered this innovative treatment path in 1979, but has also taught this technology to generations of future radiologists. His department at the Royal Perth Hospital was named the Centre of Excellence by the federal government, where patients from around Australia have been successfully treated without a surgery. He was awarded Life Membership of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists in 2014

Talking exclusively to SBS Punjabi, after being named one of only two people of Indian origin receiving the AM on Australia Day 2017, Prof Khangure reflected on "how Australia has changed him" in the past 40 years.

Describing himself as "a square peg in a round hole", with allegiance to India, England and Australia, Prof Khangure believes that the greatest gift he's got from this country is the gift of opportunity. He says, he never faced any discrimination in Australia, even back in the days that he first arrived. He says, "a lot can be achieved if given the right opportunity" and he urged fellow Indian Australians to make the most of the opportunities they get.