Dr Jonathon Parkinson

MBBS, PhD, FRACS
Neurosurgeon

Special Interest: Brain and Spinal Tumours, Skull Base Surgery, Spinal Surgery

Dr Jonathon Parkinson is a highly experienced neurosurgeon with a focus on brain tumours, skull base surgery, and a full spectrum of spine surgeries, including minimally invasive (keyhole) techniques. He holds appointments at Royal North Shore Hospital, North Shore Private Hospital, Gosford Private Hospital, and Sydney Adventist Hospital.

Education and Training

Dr Parkinson completed his medical degree at the University of Sydney in 1998. He undertook advanced neurosurgical training at prestigious hospitals across Sydney, including Royal North Shore and Prince of Wales Hospitals. During this time, he earned a PhD from the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, where he specialised in the molecular biology of brain tumours.

Further refining his expertise, Dr Parkinson pursued a fellowship at the world-renowned University of Calgary Spine Program in Canada, focusing on minimally invasive spine surgery and treatments for degenerative spine conditions and metastatic spine diseases.


Surgical Expertise

Dr Parkinson specialises in:

  • Brain Tumour Surgery: Advanced techniques for managing complex cases.

  • Skull Base Surgery: Expertise in intricate surgical approaches.

  • Spine Surgery: Minimally invasive procedures and treatment of conditions such as sciatica, radiculopathy, and spinal stenosis.


Research and Leadership

A passionate advocate for research, Dr Parkinson continues his work in brain tumour biology and clinical management. He serves as:

  • Co-Chair of the NSW Oncology Group (Neuro-oncology).

  • Member of the Australasian Neuro-oncology Group (COGNO) management committee.


Teaching and Mentoring

Dr Parkinson is dedicated to surgical education, serving as:

  • Surgical Supervisor of Training in Neurosurgery at Royal North Shore and North Shore Hospitals.

  • Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney.

  • Postgraduate Research and Training Lead at the Surgical Education, Research, and Training (SERT) Institute.


Personal Interests

Outside of the operating room, Dr Parkinson enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and basketball.

    1. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Surgical Management of Spinal Epidural Abscess: Selection of Approach Based on MRI Appearance
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 11:130-133, 2004 Feb

    2. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Cervical Arthroplasty Complicated By Delayed Spontaneous Fusion Case Report
      Journal of Neurosurgery (Spine) 2(3):377-80, 2005 Mar

    3. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Cervical arthroplasty for the treatment of cervical spine disease
      Australasian Musculoskeletal Medicine 9:28-31, 2004

    4. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Surgical Management of Spinal Epidural Abscess: Selection of Approach Based on MRI Appearance
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 11:130-133, 2004 Feb

    5. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Cervical Arthroplasty Complicated By Delayed Spontaneous Fusion Case Report
      Journal of Neurosurgery (Spine) 2(3):377-80, 2005 Mar

    6. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Cervical arthroplasty for the treatment of cervical spine disease
      Australasian Musculoskeletal Medicine 9:28-31, 2004

    7. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Spinal epidural abscess: appearance on magnetic resonance imaging as a guide to surgical management
      Neurosurgical Focus 17:E12, 2004

    8. McDonald K, Parkinson J, Wheeler H et al.
      Identification of gene /protein sets that discriminate high grade gliomas from low grade
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):423-423, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    9. McDonald KL, Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR et al
      Methylation of MGMT promoter in glioblastoma – Correlation between methylation-specific PCR, sequencing, and mRNA expression
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):461-461, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    10. Parkinson JF, McDonald KL, Wheeler H, et al
      Variation in methylation status of MGMT promoter in serial glioblastoma specimens
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):461-462, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    11. McDonald KL, O’Sullivan MG, Parkinson JF et al
      IQGAP1 and IGFBP2: valuable biomarkers for determining prognosis in glioma patients
      Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology 66(5):405-17, 2007 May

    12. McDonald K, O’Sullivan M, Parkinson J, et al.
      IQGAP1 and IGFBP2: Valuable biomarkers for determining prognosis in glioma patients
      Neuro-Oncology 9(4):541-541, 2007 Oct (Abstract)

    13. Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR, McDonald KL
      Contribution of DNA repair mechanisms to determining chemotherapy response in high-grade glioma
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 15(1):1-8, 2008 Jan

    14. Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR, Clarkson A et al.
      Variation of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation in serial samples in glioblastoma
      Journal of Neuro-oncology 87(1):71-8, 2008 Mar

    15. Payne CA, Maleki S, Messina M, O’Sullivan MG, Stone G, Hall NR, Parkinson JF et al.
      Loss of Prostaglandin D2 Synthase: A key molecular event in the transition of a low grade astrocytoma to an anaplastic astrocytoma
      Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 7(10):3420-8, 2008 Oct

    16. Tacon LJ, Parkinson JF, Hudson BJ et al.
      Headache of a diagnosis: frontotemporal pain and inflammation associated with osteolysis.
      Medical Journal of Australia 189(10):591-2, 2008 Nov 17

    17. Li D, Brennan JW, Buckland, ME, Parkinson JF
      Bronchogenic Carcinoid Metastasis to the Intramedullary Spinal Cord
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 17(9):1196-98, 2010 Sept

    18. Parkinson JF, Afaghi V, Payne CA et al.
      The impact of molecular and clinical factors on patient outcome in oligodendroglioma from 20 years experience at a single centre
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 18(3):329-33, 2011 March

    19. Tan KL, Parkinson JF, McGee-Collett MG, Buckland ME
      Spinal intradural malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour
      Pathology, 43(3):278-80, 2011 April

    20. Sevim H, Parkinson JF, McDonald KL
      Etoposide-mediated glioblastoma cell death: dependent or independent on the expression of its target, topoisomerase II alpha?
      Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 137(11):1705-12, 2011 November

    21. Parker NR, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Howell VM, Wheeler HR.
      Molecular heterogeneity in glioblastoma: potential clinical implications.
      Frontiers in Oncology 5:55, 2015 Mar 3

    22. Chan DL, Schembri G, Back M, Bailey DL, Roach PJ, Wheeler H, Cook R, Parkinson J, Lee A, Jayamanne D, Drummond J, Hsiao E.
      FET PET in the evaluation of indeterminate brain lesions on MRI: differentiating glioma from other non-neoplastic causes.
      European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 42:S603, 2015 Oct (Abstract)

    23. Parker NR, Hudson AL, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Dwight T, Ikin RJ, Zhu Y, Cheng ZJ, Vafaee F, Chen J, Wheeler HR, Howell VM.
      Intratumoral heterogeneity identified at the epigenetic, genetic and transcriptional level in glioblastoma.
      Scientific Reports 6:22477, 2016 Mar 4

    24. French H, Somasundaram A, Biggs M, Parkinson J, Allan R, Ball J, Little N.
      Idiopathic intradural dorsal thoracic arachnoid cysts: A case series and review of the literature.
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 40:147-152, 2017 Jun

    25. Harris G, Jayamanne D, Wheeler H, Gzell C, Kastelan M, Schembri G, Brazier D, Cook R, Parkinson J, Khasraw M, Louw S, Back M.
      Survival outcome of elderly patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme in their seventy fifth year or older treated with adjuvant therapy.
      International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics In press, Published online 2017 Feb 20

    26. Parkinson JF, Sekhon LHS
      Spinal epidural abscess: appearance on magnetic resonance imaging as a guide to surgical management
      Neurosurgical Focus 17:E12, 2004

    27. McDonald K, Parkinson J, Wheeler H et al.
      Identification of gene /protein sets that discriminate high grade gliomas from low grade
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):423-423, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    28. McDonald KL, Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR et al
      Methylation of MGMT promoter in glioblastoma – Correlation between methylation-specific PCR, sequencing, and mRNA expression
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):461-461, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    29. Parkinson JF, McDonald KL, Wheeler H, et al
      Variation in methylation status of MGMT promoter in serial glioblastoma specimens
      Neuro-Oncology 8(4):461-462, 2006 Oct (Abstract)

    30. McDonald KL, O’Sullivan MG, Parkinson JF et al
      IQGAP1 and IGFBP2: valuable biomarkers for determining prognosis in glioma patients
      Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology 66(5):405-17, 2007 May

    31. McDonald K, O’Sullivan M, Parkinson J, et al.
      IQGAP1 and IGFBP2: Valuable biomarkers for determining prognosis in glioma patients
      Neuro-Oncology 9(4):541-541, 2007 Oct (Abstract)

    32. Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR, McDonald KL
      Contribution of DNA repair mechanisms to determining chemotherapy response in high-grade glioma
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 15(1):1-8, 2008 Jan

    33. Parkinson JF, Wheeler HR, Clarkson A et al.
      Variation of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation in serial samples in glioblastoma
      Journal of Neuro-oncology 87(1):71-8, 2008 Mar

    34. Payne CA, Maleki S, Messina M, O’Sullivan MG, Stone G, Hall NR, Parkinson JF et al.
      Loss of Prostaglandin D2 Synthase: A key molecular event in the transition of a low grade astrocytoma to an anaplastic astrocytoma
      Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 7(10):3420-8, 2008 Oct

    35. Tacon LJ, Parkinson JF, Hudson BJ et al.
      Headache of a diagnosis: frontotemporal pain and inflammation associated with osteolysis.
      Medical Journal of Australia 189(10):591-2, 2008 Nov 17

    36. Li D, Brennan JW, Buckland, ME, Parkinson JF
      Bronchogenic Carcinoid Metastasis to the Intramedullary Spinal Cord
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 17(9):1196-98, 2010 Sept

    37. Parkinson JF, Afaghi V, Payne CA et al.
      The impact of molecular and clinical factors on patient outcome in oligodendroglioma from 20 years experience at a single centre
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 18(3):329-33, 2011 March

    38. Tan KL, Parkinson JF, McGee-Collett MG, Buckland ME
      Spinal intradural malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour
      Pathology, 43(3):278-80, 2011 April

    39. Sevim H, Parkinson JF, McDonald KL
      Etoposide-mediated glioblastoma cell death: dependent or independent on the expression of its target, topoisomerase II alpha?
      Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 137(11):1705-12, 2011 November

    40. Parker NR, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Howell VM, Wheeler HR.
      Molecular heterogeneity in glioblastoma: potential clinical implications.
      Frontiers in Oncology 5:55, 2015 Mar 3

    41. Chan DL, Schembri G, Back M, Bailey DL, Roach PJ, Wheeler H, Cook R, Parkinson J, Lee A, Jayamanne D, Drummond J, Hsiao E.
      FET PET in the evaluation of indeterminate brain lesions on MRI: differentiating glioma from other non-neoplastic causes.
      European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 42:S603, 2015 Oct (Abstract)

    42. Parker NR, Hudson AL, Khong P, Parkinson JF, Dwight T, Ikin RJ, Zhu Y, Cheng ZJ, Vafaee F, Chen J, Wheeler HR, Howell VM.
      Intratumoral heterogeneity identified at the epigenetic, genetic and transcriptional level in glioblastoma.
      Scientific Reports 6:22477, 2016 Mar 4

    43. French H, Somasundaram A, Biggs M, Parkinson J, Allan R, Ball J, Little N.
      Idiopathic intradural dorsal thoracic arachnoid cysts: A case series and review of the literature.
      Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 40:147-152, 2017 Jun

    44. Harris G, Jayamanne D, Wheeler H, Gzell C, Kastelan M, Schembri G, Brazier D, Cook R, Parkinson J, Khasraw M, Louw S, Back M.
      Survival outcome of elderly patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme in their seventy fifth year or older treated with adjuvant therapy.
      International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics In press, Published online 2017 Feb 20