An aspirational achievement for two Melbourne based brothers from Albert Park, who have shown strong dedication, determination and perseverance to achieve successful careers in the medical field.
The eldest sibling, 25-year-old Dean Baziotis-Kalfas graduated with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from Monash University in 2020. He then continued his further study by specialising in dentistry and completing a Doctor of Dental Surgery at The University of Melbourne in 2024.
Dean’s younger sibling, 23-year-old Kristian studied a Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine at Monash University, graduating in 2024.
Proud Greek parents, Anna and Louis Baziotis-Kalfas were both born in Melbourne, however, Anna Baziotis-Kalfas’s parents are from the town of Livadi in Thessaly and Louis Baziotis-Kalfas’s parents are from Valchokerasia in the Peloponnese.
“We as parents can only guide our children through their different stages of education. We showed them how to embrace challenges and that hard work is rewarded,” Louis Baziotis-Kalfas said.
“We were proud of the professions they chose, not for the prestige so much, but because of the vitality they play in improving the health and wellbeing of their patients and community at large,” Anna Baziotis-Kalfas said.
The Baziotis-Kalfas brothers describe their degrees as “dynamic, difficult and rewarding”.
Similarly, working in healthcare had always been a childhood passion for them.
“Our mother who works in the medical science field was a major inspiration for me to pursue a career in healthcare along with many of our relatives who work in healthcare in Greece and Australia,” Kristian said.
Kristian is currently employed as an intern at Eastern Health, undergoing a surgical rotation at Box Hill Hospital as a junior doctor. His long-term aspiration is to pursue a career in surgery.
After graduating from Sir John Monash High School, Kristian successfully passed the UCAT exam and interview which allowed him to feel confident and ready to embrace the challenging path of medicine.
Both brothers were studying during the pandemic which made their degrees undeniably challenging. The transition to online classes for practical degrees made it difficult to uphold their motivation, however through their strong sense of brotherhood they continued to motivate one another through the toughest of times.
Developing the self-discipline to immerse themselves and maintaining focus to study played a crucial role to achieve academic success during the lockdown period.
“Seeing Kristian work hard was also a great motivator, especially when I found myself procrastinating,” Dean said.
Dean still recounts his first extraction with an emergency patient who was a Greek woman in her 80’s.
“After the procedure, she hugged me and said, “Μου θυμίζεις τον εγγονό μου”—”You remind me of my grandson”.
Moments like this reminded Dean why it was worthwhile to pursue his passion for dentistry.
Dean is currently employed at Family Dental Care in Doncaster East. Throughout his studies he taught Greek to students from grade three to year nine at Pythagoras Greek School.
Both brothers maintain a strong Greek cultural identity. They both serve as General Committee members of the Pallaconian Brotherhood Youth, where they have helped organise the annual Art and Culture Night which celebrated Greek artists, musicians and performers.
Their additional contributions to the Greek community include attending lectures hosted by GO Youth Melbourne and the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria. They also participated as student panellists at the Hellenic Medical Society of Australia Careers Day.
Outside of their medical professions both brothers have different extracurricular passions. Kristian speaks fluent Japanese and enjoys composing music, while Dean is fascinated by Ancient Greek Mythology and enjoys researching the Homer’s Odyssey.
Greek families are known for their close family ties and both brothers have set a great example of Greek family values.
“Dean and I share a deep bond, not only as brothers, but also as best friends. We’re both passionate about medicine, dentistry and medical innovation which leads to some really enriching discussions,” Kristian said.
Both the brothers’ graduations were two days apart from each other in December 2024.
“Graduating together has been a unique and meaningful experience. After years of study, challenges and growth, reaching this milestone at the same time feels like a shared victory,” Dean said.
It is important to highlight that this unique story is not just about academic success. It is a testament to the strong power of brotherhood, self-discipline and Greek faith.
