Charles graduated from University of Otago in 2001. His internship, general medical and cardiology training were completed at the Dunedin Hospital, New Zealand. He was awarded FRACP (dual training in Cardiology and General Medicine) in 2012 and went on to complete 18 months of Interventional Fellowship at the Christchurch Hospital, where he was involved in multicentre clinical trials. He continues his interest in clinical research after moving to Adelaide, including acting as Principal Investigator in the Onyx ONE clinical trial.