Editorial Board

Editor

Professor John Zalcberg OAM
MB BS, PhD, FRACP, FRACMA, FAHMS, FAICD

Medical oncologist
Alfred Health and Monash University

Professor John Zalcberg is the head of cancer research and the NHMRC (MRFF) practitioner fellow within the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and Tony Charlton chair of oncology at Alfred Health. He is also the current chair of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA). Previously, he was the director of the Cancer Medicine Division as well as the chief medical officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. 

After earning a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in cancer immunology, he served as director of medical oncology at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and as director of cancer services at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre.

A co-founder of the Lorne Cancer Conference and the Australasian Gastrointestinal Trials Group (AGITG), his past roles included chair of the board of AGITG, board member of Cancer Trials Australia, co-chair of the Cancer Drugs Alliance, board member of the NSW Cancer Institute, Board Member of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, president of the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia, as well as a past member of the Consultative Council of the Victorian Cancer Agency. 

Areas of interest: clinically, gastrointestinal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumour; research areas of interest include use of real-world data to measure and improve quality of care, health policy particularly with respect to clinical research, ethical issues pertaining to drug access, new drugs in GI cancer & GIST.

Editorial board member

Dr Sanjeev Kumar
MBBS BSc (Med) FRACP ATCL PhD (in progress)

Medical oncologist and clinician scientist
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research

Dr Sanjeev Kumar is a medical oncologist and clinician scientist who grew up in country NSW, before completing undergraduate medical studies at the University of New South Wales in 2006. He trained as a Medical Oncologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and in the United Kingdom.

Dr Kumar moved to Cambridge (UK) in 2015 to undertake a fellowship in the Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cancer Drug Development Unit. He was then awarded a University of Cambridge scholarship in 2016 to complete a cancer molecular biology PhD at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, with a focus on oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Simultaneously, he ran a UK-wide clinical trial for patients with ER-positive breast cancer.

Dr Kumar has returned to Australia to continue his clinical and academic focus on breast cancer with positions at Lifehouse, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. He has a keen interest in the education of trainees, public engagement and clinical trials.

Areas of interest: Breast cancer in young women, neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer, endocrine therapy resistance

Editorial board member

Professor Christobel Saunders 
MB BS (Lond,) FRCS, FRAC, FAAHMS

Surgical oncologist
The University of Western Australia Medical School, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research

Professor Christobel Saunders AO is internationally recognised as one of Australia’s most prominent research-orientated cancer surgeons. She has substantially contributed to breast cancer research including clinical trials of new treatments, psychosocial, translational and health services research and is active in several areas of surgical oncology cancer research, with a particular emphasis on breast cancer.

In recognition of her sustained career excellence and innovation, Professor Saunders has been publicly acknowledged through numerous awards and honours the most recent being the AO (Order of Australia) (2018), Uccio Querci della Rovere Award (2018), International Women’s Day WA Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee (2018) and WA Scientist of the Year (2017).

She has performed research for >30 years evaluating the efficacy and utility of therapy for early breast cancer. In the past five years, Professor Saunders has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles (two in The Lancet), six letters to the editor/editorials, two research reports, two book chapters and one book. She sits on the boards of a number of cancer organisations including the ANZ Breast Cancer Trials Group.

Professor Saunders is closely involved in strategic planning and management of cancer services in Western Australia as author of the WA Health Cancer Services Framework and as first A/Director, WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network, past President of the Cancer Council WA, past president of the Breast Surgical Society of ANZ, and nationally as past advisory council member of organisations such as Cancer Australia. She is the inaugural chair of the state Health Service Provider, PathWest Laboratory Medicine.

Areas of interest: Breast cancer and cancer outcomes research and pathology

Editorial board member

Professor Stephen Clarke 
MBBS PhD MD FRACP FAChPM FAHMS

Medical oncologist
Royal North Shore Hospital, Genesis Care and The University of Sydney

Professor Stephen Clarke is a medical oncologist at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and a professor of medicine at the University of Sydney and chief medical officer, Medical Oncology, at Genesis Care.   

After completing his medical oncology training at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, Professor Clarke undertook a PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, before returning to Australia in 1994. He was Professor of Medicine at Concord Hospital from 2004-2010.

He has clinical and research interests in thoracic and GI cancers, including mesothelioma.  

His research has achieved over $26 million in competitive grant funding that has led to over 340 publications, which have been cited 20000 times.  

Professor Clarke is an oncology advisor to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and is a Member of the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Review Committee.  

His work has been recognized by an OAM in 2011, the MOGA Cancer Achievement Award in 2016 and the Eric Susman Prize (2013), the College Medal (2019) and John Sands Medal (2020) from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Areas of interest: GI and thoracic malignancy, novel therapeutics

Editorial board member

Dr Mark Voskoboynik
MBBS (Hons) FRACP

Medical oncologist
Alfred Hospital and the Victorian Melanoma Service in Melbourne

Dr Mark Voskoboynik is a medical oncologist at the Alfred Hospital and the Victorian Melanoma Service in Melbourne. He is the principal investigator of a number of early phase, including first-in-human, clinical trials. He has a specific clinical interest in urological malignancies, melanoma and lung cancer. He is passionate about teaching and education and is an adjunct senior lecturer at the Alfred Campus of the Monash University Central Clinical School. After completing his training in Australia as a medical oncologist, he spent two years undertaking a Clinical Research Fellowship at Guy’s Hospital and the drug development unit at Sarah Cannon Research Institute in London, UK. He has co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals and presented at local and international meetings.

Early phase clinical trials, urological malignancies, melanoma and lung cancer.

Editorial board member

Dr Nina Stewart
MBBS(Hons), FRANZCR

Radiation oncologist
GenesisCare, Mandurah and Bunbury Centres

GenesisCare Radiation Oncologist Dr Nina Stewart has a special clinical interest in breast, neuro-oncology, palliative care, and stereotactic radiation therapy. Dr Stewart completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Western Australia (UWA) with honours in 2008 and began her medical career at Fremantle hospital followed by community programs in the Kimberley and in palliative care. She commenced specialist training in radiation oncology at Prince of Wales Hospital (NSW) in 2014 and gained experience in stereotactic radiotherapy and paediatric oncology. This was followed by a clinical research fellowship in breast and central nervous system tumours at Fiona Stanley Hospital, where Nina developed a treatment protocol to examine radiotherapy planning CT scans as a way of estimating a patient’s risk of future coronary artery disease.  She has been an examiner of medical students at UWA and UNSW and continues to lecture current radiation oncology trainees. She is also a member of the RANZCR palliative care working group and is a board-certified lifestyle medicine practitioner. 

Areas of interest: breast and neuro-oncology, palliative care, stereotactic radiotherapy, value-based health care, patient experience and outcome measures. She also has a keen interest in the benefits of integrative medicine. 

Dr Liang Qiao is currently a principal research fellow, associate professor and the head of the cancer biology at the Storr Liver Centre at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR), University of Sydney. 

Dr Qiao received a MD (1985) and a Masters degree (Gastroenterology/Hepatology, 1988, LZU), and a PhD degree (Cancer Medicine, 2000, USYD). 

Dr Qiao has published a textbook on hepatocellular carcinoma (as the Editor-in-Chief). He has published >180 peer-reviewed articles in the field of cancer, oncology, and gastroenterology and hepatology.

Areas of interest: Liver disease, liver cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, experimental cancer therapy, cancer stem cells (CSCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), stem cell based therapy.

Editorial board member

Paul Mirabelle
LL. B and an MBA

Cancer research funder
Tour de Cure

Paul Mirabelle brings more than 20 years’ experience as a company director, and CEO in the healthcare space and direct involvement in cancer research fund raising to the Editorial Board. He has a proven track record in leading complex businesses, within both the medical and not for profit sectors, in Australia and internationally. 

Mr Mirabelle is currently the Chairman, Grants Committee for Tour de Cure, a charity committed to raising funds for much need cancer research. He holds a number of directorships including Chairman of Greencross, and Non-Executive Director of Healthshare, Vita Group and Revasum. 

Previously, Mr Mirabelle was Executive Chairman of the National Home Doctor Service, CEO of National Hearing Care and CEO of Medical Imaging Australasia (MIA Group). He was a partner with international consultancy The Boston Consulting Group, held executive roles at Telus Corporation in Canada and was an associate with Walsh Young in Calgary, Canada.

Paul holds an LL. B and an MBA with distinction from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Editorial board member

Dr Lucy Gately
MBBS BSc FRACP (oncology) PhD Clin Dip Pall Med

Medical oncologist and clinical research fellow
Cabrini Health & Walter and Eliza Institute for Medical Research

Dr Lucy Gately is a medical oncologist at Cabrini Health, a clinician researcher at WEHI and an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne. Dr Gately obtained her oncology fellowship in 2016, and has since been awarded with a PhD in glioblastoma through the University of Melbourne and a Clinical Diploma of Palliative Medicine through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She has a keen interest in improving the lives of patients with brain cancer, as well as familial cancer syndromes. She is the curator of the BRAIN registry, capturing comprehensive clinical data on all patients diagnosed with a brain tumour, and has been involved in numerous publications.