Speaker Details

Professor Sanchia Aranda was appointed CEO of Cancer Council Australia in August 2015.

Professor Aranda has more than 30 years’ experience in cancer control as a clinician, researcher, educator and senior healthcare administrator.

From her early career as a Registered Nurse in New Zealand she specialised in cancer and palliative care, completing a Bachelor of Applied Science, a Master of Nursing and a doctoral thesis exploring nurse-patient relationships in cancer and palliative care. Her most recent role was Director of Cancer Services and Information and Deputy CEO at the Cancer Institute NSW.

Professor Aranda is President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (the world’s peak member-based cancer organisation) and a former President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care.

As well as being a research fellow at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, she holds academic appointments within the School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, and the Faculty of Nursing, University of Sydney.

Widely published in Australian and international health literature, Professor Aranda has also conducted research reviews for the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Cancer Councils, state nursing boards and private sector research funding bodies.

As CEO of Australia’s peak non-government cancer control organisation, Professor Aranda is a strong independent voice on evidence-based cancer control. She is engaged in all fields of cancer from primary prevention through to survivorship and advanced care, and has a particular professional interest in improved ways to care for and support cancer patients.

She is a regular commentator on cancer issues in Australia media.

Professor Aranda’s role in cancer control has been recognised nationally and internationally, and in 2013 she was named the 4th Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Distinguished Fellow for her contributions to cancer nursing.