Professor Christobel Saunders AO, MB BS, FRCS, FRACS, FAAHMS, is a Clinical Professor in the UWA Medical School, School of Surgery, and Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Western Australia since November 2002. She holds concurrent clinical and research leadership roles, including Director of Cancer and Palliative Care Research and Evaluation Unit at UWA since 2008, Director of Breast Cancer Research at St John of God Hospital Subiaco since 2015, Consultant Surgeon at St John of God Hospital Subiaco since 2012 and at Fiona Stanley Hospital since 2015, Chief Medical Officer at OncoRes Medical since 2019, and Chair of PathWest Laboratory Medicine Western Australia since 2020. Previously, she served as Consultant Surgeon at Royal Perth Hospital from 2000 to 2020, Division Head of Surgery in the UWA Medical School from 2017 to 2019, and held senior surgical positions in the UK including Consultant Surgeon and Senior Lecturer at University College London Hospitals from 1998 to 2000 and Research Fellow at The Royal Marsden Hospital from 1991 to 1994. Her career contributions include authoring the WA Health Cancer Services Framework, acting as first Director of the WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network, past President of Cancer Council WA and the Breast Surgical Society of ANZ, and past Advisory Council member of Cancer Australia.

Professor Saunders' research specializations encompass clinical trials of new treatments, development of innovative technologies such as optical coherence micro-elastography for intraoperative tumour margin assessment through OncoRes Medical, familial breast cancer including treatment-focused genetic testing, health outcomes and services research, population health studies on pregnancy and breast cancer, psychosocial and supportive care, translational research, surgical oncology with a focus on breast cancer and melanoma, breast cancer screening, risk factors, and emerging diagnostics and therapies. Her work has driven clinical advances in Australia, including Medicare funding for breast MRI screening of high-risk women and intraoperative radiotherapy. Major awards include the Order of Australia (AO) in 2018 for distinguished service to medical education, surgical oncology, and breast cancer management; Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAAHMS) in 2016; Uccio Querci della Rovere Award in 2018; and Cancer Council WA Cancer Research Career Achievement Award in 2021. Key publications feature 'Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer: Who Gets Referred and Why?' (ANZ Journal of Surgery, 2026), 'Visualization of Breast Cancer Using Contrast-Enhanced Optical Coherence Elastography Based on Tissue Heterogeneity' (IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 2026), and 'A co-registration method to validate in vivo optical coherence tomography in the breast surgical cavity' (Heliyon, 2025).

Professional Email: christobel.saunders@uwa.edu.au