CANCER SURVIVORSHIP AND EXERCISE ONCOLOGY
Professor Sandra Hayes, Director of Research
Cancer Council Queensland (CCQ), Brisbane, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Brisbane, Australia | April 2025
Professor Sandra Hayes is the Director of Research at Cancer Council Queensland (CCQ), where she leads a comprehensive cancer research program encompassing cancer epidemiology, prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship.
With a BAppSci (Hons) and a PhD in exercise oncology, Professor Hayes’s expertise lies in quantifying the impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment on physical and psychosocial wellbeing, quality of life, and survival. She also evaluates innovative supportive care strategies, particularly exercise, to improve post-cancer lives.
Professor Hayes has authored 170 peer-reviewed publications, been a Chief Investigator on grants totalling more than AUD$20M, leading world-renowned randomised trials and longitudinal oncology cohort studies involving over 9000 participants across more than 10 cancer sites. Recognised internationally as an expert in exercise oncology, Professor Hayes has held executive positions on national and international committees, including the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia and the International Society of Lymphology.
Her research has been funded by several organisations over the past 25 years, including government funding support through National Health and Medical Research Council grants and more recently the Medical Research Future Fund. Professor Hayes has also been supported from funding from organisations such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Cancer Council Queensland, as well as international funding from the World Cancer Research Fund.
Her professional activities include peer review for top oncology and exercise science journals and advisory roles for various cancer and exercise organisations. Her research impact includes leading national and international position statements on exercise for cancer patients, co-developing the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia’s physical activity guidelines, and creating resources for the International Exercise is Medicine® campaign.
She has also developed the YWCA Encore breast cancer rehabilitation program and lymphoedema diagnostic criteria used globally.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7005-5184
-
Life-changing donor milk for preterm babies
Dr Laura Klein is National Milk Research Leader at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood is funded by Australian governments to provide life-giving blood, plasma, and transplantation and biological products.
Dr Klein works with clinicians and researchers across Australia to understand how donated breast milk can be used to improve outcomes for vulnerable babies. She’s passionate about generating evidence to improve the products and services that milk banks provide to donors and the families who receive donated breast milk.
-
Identification, characterisation and role of leader cells in ovarian cancer progression
Dr. Maree Bilandzic is a molecular cancer biologist dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of ovarian cancer (OC). Her research addresses critical gaps in OC treatment by investigating the mechanisms behind metastasis, chemotherapy resistance, and tumour recurrence. By utilising innovative methodologies and disease-representative models, Dr. Bilandzic has pioneered the identification and characterisation of leader cells (LCs)—a unique, stem-like subpopulation within tumours that plays a crucial role in OC progression.
-
Novel therapies & next-gen medical devices in cardiovascular & vascular disease management
Professor Shirley Jansen AM is a distinguished vascular and endovascular surgeon whose career spans clinical leadership, academic excellence, and pioneering research. She currently holds the Lawrence-Brown Chair of Vascular Surgery at Curtin University’s School of Population Health and serves as Head of the Department of Vascular Surgery at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, a role she has held since 2015. In addition, she is the Director of the Heart & Vascular Research Institute at the Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research. Her early career was marked by prestigious fellowships, including a British Heart Foundation Research Fellowship (1996), and multiple international travelling fellowships from leading surgical societies and industry sponsors between 2001 and 2002.
