On this page: Professor Graham Giles | Helen Farrugia | Assoc Prof Gianluca Severi | Professor Dallas English | Assoc Prof Michael Coory | Dr Laura Baglietto | Vicky Thursfield | Suzi Neumann | Melisa Bagnato | Charmaine Smith | Cassy Quick | Toula McArdle
Prof Graham Giles BSc, MSc, PhD
Director, Cancer Epidemiology Centre
After post-doctoral work on the epidemiology of leukaemia and lymphoma in Tasmania, Graham Giles joined the Cancer Council in 1983 as Director of the Victorian Cancer Registry. In 1986, he was appointed Director of the Cancer Epidemiology Centre, and in 2001 became Deputy Director of the Cancer Control Research Institute. He has honorary professorial appointments at Melbourne, Monash and Deakin Universities, and serves on several national and international committees including the Scientific Council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyons, France.
His research interests include the causes of cancers of the breast, prostate, bowel and skin focusing on dietary factors and family history and genetics. He is the chief investigator of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (Health 2000). He's also a principal investigator of a number of large population-based studies of families with cancers of the breast, bowel and prostate, and melanoma, which he instigated with Professor John Hopper at the University of Melbourne.
Full profile Professor Graham Giles
BA, MSc, PhD
Gianluca is a cancer epidemiologist with qualifications in physics, biostatistics and a PhD in Cancer Studies from the University of Birmingham, UK. He worked for many years in Milan, Italy, at the European Institute of Oncology were he was in charge of the prostate cancer program and the cancer registry. In 2004 he joined the centre as senior research fellow. In 2010, Gianluca was appointed Honorary Principal Fellow (Assoc Prof) of the School of Population Health of the Univerity of Melbourne.
His main interest is in prostate cancer, molecular and genetic epidemiology and risk prediction models. He is involved in the Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer Study, the Australian Prostate Cancer Family Study and in analyses related to prostate in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.
Helen Farrugia BApp Sc, HIM, Grad Dip BIT
Director, Registry Systems
Helen Farrugia joined the Cancer Council in 1989, initially working on clinical trials. In 1990 she became coordinator of the Victorian Cancer Registry. She left in 1995 to join BreastScreen Victoria as their Information Manager, and rejoined the Cancer Council in 1997 as a research officer working on record linkage studies. She is now Director of Information Systems.
Helen is responsible for implementing and managing the state-based Victorian Family Cancer Registry, which accepts voluntary registrations from members of high-risk bowel, breast and ovary cancer families. Helen is responsible for the overall management of the population-based Victorian Cancer Registry and its associated external research programs, as well as the Victorian Cancer Registry re-engineering project.
Prof Dallas English BSc, MSc, PhD
Senior Principal Research Fellow
Dr English obtained a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington in Seattle, US in 1982. From 1982 to 1999, he worked at the University of Western Australia, first in the NHMRC Research Unit in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, and later in the Department of Public Health. His last position there was Associate Professor. He joined the centre in February 2000. In 2006, he was appointed Professor and Director of the Centre for MEGA Epidemiology in the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne.
He has substantial experience as a cancer epidemiologist. While in Perth, his main research interests were in skin cancer prevention and in cancer screening. Since moving to Melbourne, he has worked on the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study.
Assoc Prof Michael CooryBSc (Stats), A Stat, PhD, MBBS, FAFPHM
Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Epidemiology
Michael is a public health physician with qualifications in statistics and a PhD in epidemiology. Michael joined the Centre in 2010, having worked previously as a medical epidemiologist with the Queensland Department of Health and jointly as Associate Professor of Health Statistics at the University of Queensland. He has also advised the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee on clinical and cost effectiveness of novel cancer therapies. Michael's research interests include health technology assessment, knowledge translation and quality and safety of health care.
Dr Laura Baglietto BSc, MSc, PhD
Senior Research Fellow
Laura is an epidemiologist with qualifications in biostatistics and a PhD in Cancer Studies from the University of Birmingham, UK. Laura joined the centre in 2004. She previously worked for eight years as an epidemiologist and biostatistician for the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. Laura is involved in analyses of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study and genetic epidemiology projects with the University of Melbourne. She is leading the research team of the NHMRC project "Risk and prognostic factors for breast cancer of different immunohistochemical subtypes", and a VBCRC project on mammographic density and breast cancer.
Vicky Thursfield BSc, Grad Dip Applied Statistics
Cancer Control Information Manager
Vicky has worked in centre for 14 years in all areas relating to the collection and dissemination of data collected by the Victorian Cancer Registry. She has experience in the clinical coding of cancer, quality assurance, extraction and descriptive analysis of the data, statistical analysis, preparation of the unit's publications and design and coordination of patterns of care surveys.
Suzi Neumann Department Manager
Suzi joined the Cancer Council in 1981 as a clerical assistant in the Victorian Cancer Registry. In 1983, she became personal assistant to the director. Over time she has taken on further responsibilities for the administration of the Centre and became Departmental Manager in 2004. Suzi is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the centre’s administration and is a key link with other Council units and with external institutions. She is the keeper of the corporate history of the Cancer Epidemiology Centre.
Charmaine Smith BHSc (Hons)
Biorepository Manager
Charmaine began at the centre in 1997 as a research assistant involved in the Prostate Cancer Family Study. In 2000, she was promoted to Prostate Cancer Program manager. Charmaine played a key role in providing coordinated data management support for prostate cancer studies. In 2007, she became responsible for the management of the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study and Prostate Cancer Family Study biospecimen repository. In recent years, Charmaine has devoted her time to finding a software solution to better manage the biorepository, which now consists of almost 500,000 specimens.
Melisa BagnatoBComm/Arts (Hons)
Prostate Cancer Program ManagerMelisa began working for the Cancer Epidemiology Centre in 2002 as an interviewer/appointment officer for the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. In 2004, Melisa was appointed as a recruitment data manager for the Victorian Cancer Registry. This led to her next role in mid 2006 as data manager for the Prostate Cancer Program. In mid 2008, Melisa was promoted to Prostate Cancer Program manager. In addition to coordinating recruitment and data management for existing prostate cancer studies, Melisa has established processes and systems for new studies.
Cassy QuickBSc, MND
Health 2020 Program Manager
Cassy has worked at the Cancer Epidemiology Centre since 2008 as the Health 2020 Program Manager. Cassy and her team have been working on the collection of data for the GERD project and to finalise the remainder of the Follow Up 2 collection. She has also worked to oversee participant contact and data collection for external studies involving Health 2020 participants, such as a study on the effect of dietary calcium on bone and vascular events. Cassy has previously worked as a Clinical Dietitian and Research Coordinator. Since commencing with CEC she has provided management support to the Diet Calibration Study and the online Food Frequency Questionnaire.
Toula McArdleBAppSci (Comp Sci), Dip Nursing, Grad Dip Soc Sci
Victorian Family Cancer Register Manager
Toula joined the Cancer Epidemiology Centre in 1995 as a data manager for a clinical management survey on testicular cancer. From 1997 Toula worked on the Health 2020 project and kConFab - a National Family Breast Cancer Research Project. Since 2002 Toula has managed the Victorian Family Cancer Register providing services to high cancer risk families in Victoria. Toula coordinates the cancer verification service delivered to the Family Cancer Centres and manages information on the family cancer register. Toula is also responsible for implementing and maintaining data management software at the Family Cancer Centres.
