Professor Karen Canfell

Professor Karen Canfell holds a Diploma of Philosophy in Epidemiology from the University of Oxford and is an AC Fellow of Academy of Health and Medical Science. She is a Professor at the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney, and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (current L2 fellowship 2021-25; newly commencing L3 fellowship 2026-30). In 2024, she was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday award, the highest merit award, “for eminent service to medicine as an epidemiologist, particularly through cancer research, to tertiary education, and as a mentor and leader”. Her research involves quantification of risk factors and burden of cancer and evaluation and translation of new strategies for cancer control. She has led multiple impact and economic evaluations for government agencies in Australia and internationally.

She is an epidemiologist, modeller, and a population health researcher focused on translation. Her research has impacted cancer-control policy nationally and internationally by providing policymakers with an evidence-base for decision making. 

Professor Canfell and her Daffodil Centre research team will use the CanDLe datasets to obtain in-depth information on the pathways that people follow before being diagnosed with cancer, the treatments received, and the outcomes of their cancer care. They will also more closely examine the patterns and outcomes of screening for cervical and breast cancers.