Tom Reeve
Award

For many years Dr Speakman was a member of COSA Council as Chair of the COSA Melanoma and Skin Cancer Group. He still acts as an expert adviser to COSA on melanoma, skin cancer, and surgical oncology matters.

As one of his nominators said, David “…has consistently displayed exceptional dedication, expertise, and commitment to advancing the field of cancer care through his remarkable contributions in clinical leadership, community service and support for research…. His passion for improving the lives of cancer patients is evident in his unwavering commitment and leadership in delivering the highest standard of care, employing cutting-edge techniques, and striving for continuous innovation in the field.”

Dr Speakman is a practicing surgical clinician working in the Breast and Melanoma and Skin services at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and in private practice.

Dr Speakman was appointed as Chief Medical Officer at Peter Mac in 2013, having previously held positions there as Executive Director Clinical Services and Director of the Melanoma and Skin Service. He was intimately involved in the conception, design and build of Peter Mac’s Melbourne headquarters, helping to deliver a purpose-designed facility for patients with cancer. He is also the State Clinical Director of BreastScreen Victoria and Chair of BreastScreen Victoria’s Quality and Accreditation Committee.

Dr Speakman is actively involved in teaching programs for medical, nursing and allied health students from undergraduate to postgraduate levels. He sits on numerous government advisory, NHMRC guideline, and optimal cancer care pathway committees and is currently Deputy Chair of the NHMRC non-melanoma skin cancer guidelines committee.

In 2022, Dr Speakman received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to medicine, particularly cancer treatment. Now he can add the Tom Reeve Award to his list of achievements and recognitions for a life dedicated to cancer care.

Professor Thompson is a surgical oncologist who has spent a career focusing on the improvement of outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer, and is recognised as an expert in the diagnosis and evidence-based management of melanoma. 

As one of his nominators said, “There is no surgeon in Australia, with an interest in cancer and treating patients with malignant disease, with the profile held by John, nationally or internationally. I believe he would truly be a worthy recipient of this award and I sincerely believe that Tom Reeve would be delighted and very proud to see John receive it.”  

Professor Thompson is Emeritus Professor of Melanoma and Surgical Oncology at The University of Sydney and Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Western Australia. He was the Director of the Sydney Melanoma Unit from 1998 and from 2007 was the Executive Director of Melanoma Institute Australia until the end of 2016. He has been author of over 950 peer-reviewed research articles in the scientific literature.

Professor Thompson is a past President of the International Sentinel Node Society, and was Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group for 15 years. He is a member of the Melanoma Staging Committee of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, and chairs the Working Group that developed and regularly updates the Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Cutaneous Melanoma. He is an Honorary Fellow of the American Surgical Association and the American College of Surgeons, and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Professor Thompson is an outstanding and committed clinician, researcher, educator and mentor. He generously and liberally shares his experience and time with others and has acted as a teacher and mentor to successive generations of medical students, doctors in training, researchers, and senior clinicians. Many of his mentees over the past 20-30 years have themselves become accomplished international clinical and research leaders in the field of oncology, an objective testament to his tireless efforts to promote scientific achievement and clinical and translational research collaboration worldwide.

One of Professor Barton's nominators said: “As a pioneer of academic radiation oncology in Australia, Michael has made, and is still making, outstanding contributions to clinical care, in oncological research, and cancer services policy throughout his career. He would be a very worthy recipient of the Tom Reeve Award.” And the COSA Board agrees.

Professor Barton will be well known to the COSA community. He is a clinical academic specialist Radiation Oncology at Liverpool Hospital, Cancer Therapy Centre and Research Director of the Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CCORE), who has dedicated his lifetime’s work to the improvement and innovation in the field of radiation oncology and cancer care.

Michael’s greatest contribution to radiation oncology in Australia and internationally may be considered his work in providing the evidence on which to base health policy and advising governments on frameworks for cancer services and then evaluating the impact of those services. A pivotal study was the determination from evidence-based treatment guidelines of the percentage of cancer patients who should receive radiation therapy at some time in their treatment, which enabled planning of radiation services.

Throughout his career he has mentored, educated and researched all the while providing excellent, team-based clinical care. This has provided an environment that has brought on another generation of researchers and provided clinical care in the more resource-challenged areas of Greater Sydney.

Michael initiated the Basic Science in Oncology Course (BSOC) which has continued to grow and thrive since its inception in the early 1990’s. Countless clinicians from a range of oncology and palliative care backgrounds have benefited from this work. Most recently, he brought together the three cancer streams through the Translational Cancer Research Centres (TCRC) at the University of New South Wales into a cohesive team working closely together on research and translation of research into clinical care.

Michael has written 42 commissioned reports for a wide variety of agencies on the delivery plans for various health jurisdictions, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Global Taskforce for the use of Radiotherapy for Cancer Control (GTFRCC), an international collaboration to advise and plan for expansion of radiotherapy facilities around the world to better cater for the cancer needs of every country, especially those countries with serious health service delivery deficits. He chaired the Australian guidelines for the management of Adult Gliomas.

In terms of individual research output, as Research Director of CCORE he has been awarded over $20M in peer-reviewed funding. He has published 200 original scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, 43 published abstracts, 9 editorials, 2 books, 15 book chapters, 8 electronic publications, and has over 9048 citation and an h-index of 46.

And the list goes on!

Professor Barton OAM was presented with the Tom Reeve Award and delivered his oration, during the 2021 COSA ASM on Wednesday 17 November. The presentation and oration are available for ASM delegates to view as recorded content.

Professor, Translational Cancer Research, Director, Sansom Institute for Health Research
Dean, Research Strategy, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia

Executive Director, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre

COSA President 1992-93

COSA President 2021-22 
Medical Oncologist, North Sydney’s Mater Hospital
Director of the Patricia Ritchie Centre for Cancer Care and Research
Professor of Medical Oncology, University of Sydney 

COSA President 2006-June 2006
Professor, Palliative and Supportive Services, Flinders University
Chief Cancer Officer, New South Wales
Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Institute of New South Wales

COSA President 2000-01
Professor, Palliative and Supportive Services, Flinders University
Chief Cancer Officer, New South Wales
Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Institute of New South Wales

Chief Executive Officer and Director of Research, Translational Research Institute

Chair of Lung Cancer Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

COSA President 2017-18
Director of the Medical Psychology Research Unit, The University of Sydney

Professor of Surgical Oncology, University of Newcastle

Director of Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queensland University of Technology

Professor of Radiology, University or Melbourne

COSA President 1981-83
Professor of Cancer Medicine, The University of Sydney

COSA President 1994-95
Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Council Australia

Executive Officer, the Australian Cancer Network