Diana Sarfati MBChB, MPH, PhD, FNZCPHM

Professor Diana Sarfati (MBChB, MPH, PhD, FNZCPHM) is a public health physician, cancer epidemiologist and health services researcher. She is Head of the Department of Public Health and the Director of the Cancer and Chronic Conditions (C3) Research Group at University of Otago, Wellington. She is currently a member of the New Zealand National Cancer Leadership Board (NZ), the Advisory Committee to International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) Pacific cancer hub, the Academic Advisory Committee to IARC on the International Cancer Benchmarking Project, and she is currently leading a Lancet Oncology series on cancer control in small island developing states.

Professor Sarfati has led a large body of research relating to ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes in New Zealand. This work has resulted in the identification of key patient and health system factors that influence cancer survival. It has been used extensively by health policy makers, clinicians and other researchers to develop policies and practices that aim to reduce inequities in cancer outcomes.

She also has research interests in the inter-relationships between cancer and comorbidity, screening and multimorbidity. Professor Sarfati is a past member of the National Ethics Advisory Committee, National Screening Advisory Group, the Bowel Cancer Screening Taskforce, the National Bowel Cancer Working Group, the Board of the Cancer Society (Wellington Division), the Cancer Society Medical and Scientific Assessment Committee (Wellington) and the National Cancer Society Health Promotion Committee.