Professor David Whiteman is a medical epidemiologist with a special interest in the causes, control and prevention of cancer. He received his medical degree from the University of Queensland in 1991, and his PhD in cancer epidemiology in 1997. Professor Whiteman has an international reputation for research into the public health aspects of cancer control. Whiteman has led national and international consortia for the study of melanoma and oesophageal cancer. He has more than 500 peer-reviewed research publications, an H-index of 106 and has been awarded more than $60 million in competitive research grants as Chief Investigator. Whiteman has chaired national cancer guideline committees, delivering evidence-based practical advice to clinicians, and many of his research findings have been translated into cancer control policy. In addition to his research activities, he is former Deputy Director of QIMR Berghofer, Chair of the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, and Honorary Fellow of the Skin Cancer College of Australasia. In 2019, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to cancer epidemiology.