Professor Graham Mann was the 16th Director of the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR). He joined the School in 2019, bringing a national and international reputation in basic and translational cancer research.

After graduating in Medicine and training in medical oncology in Sydney he studied cell proliferation mechanisms as a graduate student at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Sydney Branch and as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Umeå, Sweden. In 1990, having obtained his PhD and FRACP, he established himself at the Westmead campus of Sydney Medical School as a full-time researcher in cancer genetics in partnership with Rick Kefford, focussing on familial melanoma.

Graham helped develop and lead signature genetic epidemiology projects and resources such as the Australian Melanoma Family Study, the international GenoMEL consortium and the Australian kConFab breast cancer genetics consortium. Among other achievements these studies have identified the genetic bases of melanoma risk in families and the population and the role of sunbeds in melanoma, especially in young adults, and have changed clinical practice and public policy. He has more than 250 primary research publications, cited >15,000 times, as well as 45 authored indirectly within large consortia, cited >20,000 times. 

In a diverse team of clinical and translational research leaders in melanoma, associated with Melanoma Institute Australia, Graham held NHMRC Program Grants for 16 years, a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Melanoma and translational cancer program grants. His research has engaged in all aspects of melanoma control, from the genetics of melanoma risk and its environmental and psychological aspects, to the use of molecular markers and targets to improve the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. From his base in the Westmead Institute he initiated and co-led the Australian Melanoma Genome Project, the MelCOR Australian Clinical Outcomes Register project, and the ACRF Centre for Excellence in Melanoma Diagnosis (ACEMID) project.

At JCSMR he continues these productive collaborations, aiming to exploit the integrated genomics and proteomics of melanoma to develop new biomarkers, drug targets and understanding of cancer.

He has been fortunate to contribute to the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics, asits interim Director from 2020-2022. He now co-leads nationally-funded initiatives that promise to deliver a transformative, Indigenous-led research translation and implementation ecosystem in health and medical genetics.