Sandi Hayes

As a leading authority in my field, I have led international guidelines on exercise therapy for people with cancer and management of cancer-related lymphoedema; secured $29.9M in grant funding (including international grant funds from the World Cancer Research Fund) to support my world-leading trials; generated knowledge that drives my field (182 publications; >10,600 citations; H-index 51); and established inter/national collaborative networks (>800 co-authors including consumers across basic and applied science disciplines). I established the necessary cancer networks (scientific, industry and consumer) and combined learnings to develop and conduct cancer epidemiological and clinical trial research that produces findings that matter to patients while also having the power to drive clinical practice and policy change. This work has involved world-leading randomised trials and prospective, population-based, longitudinal oncology cohort studies involving more than 10 cancer sites and more than 9,000 participants. I am first or senior author on more than 70% of 182 publications (total citations >10,600; H-index 51; 848 co-authors). My field-leading exercise oncology trials are cited on average 3.7 times higher than field norms. My research has informed local, national and international advancements in cancer care and I currently lead the ICAN (Improving CANcer Life Course Outcomes) Group at QIMR Berghofer.

My research program led to a paradigm shift in cancer care to “move more” through incontrovertible evidence that exercise is an excellent cancer therapy. My program outputs have driven changes in management of cancer-related morbidity, and the use of exercise therapy to improve quality of life and potentially survival post-cancer in 13 countries through 26 policy documents, 25 clinical guidelines and 2 patents. The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) used my findings to mandate exercise therapy for all cancer patients, and exercise is now recommended as cancer therapy internationally.