More than 37,000 Australians will be diagnosed with GI cancer this year. Combined, it is the most common cancer impacting Australians but sadly the investment into GI cancer research does not reflect this high incidence.
Our dedicated Ambassadors know this first hand, having spent their careers to date working to improve outcomes for people with GI cancer.
Our Ambassadors, both former Chairs of our Board, remain deeply committed to our cause. In their roles, they champion the need for funding in GI cancer research and highlight the vital role of clinical trials, while also fostering valuable relationships both locally and internationally to support and advance the group’s mission.
Meet our Ambassadors
Professor Lorraine Chantrill
Board Chair 2020 to 2026
Professor Chantrill is a Senior Staff Specialist Medical Oncologist and Head of Service for Medical Oncology across the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD), and Area Clinical Director of Clinical Trials.
She treats patients with cancers of the digestive tract, as well as gynaecological and lung cancers, and is a key opinion leader in pancreas cancer. Lorraine completed a PhD by research in the Pancreas Cancer Group at The Kinghorn Cancer Centre in pancreas cancer genomics, and continues to be an active clinician researcher bridging the gap between the bench and the bedside.
She has extensive experience managing Oncology Clinical Trials and is the Principal Investigator on several clinical trials in gastrointestinal cancers. Lorraine is passionate about growing the clinical trial portfolio across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, believing trials are not only vital for research but offer real hope to participants — giving patients access to new and emerging therapies.
Professor Tim Price
Board Chair 2014 to 2020
Professor Tim Price trained in Medical oncology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and completed a Gastrointestinal Fellowship at The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, London. He is currently Head of Clinical Oncology Research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville. He was also the Establishment Clinical Director of the South Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network (SACCaN). He is now the Chair of the SACCaN Clinical Trials Program. He is a Clinical Professor within the Faculty of Medicine, at Adelaide University and honorary Professor at the University of Antwerp Belgium. He was a GI Cancer Trials board member from 2004 to 2024.
Professor Price is an active contributor in the field of Clinical, Epidemiological and Translational Science at national and international levels. His research focus has primarily related to clinical trials, but has subsequently evolved to assessing both the impact of clinical trial data and its translation into standard practice as reflected by changes in practice and evidence for improved outcomes, together with more basic translational research by improving the understanding of the molecular pathways currently relevant in colorectal cancer.
Professor John Zalcberg
Board Chair 1995 to 2014
Professor John Zalcberg AO was a founder and past Chair of the Board of GI Cancer Trials. He was the Director, Division of Cancer Medicine, at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia for 17 years prior to taking up the position of Professor of Cancer Research at Monash University (now Emeritus as of July 2024).
After earning a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in cancer immunology, he served as Director of Medical Oncology at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and as Director of Cancer Services at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre.
He was a co-founder of the Lorne Cancer Conference and a past Board Member of Cancer Trials Australia. A past Board Member of the NSW Cancer Institute, past President of the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia, and a past Member of the Consultative Council of the Victorian Cancer Agency, he has received a Medal of the Order of Australia Award (OAM), the 2011 Cancer Achievement Award from the Medical Oncology Group of Australia, the 2014 Tom Reeve Award from the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, and in 2023 he was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
Professor Zalcberg’s immense contributions to GI Cancer Trials were recognised in 2015 with the establishment of the John Zalcberg AO Award for Excellence in GI Cancer Research.
Professor Zalcberg remains an active medical oncologist, currently at The Alfred Hospital, Victoria.