Rob trained in genetics and biochemistry and has three decades of research experience in cancer biology. This began in his PhD studying familial melanoma at the Queensland Institute for Medical Research in Brisbane, followed by postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne. His laboratory specialises in transcriptional control, stem cell biology, mouse models of colon and breast cancer, radiation biology and DNA repair. Rob is the Group Leader of the gastrointestinal program at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Rob was recognised by the AGITG as the winner of the New Concepts Symposium Award at the AGITG Annual Scientific Meeting in September 2015. He is a current member of the AGITG Lower GI Working Party and has led the ASM Translational Research Committee since 2018.