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. He is former Deputy Director of QIMR Berghofer and Chair of the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In 2019, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to cancer epidemiology.