We are deeply saddened by the passing of internationally renowned genetic epidemiologist Professor John Hopper AM.
Cancer Council Victoria has been honoured to support part of Professor Hopper’s dedicated work in breast, colorectal and prostate cancer epidemiology that spanned more than 40 years.
We also recognise the significant contribution he made to the Victorian Cancer Registry (VCR).
Along with his fellow researcher and good friend Professor Graham Giles, former Director of the VCR and Cancer Epidemiology Centre at Cancer Council Victoria, the pair were instrumental in moving the VCR from being a “peripheral player in international registration and cancer epidemiology”, to being “one of its leaders”.
Professor Giles describes meeting Professor Hopper in an Italian café on Lygon Street one afternoon in 1988. The café, serving as a half-way point between the two researchers, became a daily meeting spot for almost four years as they discussed their plans on how to secure a better picture of cancer in Victoria’s population.
Professor Hopper was also known for his work as the director of Twins Research Australia, where he spent more than three decades at its helm, overseeing groundbreaking research into the roles of environmental factors and genes in the development of cancer.
Speaking to the Herald Sun in 2020, Professor Hopper said he used twins’ matching DNA and their shared upbringing as a starting point to gain fresh insights into how lifestyle factors can prevent breast cancer.
Professor Hopper was the recipient of multiple Cancer Council research grants throughout his career. From 2012 to 2014, Professor Hopper led Cancer Council-funded research into how mammographic density measurements might be used to improve the effectiveness of breast cancer screening. He most recently was a part of the research team developing new clinical tools to better screen dense breast tissue.
His loss is felt not only by us here at Cancer Council Victoria, but throughout Australia and across the world.
We extend our condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and students, and to those impacted by his incredible work.
