Professor Kefford is Professor of Cancer Medicine and Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine at Macquarie University, Sydney and Co‐Director of Research at Melanoma Institute Australia. He is an internationally acclaimed and highly respected clinical investigator in melanoma and a national leader in academic medicine and medical research. He has a lifelong record of commitment and service to Australian medical research, peer review and professional and community education in oncology. He contributed to the mapping and characterisation of the major melanoma susceptibility genes and has played a leading role in the development of life‐extending drug treatments for melanoma patients.