May 2015

Medical student Roxanne Dubash, from the University of Newcastle/New England Joint Medical Program, has won the 2015 Cancer Council Australia Student Essay Competition.

Roxanne's winning essay on 'Research and the Changing Landscape of Oncology: The Journey of Cancer Control' explored the impact of science on cancer prevention, treatment and detection from the 16th Century, through to present day.

Mapping out landmark discoveries in cancer causes, treatment, prevention and treatment, Roxanne also provided commentary on how these discoveries impact modern day medical education.

Essay were judged by Cancer Council’s Oncology Education Committee according to their concise and logical presentation of their argument, relevance to cancer care in Australia and relevance to medical students.

Committee Chair, Darren Starmer, said that with a high number of quality entries, it was hard to pick a winner, but Roxanne’s entry stood out.

"As well as being well written, engaging and concise, Roxanne's essay captured the breadth of research developments in cancer control over a significant time period and demonstrated how they remain relevant today."

Roxanne's prize includes a trip to Vienna, Austria to attend the '.

Second place in the competition was awarded to Yiliang Zheng, while third place went to Reuben Sum. Both will receive book gift vouchers.

The competition is open to any student currently enrolled in a medical course in an Australian University. For the 2015 competition, students were asked to submit an essay on the theme 'Research and the changing landscape of oncology'.