Sabe Sabesan

Medical Oncology | Telemedicine | Teleoncology

Dr Sabe Sabesan BMBS(Flinders) PhD FRCAP, is the Clinical Dean of the Townsville Regional Medical Training network incorporating the Townsville Hospital and Health Services and the Townsville Clinical School of the James Cook University and the director of the department of Medical oncology at the Townsville Cancer Centre, Townsville Hospital. He is a nationally and internationally recognised expert in the area of teleoncology and developed and evaluated various teleoncology models of care to deliver rural cancer care closer to home including the Queensland Remote Chemotherapy Supervision (QReCS) model which is adopted by the Queensland Health and the My- FATE education model (My Family’s Anti-Tobacco Education). To enhance rural and regional access to clinical trials, he developed the Australasian Teletrial Model under the auspices of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia in collaboration with national stakeholders. He is the program lead for the Tropical Centre for Telehealth Practice and Research, a joint initiative between the Townsville hospital and the AITHM.

Research | Advisory accreditation

His research collaboration includes the Menzies School of health research, Queensland Genomic Health Alliance, various Australian clinical trial groups and clinicians and academics within Queensland Health and James Cook University in the areas of telehealth, rural and Indigenous health. Internationally, he collaborates with clinicians from Sri Lanka and India in the area of telehealth. To date, he has received more than $7 million in grants as a CI and PI relating to NHMRC, Cancer Institute of NSW and Queensland Health Innovation funds.

Professor Sabesan has primary advisor accreditation, so can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

Leadership | Advocacy

Professor Sabesan has contributed to many national guidelines and frameworks including ANZ melanoma and prostate cancer guidelines (CCA), RACP telehealth and telesupervision guidelines, Cancer Australia’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Framework, Optimal Care pathways for Indigenous patients with cancers and Clinical practice guidelines for teleoncology. He edited the web book “Clinical Oncology for medical students” in collaboration with all medical schools in Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Cancer Council of Australia.

As a passionate advocate for medical training and rural and Indigenous health, he serves as the co-chair of the COSA Australian Teletrial Consortium, chair of the QH Teletrial Working Group and steering committee member of the QH Cancer Clinical Network. In these roles, under a national project co-funded by MTP connect, COSA and the teletrial consortium, he is leading the roll-out of the Australasian Teletrial Model across Queensland and Australia in collaboration with pharmaceutical industry, trial groups, commonwealth and state governments and cancer centres.