Surein Arulananda

A/Prof Surein Arulananda, MBBS, BMedSci, PhD, FRACP is Deputy Director of Medical Oncology and leads Thoracic Oncology trials at Monash Health. He holds adjunct associate professorial roles at Monash University and Sydney University. He has a particular interest in EGFR and KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, and mesothelioma. He completed his Medical Oncology training through the prestigious Victorian Medical Oncology Programme and earned a laboratory-based PhD at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute with Prof Thomas John, focusing on novel therapeutics in pleural mesothelioma.

A/Prof Surein Arulananda furthered his research experience with a post-doctoral fellowship under Prof Pasi Jänne at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, specialising in minimal residual disease in oncogene-addicted non-small cell lung cancer. His commitment to developing new treatment strategies includes roles as an associate editor (Journal of Thoracic Oncology Clinical Research Reports, IASLC) and co-chair of the TOGA scientific committee for small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma, as well as an IACLC member on the Basic and Translational Science Committee.

His achievements comprise over 40 peer-reviewed publications, successful grant funding (~$3.4M from NHMRC as chief investigator), and invitations to speak at international conferences. He acts as a primary investigator on multiple Phase I–III studies, including coordinating primary investigator roles and trial steering committees, and has oversight responsibilities in innovative clinical trial design. He balances his academic work with a recently completed MBA from the University of Melbourne and is highly regarded for integrating translational science expertise with practical clinical leadership.

Research areas:

  • Trials and translational research
  • Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Novel therapeutics
  • Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Mesothelioma

Professional membership(s):

  • Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA)
  • European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)
  • Thoracic Oncology Group of Australia (TOGA)