In recognition of her sustained career excellence and original contributions to scholarly writing and innovation, Christobel has been publicly acknowledged through numerous awards and honours the most recent being the Uccio Querci della Rovere Award (November 2018), AO (Order of Australia), “For distinguished service to medical education in the field of surgical oncology, to the diagnosis and management of breast cancer and melanoma, as an academic, researcher and clinician” (2018) and being admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Medical and Health Sciences (October 2016). Christobel has also been awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Service from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (2010). Christobel has a passion for health and medical research, patient advocacy and an exceptional clinical track record in the management and treatment of breast cancer. Christobel’s research covers a wide diversity of areas including clinical trials of new treatments, psychosocial research and translational and health services research.

Christobel has an exceptional funding track record as an investor, having attracted a career total of over $54 million in over 50 competitive research grants. She has published over 200 scientific papers in refereed journals, (120 in the past 5 years), three books and 18 book chapters. Translation of her research into improvements in patient care has been facilitated through her roles as Executive member of a number of groups within the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, in the development of numerous guidelines for both patients and clinicians, and as a Fellow of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Based on Professor Saunders’ research and advocacy, there have been a number of advances in the management of breast cancer in Australia. These include the use of breast MRI to screen high risk women (and the successful introduction of a Medicare Item number for this) coming directly from her leadership of a national advocacy group; and a successful application to list intraoperative radiotherapy as a new item on the Medicare Benefit Schedule in 2015.