Rate My Professor Brian Cox

Research Associate Professor Brian Cox is the Director of the Hugh Adam Cancer Epidemiology Unit in the Department of Public Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago. He holds the qualifications BSc, MB ChB, PhD, DipComH (Otago), and FAFPHM. As Associate Professor in Cancer Screening and Epidemiology, Cox has led the unit since 1987, focusing on the epidemiology of cancers prevalent in New Zealand populations, including colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, stomach cancer, melanoma, and oral cancer. His research encompasses investigations into the causes of cancer, independent monitoring of national breast and cervical screening programmes and their impacts on incidence and mortality, evaluation of cancer screening initiatives, assessment of factors influencing cancer patterns and population trends, and contributions to the development of the New Zealand Cancer Control Strategy. A specialist in public health medicine, he designs, conducts, and evaluates cancer prevention efforts.

Cox's key projects include nationwide case-control studies on prostate cancer risk factors, the association between school milk consumption and colorectal cancer risk, cytomegalovirus infection's role in breast cancer, and delays in cancer diagnosis among Pacific Island men. He leads comparative effectiveness studies of faecal occult blood testing versus one-off flexible sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, funded by the Health Research Council, as well as melanoma risk factor analyses and trend comparisons between New Zealand and Australia. Notable publications comprise 'School milk and risk of colorectal cancer: A national case-control study' (American Journal of Epidemiology, 2011, with M. J. Sneyd), 'Breast cancer, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus: A nested case-control study' (British Journal of Cancer, 2010, with A. Richardson et al.), 'Risk factors for prostate cancer: A national case-control study' (International Journal of Cancer, 2006, with M. J. Sneyd et al.), 'Recording of hormone therapy and breast density in breast screening programs: Summary and recommendations of the International Cancer Screening Network' (Breast Cancer Research & Treatment, 2010, with international collaborators), and contributions to the IARC Working Group Report on 'Vitamin D and cancer' (2008). Representing New Zealand in the International Cancer Screening Network and International Lung Cancer Consortium, Cox collaborates on lung cancer risk prediction models and other global projects. The unit is funded by the Director's Cancer Research Trust, bequests, and research grants.