Associate Professor Dan Buchanan
Associate Professor Daniel Buchanan received his PhD in Molecular Genetics in 2010 from The University of Queensland’s School of Medicine. In 2014, he moved his laboratory to the Department of Pathology at The University of Melbourne after 10 years at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. His research focuses on the genetic architecture, molecular classification and aetiology of colorectal cancer to identify opportunities for the precision prevention of one of Australia’s most common and deadly cancers.
Associate Professor Buchanan’s research program is focused on understanding the cause/s behind the increasing incidence of early-onset bowel cancer in Australia and across the world. He has developed an internationally recognised program investigating the aetiology of unexplained colonic polyposis and familial colorectal cancer. His research has led to improvements in the diagnosis and risk management of Lynch syndrome and other hereditary colorectal cancer and polyposis syndromes. He employs a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates genetic, histopathological features, epidemiology and multi-omic approaches.
He has over 300 peer-reviewed publications on various aspects of cancer molecular pathology and epidemiology including diagnostic and translational applications for hereditary colorectal cancer and polyposis syndromes. His scholarly output ranks him among the top colorectal cancer researchers globally. He is passionate about the training and mentoring of post-graduate researchers.
Associate Professor Buchanan is one of the Principal Investigators of the NIH-funded International Colon Cancer Family Registry Cohort and is co-PI of the Australasian Colorectal Cancer Family Registry. He leads the internationally recognised ANGELS and Genetics of Colonic Polyposis studies and is co-PI of the Muir-Torre study. He is a council member of the International Society for Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumours (InSiGHT), the premier international organisation for hereditary GI cancer translational research. He is one of the chairs of the InSiGHT-ClinGen CRC-Polyposis Variant Curation Expert Panel (VCEP) – tasked with developing standardized international guidelines for classification of variants in hereditary cancer genes. He is a member of the Australian eviQ Adult Cancer Genetics Reference Committee tasked with providing national guidelines for the testing and management of hereditary cancer syndromes. He is a member of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia Cancer Genetics Special Interest Group executive committee.