Robert is an epidemiologist with over 20 years’ experience in the design and analysis of studies examining the role of genetic and environmental causes of chronic diseases, particularly cancer. He has worked on large cohort studies and twin studies, as well as family study designs.

Robert is Head of the CED Prostate Cancer Program, which includes The Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer Study (RFPCS), The Early-Onset Prostate Cancer Family Study (EOPCFS) and the Lifestyle and Genetic Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer Study (LGRFPCS).

Robert has had a long-standing involvement with large international collaborations. He also collaborates closely with the Australian population-level relevance of risk factors for cancer pooling project. His main research interests are risk-prediction models for cancer and obesity research. He currently leads two project grants using the Harvard Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer (DCPP) that explores population-level relevance of risk factors and how family history modifies risk of cancer due to lifestyle factors.