Dr Sarah Ward is a genetic epidemiologist with experience in investigating the determinants of common, complex diseases. She is a Senior Research Fellow in the Medical School and the current recipient of a Department of Health WA Emerging Leaders Fellowship. She has previously held an NHMRC CJ Martin Biomedical Early Career Fellowship and spent two years as a Visiting Investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (USA). She obtained a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Management and Marketing) and a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Anatomy & Human Biology and Genetics) from The University of Western Australia, with a 1^st Class Honours degree in Anatomy & Human Biology that she undertook at The University of Western Australia and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. She subsequently graduated with a PhD in melanoma genetic epidemiology from The University of Western Australia.

Dr Ward’s primary research focus is on investigating the genetic and environmental factors affecting risk and survival in melanoma. She currently leads the scientific research program for the Western Australian Melanoma Health Study, a population-based study that she established during her PhD. She is the lead investigator for this study in large, international consortia and the development of these collaborative networks has generated a number of joint projects. She has experience working with large, population-based datasets, linked health records and international and multi-site datasets.