Prof Jon Emery
Senior Faculty
Jon is the inaugural Herman Chair of Primary Care Cancer Research and an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow at the University of Melbourne, an innovative role within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC). He is also Director of the Australian Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group (PC4). He was previously Professor of General Practice and Head of the School of Primary, Aboriginal and Rural Healthcare at the University of Western Australia.
Jon moved to Australia in 2004 from the University of Cambridge and has developed a joint research programme in Australia and Cambridge on cancer and genetic medicine in primary care with CanTest Director Fiona Walter. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at Cambridge in recognition of this joint programme. Following his medical training at Cambridge and Oxford, he has had a highly successful career in academic primary care initially at Oxford, where he obtained his DPhil on cancer risk assessment tools, then at Cambridge before taking up the Chair at the University of Western Australia.
Jon’s research focuses on primary care oncology and the development and evaluation of complex interventions including computerised risk assessment and decision support systems, new screening and diagnostic technologies, symptom awareness campaigns, and the application of advances in genomic medicine in primary care. He is leading the development of Cancer Data Platform at the VCCC, which will link clinical general practice data to cancer hospital and cancer registry data. He will contribute to the CanTest research with specific focus on colorectal cancer and melanoma risk and diagnosis, and the use of big data to evaluate diagnostic tests in primary care.
Follow Jon on Twitter @ProfJonEmery
+61 4 1712 3271
University of Melbourne, AU
Screening and early diagnosis; risk assessment; genomics
- A systematic review to evaluate whether dermoscopy can be used accurately and effectively in primary care to improve the timely diagnosis of melanoma
- International comparison of FIT use across the globe in primary care symptomatic patients: A narrative view
- Establishing the diagnostic accuracy of haemoglobin in faecal immunochemical tests (FITs) and establishing a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for FITs in the English primary care symptomatic population: A cohort study in the South West of England
- Establishing the diagnostic accuracy, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of haemoglobin in faecal immunochemical tests (FITs) in the English primary care symptomatic population: a cohort study in the East of England
- Melanoma risk assessment and tailored prevention in general practice
- The clinical utility, feasibility and clinical utility of a genomic test to target bowel cancer screening
- The CRISP Trial: an RCT of computer decision support for risk-stratified colorectal cancer screening in primary care
- Studying the Continuum of Cancer Care through Linking Primary Data
- Optimising diagnostic strategies for patients presenting to primary care with upper abdominal symptoms to improve the pathway to the early detection of pancreatic cancer
- The failure to follow up abnormal test results associated with undiagnosed prevalent cancer in primary care
- Development of risk prediction models for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer
- Determining which biomarkers are ready for evaluation in primary care for use in early detection and diagnosis of gastro-intestinal cancers: a systematic review
- Understanding and implementing artificial intelligence technologies to improve skin cancer assessment in primary care settings (PhD)
- Future Health Today: A pragmatic 12-month cluster randomised controlled trial of quality improvement activities in general practice (appropriate investigation of people at increased risk of undiagnosed cancer and pharmacological therapies to reduce cardiovascular risk in people with chronic kidney disease) compared to active control
- SCRIPT: an RCT of genomic-based stratified colorectal cancer screening in primary care
- Cancer referral in younger patients – do age threshold guidelines need updating?
- Associations between co-morbidities, route to diagnosis and stage in lung cancer: a cohort study using routinely collected data
- The IC3 Trial: Identifying Cirrhosis and Liver Cancer in Primary Care
- Rubin G, Walter F, Emery J, and de Wit N. Reimagining the diagnostic pathway for gastro-intestinal cancer. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2018; doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2018.1
- Jones OT, Jurascheck LC, Utukuri M, Pannebakker MM, Emery J, Walter FM. Dermoscopy use in UK primary care: a survey of GPs with a special interest in dermatology. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.15614
- Neal RD, Sun F, Emery JD, Callister ME. Lung Cancer. BMJ, 2019, 365:I1725
- Walter FM, Thompson MJ, Wellwood I, Abel GA, Hamilton W, Johnson M, Lyratzopoulos G, Messenger MP, Neal RD, Rubin G, Singh H, Spencer A, Sutton S, Vedstead P, Emery JD. Evaluating diagnostic strategies for early detection of cancer: the CanTest framework. BMC Cancer, 2019, 19:586
- Walter FM, Thompson MJ, Wellwood I, Abel GA, Hamilton W, Johnson M, Lyratzopoulos G, Messenger MP, Neal RD, Rubin G, Singh H, Spencer A, Sutton S, Vedstead P, Emery JD. Evaluating diagnostic strategies for early detection of cancer: the CanTest framework. BMC Cancer, 2019, 19:586
- Renzi C, Kaushal A, Emery J, Hamilton W, Neal RD, Rachet B, Rubin G, Singh H, Walter FM, de Wit NJ, Lyratzopoulos G. Comorbid chronic diseases and cancer diagnosis: disease-specific effects and underlying mechanisms. Nature Reviews: Clinical Oncology, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-019-0249-6
- Jones OT, Jurascheck LC, van Melle MA, Hickman S, Burrows NP, Hall PN, Emery J, Walter FM. Dermoscopy for melanoma detection and triage in primary care: a systematic review. BMJ Open, 2019, 9:e027529
- Funston G, Van Melle M, Ladegaard Baun M-L, Jensen H, Helsper C, Emery J, Crosbie EJ, Thompson M, Hamilton W, Walter F. Variation in the initial assessment and investigation for ovarian cancer in symptomatic women: a systematic review of international guidelines. BMC Cancer, 2019, 19:1028 doi:10.1186/s12885-019-6211-2
- Chima S, Reece JC, Milley K, Milton S, McIntosh JG, Emery J. Decision support tools to improve cancer diagnostic decision making in primary care: a systematic review. British Journal of General Practice, 2019, doi: 10.3399/bjgp19X706745
- Walter FM, Pannebakker MP, Barclay ME, Mills K, Saunders CL, Murchie P, Corrie P, Hall P, Burrows N, Emery JD. Effect of a Skin Self-monitoring Smartphone Application on Time to Physician Consultation Among Patients With Possible Melanoma: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 2020, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.0001
- Habgood E, Walter FM, O’Hare E, McIntosh J, McCormack C, Emery JD. Using an electronic self-completion tool to identify patients at increased risk of melanoma in Australian primary care. Austalasian Journal of Dermatology, 2020, doi: 10.1111/ajd.13244
- Jones OT, Calanzani N, Saji S, Duffy SW, Emery J, Hamilton W, Singh H, de Wit N, Walter F. Application of artificial intelligence to electronic health records for early detection and diagnosis of cancer in primary care: a Systematic Review. JMIR, 2020:23483, doi: 10.2196/preprints.23483
- Saya S, McIntosh J, Winship I, Clendenning M, Milton S, Oberoi J, Dowty J, Buchanan D, Jenkins M, Emery J. A genomic test for colorectal cancer risk: is this acceptable and feasible in primary care? Public Health Genomics, 2020, doi: 10.1159/000508963
- Archer S, De Villiers CB, Scheibl F, Carver T, Hartley S, Lee A, Cunningham AP, Easton DF, McIntosh JG, Emery J, Tischkowitz M, Antoniou AC, Walter FM. Evaluating clinician acceptability of the prototype CanRisk tool for predicting risk of breast and ovarian cancer: A multi-methods study. PLoS ONE, 2020, 15(3): e0229999, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229999
- Helsper CW, Campbell C, Emery J, Neal RD, Li L, Rubin G, van Weert H, Vedsted P, Walter FM, Weller D, Nekhlyudov L. Cancer has not gone away: A Primary Care perspective to support a balanced approach for timely cancer diagnosis during COVID-19. Euro J Cancer Care, 2020, e13290, doi: 10.1111/ecc.13290
- Funston G, Hardy V, Abel, G, Crosbie EJ, Emery J, Hamilton W, Walter FM. Identifying Ovarian Cancer in Symptomatic Women: A Systematic Review of Clinical Tools. Cancers 2020, 12, 3686. doi: 10.3390/cancers12123686
- Calanzani N, Druce PE, Snudden C, Milley KM, Boscott R, Behiyat D, Saji S, Martinez Gutierrez J, Oberoi J, Funston G, Messenger M, Emery J, Walter FM. Identifying Novel Biomarkers Ready for Evaluation in Low-Prevalence Populations for the Early Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Systematic Review. Adv Ther (2020). doi: 10.1007/s12325-020-01571-z
- Forster AS, Rubin G, Emery J, Thompson M, Sutton S, de Wit N, Walter FM, Lyratzopoulos G. Measuring patient experience of diagnostic care and acceptability of testing. De Gruyter, 2021, doi: 10.1515/dx-2020-0112
- Jones OT, Calanzani N, Saji S, Duffy SW, Emery J, Hamilton W, Singh H, de Wit NJ, Walter FM. Artificial Intelligence Techniques That May Be Applied to Primary Care Data to Facilitate Earlier Diagnosis of Cancer: Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res, 2021;23(3):e23483. doi: 10.2196/23483
- Reece JC, Neal EFG, Nguyen P, McIntosh JG, Emery JD. Delayed or failure to follow-up abnormal breast cancer screening mammograms in primary care: a systematic review. BMC Cancer, 2021, 21:373, doi: 10.1186/s12885-021-08100-3
- Boennelykke A, Jensen H, Østgård LSG, Falborg AZ, Christensen KS, Hansen AT, Emery J, Vedsted P. Insufficient classification of anaemia in general practice: a Danish register-based observational study. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 2021. doi:10.1080/02813432.2021.1958499
- Habgood E, McCormack C, Walter FM, Emery JD. Patients’ Experiences of Using Skin Self-monitoring Apps With People at Higher Risk of Melanoma: Qualitative Study. JMIR Dermatol 2021;4(2):e22583 doi: 10.2196/22583
- Saya S, McIntosh JG, Winship IM, Milton S, Clendenning M, Kyriakides M, Emery J, et al. Informed choice and attitudes regarding a genomic test to predict risk of colorectal cancer in general practice. Patient Education and Counseling, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2021.08.008
- Wood A, Emery JD, Jenkins M, Chondros P, Campbell T, Wenkart E, O’Reilly C, Cowie T, Dixon I, Toner J, Khalajzadeh H, Gutierrez JM, Govan L, Buckle G, McIntosh JG. The SMARTscreen Trial: a randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy of a GP-endorsed narrative SMS to increase participation in the Australian National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. Trials. 2022 Jan;23(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05877-3
- Hardy V, Yue A, Archer S, Merriel SWD, Thompson M, Emery J, Usher-Smith J, Walter FM. Role of primary care physician factors on diagnostic testing and referral decisions for symptoms of possible cancer: a systematic review. BMJ Open 2022;12:e053732. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053732
- di Martino E, Smith L, Bradley SH, Hemphill S, Wright J, Renzi C, Bergin R, Emery J, Neal RD. Incidence trends for twelve cancers in younger adults—a rapid review. Br J Cancer (2022). doi: 10.1038/s41416-022-01704-x
- Venning B, Saya S, De Abreu Lourenco R, Street DJ, Emery JD. Preferences for a polygenic test to estimate cancer risk in a general Australian population, Aug 2022, Genetics in Medicine. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2022.07.011
- Chima S, Martinez-Gutierrez J, Hunter B, Manski-Nankervis J, Emery J. Optimization of a Quality Improvement Tool for Cancer Diagnosis in Primary Care: Qualitative Study. JMIR Form Res 2022;6(8):e39277. doi: 10.2196/39277
- Jones OT, Matin RN, van der Schaar M, Prathivadi Bhayankaram K, Ranmuthu CKI, Islam MS, Behiyat D, Boscott R, Calanzani N, Emery J, Williams HC, Walter FM. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for early detection of skin cancer in community and primary care settings: a systematic review. The Lancet Digital Health June 2022. doi: 10.1016/S2589-7500(22)00023-1