Professor Bernhard Riedel is the Director of Anaesthesia, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Medicine at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Prior senior posts include Vice Chair at MD Anderson Cancer Centre (Texas, USA), Professor of Cardiac Anaesthesia at Vanderbilt University (USA), and Consultant Anaesthetist at Royal Brompton-Harefield NHS Trust (London, UK).
His research focuses on the “hidden pandemic” of postoperative complications and death—now the third leading cause of mortality globally—which often impedes timely cancer treatment (adjuvant therapy) and cure. His research aims to reduce these adverse outcomes through innovative risk stratification, prehabilitation, and perioperative care optimisation strategies. Bernhard has received 93 grants (>$34 M), published 250+ papers in NEJM, Lancet, JAMA and more, with >11000 citations he is on the 2025 Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List for most-cited scientists worldwide. He has co-edited three textbooks, most notably Acute Care of the Cancer Patient. He has delivered 300 invited talks (15 plenaries) and mentored 15 higher-degree trainees. His team has received 62 awards, including three Victorian Public Health Awards for quality improvement initiatives.