Programme
2026 New Zealand Skin Cancer Summit | 18 - 20 June 2026
Programme overview
Skin Surgery Masterclass
Thursday 18 June (optional)
9:00 am–12:30 pm
Advanced dermoscopy masterclass
Thursday 18 June (optional)
1.30 - 4.30 pm
2026 NZ Skin Cancer Summit
Friday 19 - Saturday 20 June
Equity in action: Bridging gaps for skin cancer
This year’s theme reflects a commitment to ensuring prevention, early detection, treatment, and support are accessible and equitable for everyone.
Delivered through keynote presentations, interactive panels, and practical workshops, the programme highlights innovative research and real-world strategies.
CME information
All delegates attending the 2026 New Zealand Skin Cancer Summit will receive a certificate of attendance.
RNZCGP Fellows:
The Summit is endorsed by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) and approved for up to 26 CME credits for CPD purposes. The Skin Surgery Masterclass is approved for 6 CME credits, and the Advanced Dermoscopy Masterclass for 5 CME credits. Credits will be uploaded directly for Fellows; no self-submission is required.
Our expert presenters
Professor Rachel Neale
Rachel is a Senior Group Leader at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, leading research on the harms and benefits of sun exposure. Her PhD was part of the landmark Nambour Trial, which showed that daily sunscreen use reduces melanoma risk. She has led major clinical trials, including one of the world’s largest studies of high-dose vitamin D and the only trial examining the impact of high-SPF sunscreen on vitamin D levels. She also chairs a United Nations Environment Program panel on the health effects of ultraviolet radiation.
Professor Amanda Oakley
Amanda is a senior dermatologist and Head of the Department of Dermatology at Te Whatu Ora Waikato. Trained in Auckland, London and Durham (UK), she has been a consultant in Waikato since 1987. She is a founder of DermNet and was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2018 for services to dermatology. She has published extensively and has a strong interest in teledermatology, medical education, and improving equitable access to care through digital innovation and artificial intelligence.
A/Professor Alex van Akkooi
Alex is an internationally recognised surgical oncologist specialising in melanoma and cutaneous oncology. He trained at Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, and previously chaired the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Centre at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, as well as the EORTC Melanoma Group. Since 2022, he has been Chair of Melanoma Surgical Oncology at Melanoma Institute Australia. He has published extensively, leads major clinical trials, and focuses on melanoma staging, surgical de-escalation, and systemic therapies.
Professor Cliff Rosendahl
Cliff Rosendahl is a general practitioner with over 50 years’ experience. Over the past two decades, his work has focused on the early diagnosis of skin cancer and melanoma. In collaboration with colleagues in Brisbane and Vienna, he co-developed the diagnostic algorithms Chaos and Clues and Prediction without Pigment. He is a Professor at the University of Queensland and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, with more than 110 peer-reviewed publications and two textbooks translated into multiple languages.
Dr Lavinia Spain
Lavinia is a medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, with a focus on melanoma and renal cancers. She undertook a Fellowship at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London and completed an MD(Res) through the Institute of Cancer Research, focused on tumour heterogeneity and evolution in melanoma. She has a strong interest in immune-related adverse events and has published widely in this area, including authorship on international guidelines. She is also a member of the ESMO Faculty of Investigational Immunotherapy.
Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences and Master of Nursing at the University of Sydney, and a Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Oncology) at the University of Tasmania. She has worked across multiple nursing specialties and developed a strong focus on cancer care. Rebecca previously served as a Melanoma Medical Oncology Clinical Nurse Consultant at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), later providing strategic oversight to a regional cancer service in New South Wales. She returned to MIA in 2023 as Program Manager for the National Melanoma Nurses Program.