Our Doctors
Oncologists & Geriatric Cancer Care Specialist
Professor Gary Richardson OAM
Haematologist/Oncologist, Medical Oncologist
Professor Gary Richardson OAM is the Director of Oncology Clinics Victoria, Director of Cabrini Academic Haematology & Oncology Services and a Professor of Medicine at Monash University. He previously held the position of Director, Department of Medical Oncology & Clinical Haematology at Monash Medical Centre. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He trained at St Vincent’s Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Institute in the United States.
Dr Paul Viray
Geriatric Medicine Physician, Medical Oncologist
Dr Paul Viray is a dual qualified Medical Oncologist and Geriatrician. He is currently Chair of the Geriatric Oncology Community of Practice for the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) and an executive member of their geriatric oncology special interest groups working to help optimise the management of older adults with cancer in Australia.
Combining his dual training as a geriatric physician and medical oncologist, Dr Viray provides tailored cancer care specifically for older adults.
He is the creator of the “Viray-CGA,” a cancer-specific comprehensive geriatric assessment he uses to optimise both the oncological and geriatric needs of his patients concurrently.
While Dr Viray is trained to manage all cancer types across all ages, he prioritises the care of older adults who have a cancer diagnosis or require assessment for suspected cancer.
Dr Matthew Loft
Medical Oncologist
Dr Matthew Loft is a Medical Oncologist dedicated to advancing personalised cancer care in both public and private health care. With an additional degree in Pharmacy, he has a unique perspective to clinical practice, anti-cancer therapeutics and research.
Dr Loft prides himself on the delivery of healthcare in a compassionate and empathic way to each individual and is committed to improving treatment outcomes by developing new technologies designed to craft tailored dosing strategies for all patients. Dr Loft treats all tumour streams, however has a particular interest in treating lung, gastrointestinal cancers and melanoma, and is an advocate for getting patients onto clinical trials.
Alongside his clinical practice, Dr Loft also works at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and University of Melbourne, combining extensive teaching and numerous publications. His passion is shifting cancer care from generic approaches, to treatments that meet the individual needs of each patient.
Dr Shehara Mendis
Medical Oncologist
Dr Shehara Mendis is a medical oncologist working with the Oncology Clinical Trials Program at Cabrini Health, specifically focusing on upper and lower gastrointestinal trials. She is passionate about providing empathic, patient-centred care and getting patients onto clinical trials.
Dr Mendis also works with Cabrini’s Department of Surgery’s Research Team to harness natural synergies between oncological and surgical research programs. She has been involved in the development and implementation of a cell-free DNA collection protocol for upper GI tract cancers while completing a Canadian fellowship, translational research in upper and lower GI tumours within a whole genome sequencing program, as well as clinical outcomes research and quality improvement in clinical trials.
Dr Prachi Bhave
Medical Oncologist
Dr Prachi Bhave is a Medical Oncologist and leads the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at Cabrini. She is also the Monash Comprehensive Cancer Consortium (MPCCC) genomics fellow. Dr. Bhave oversees the screening, enrolment and management of patients with advanced cancer participating in early phase clinical trials.
The trials program at Cabrini is robust and varied, involving several new and exciting therapies for treatment refractory solid organ malignancies. Through the incorporation of a patient’s genomic sequencing information, patients are matched to clinical trials that best suit their tumour’s mutational profile, reflecting a personalised treatment approach that is of vital importance in the current era of precision medicine.