Elisabete Weiderpass, MD, MSc, PhD, is a Brazilian cancer researcher who is a naturalised Swedish and Finnish citizen. She is an expert in cancer epidemiology and cancer prevention.
In January 2019, Dr Weiderpass took office as elected Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARCO), the specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organization (WHO), based in Lyon, France. The Agency welcomes about 350 staff dedicated to cancer research. Its membership and governance is made up of 27 countries (or ‘participating States’), including Australia.
Dr Weiderpass previously served as Head of the Department of Research at the Cancer Registry of Norway, and of the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the Folkhälsan Research Center in Finland. She was a Professor of Medical Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and a Professor of Cancer Epidemiology at the Arctic University of Norway. She held Adjunct Professorship positions in Cancer Epidemiology in Brazil, China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is a Visiting Professor in Kuwait. Dr Weiderpass has authored over 800 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals.