Professor David William Kissane, AC (born 1951) is an Australian psychiatrist specialising in

psychiatric oncology Psycho-oncology is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physical, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of the cancer experience for both patients and caregivers. Also known as psychiatric oncology or psychosocial oncology, r ...

and

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

. Since 2018, he has been the inaugural Chair in Palliative Medicine Research at the

University of Notre Dame Australia The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) is a national Roman Catholic private university with campuses in and in Western Australia and Sydney in New South Wales. The university also has eight clinical schools as part of its school of med ...

. He has also held professorships at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

(Foundation Professor and Director of Palliative Medicine, 1996–2003),

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

in New York City (Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and inaugural

Jimmie C. Holland Jimmie Coker Holland (April 9, 1928 – December 24, 2017) was a founder of the field of psycho-oncology.National Library of Medicine, Changing the Face of MedicineDr. Jimmie C. HollandPage accessed March 28, 2016 In 1977, she worked with two ...

Chair in Psychiatric Oncology, 2003–2012; concurrently Professor of Psychiatry at

Weill Medical College of Cornell University The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with NewY ...

), and

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

(Head, Department of Psychiatry, 2012–2019). In 2008, he received the Arthur M. Sutherland Award of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS). On 26 January 2018 he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. Professor Kissane has been described as an "opponent of euthanasia legislation who co-authored a landmark report with Dr Nitschke into the deaths that occurred under the NT's euthanasia laws". In May 2020, he was awarded a AU$1.06 million grant for a research project on improving the care of palliative care patients with mental illness or emotional distress.

References

1951 births Australian psychiatrists Companions of the Order of Australia Living people University of Notre Dame Australia people Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Academic staff of Monash University Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty Knights of Malta {{Australia-med-bio-stub