After completing his undergraduate medical degree through the University of Melbourne in 2009, Dr Surein Arulananda successfully completed his medical oncology training through the Victorian Medical Oncology Programme in 2017 and then a laboratory-based PhD, which focused on novel therapeutics in malignant pleural mesothelioma, through the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute under the primary supervision of A/Prof Thomas John in 2020.

He has a special interest in thoracic malignancies and is the associate editor for the Journal of Thoracic Oncology Clinical Research Reports published by the IASLC. He has published over 25 peer-reviewed manuscripts, been an invited speaker both nationally and internationally and has been successful at competitive grant funding. His recent experience includes Deputy Director of Medical Oncology and Thoracic Oncology trials lead at Monash Health.

He returned to Australia in early 2022 after spending 2 years as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow under the supervision of Prof Pasi Jänne at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. His research is focused on understanding and developing novel strategies to manage minimal residual disease in oncogene driven lung cancers.

He is also currently undertaking a Master of Business Administration (commenced 2022) through the University of Melbourne and in his spare time enjoys spending time with his family and enjoying the culinary and wine delights Melbourne has on offer.