Chris Jackson

Christopher Glyn Charles Alexander Jackson is a New Zealand medical oncologist, who specialises in gastrointestinal cancers and melanoma. He is professor of oncology at the University of Otago, and consultant oncologist at Dunedin Hospital. Jackson is the founder of Mercy Cancer Care, and co-leader of the Cancer National Clinical Network for Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. His advocacy led to the creation of the national cancer agency Te Aho o Te Kahu, and he serves on its advisory council. He is the former medical director of the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

Early life and education Jackson was born and grew up in Oamaru, and is from a family of teachers. He decided as a teenager that he wanted to become a doctor. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School and then studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees in 2000. Jackson became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2008.

Jackson co-founded Mercy Cancer Care at Mercy Hospital in Dunedin in 2011, as a unit providing specialist oncology across the lower South Island. His research on bowel cancer treatment variations in New Zealand led to the development of national standards in cancer care and a cancer quality improvement plan. During his tenure, Jackson appeared on news and current affairs programmes discussing the "postcode lottery" of cancer care and New Zealand's poor performance in cancer care compared to Australia. and was instrumental in obtaining new drugs for melanoma patients, in particular the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (also known as Keytruda). Alongside Diana Sarfati and cancer patient Blair Vining, Jackson ran a campaign for a national cancer agency, which resulted in the publication of a ten-year Cancer Action Plan, and the establishment of national cancer agency Te Aho o Te Kahu in 2019 to enact that plan. Jackson stepped down from his role in the Cancer Society in 2021 when his wife was elected as an MP.

Jackson was chair of the South Island Bowel Cancer and the Colorectal Cancer Tumour Standards working groups, and is a member of the National Bowel Cancer Work group. He served on the Asia Pacific Regional Council of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Jackson is on the editorial board of the Journal of Global Oncology. He was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in oncology for 2025.

Personal life Jackson is married to Rachel Brooking, who was elected a list MP for Labour in 2020 general election and MP for Dunedin in 2023. They have three children.

Selected works