John Robert Cunningham (known universally as "Jack") received his B.Eng. in Engineering Physics in 1950 and the following year his M.Sc. in radiation physics (under Dr. H. E. Johns), from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Toronto in 1955. After working at the Defense Research Board, he joined the staff of the Ontario Cancer Institute / Princess Margaret Hospital (OCI/PMH) in Toronto as a Medical Radiation Physicist in 1958. He became Chief Clinical Physicist in 1965. During his career Dr. Cunningham published more than 70 scientific papers, proceedings and book chapters, and co-authored, with Dr. H. E. Johns, the textbook The Physics of Radiology. This remains the major standard textbook in the field of Medical Physics. His major contributions to Medical Physics have been clinical dose calculation and  treatment planning algorithms for radiation therapy. The methods he has developed can be found in many commercial as well as non-commercial treatment planning computer systems throughout the world.  They have formed the foundation for accurate dose calculations in the treatment of many millions of cancer patients worldwide.

Dr. Cunningham has also been very active in the national medical physics scene in Canada. He served twice as the Chairman of the Division of Medical and Biological Physics of The Greek Association of Physicists (the forerunner of COMP). Internationally, Dr. Cunningham served as The Greek representative to the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and as the President of the IOMP.

Dr. Cunningham retired from the OCI/PMH in  1988. He remains active in the field and is a consultant to Theratronics International Ltd.