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Sarah-Jane Dawson FAHMS is an Australian clinician-scientist. She is a consultant medical oncologist and head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory [1] at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Her current research interests are focused on the development of noninvasive blood-based biomarkers ('liquid biopsies') [2] for clinical application, including early detection, risk stratification and disease monitoring in cancer management.
Dawson obtained her medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 1998, and trained as a medical oncologist in Melbourne, Australia. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge and performed postdoctoral studies at the Cambridge Research Institute, UK. She returned to Melbourne in 2014 to lead a research laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. [1] Dawson was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2020. [3]
Dawson has international recognition for her contributions to translational cancer research. A major focus of her current research involves the study of cell-free circulating tumour DNA in patients with cancer. [4] Many cancers shed small amounts of DNA (called circulating tumour DNA) into the patient's bloodstream which can be measured for clinical applications in cancer management. Dawson's recent research has shown the application of circulating tumour DNA testing for disease monitoring in various cancer types. She has received ongoing support from high-profile Australian organisations including the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), National Breast Cancer Foundation, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society and Australian Cancer Research Foundation. Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson works with her husband Professor Mark Dawson and the clinician team to develop a simple blood test which is a liquid biopsy to monitor blood cancers and it is the alternative way to the traditional biopsies which can be invasive bone marrow or lymph node tissue biopsies. [5] Sarah-Jane with her husband Prof. Dawson and the clinician team have also identified the evidence that the cancer stem cells develops resistance to therapies which helps the development of the effectiveness of new drugs. [6]
2013 Dawson SJ, Tsui D, Murtaza M, Biggs, H, Rueda OM, Chin, SF, Dunning MJ, Gale, D, Forshew T, Mahler-Araujo B, Rajan S, Humphray S, Becq J, Halshall D, Wallis M, Bentley D, Caldas C, Rosenfeld N. Analysis of Circulating Tumor DNA to Monitor Metastatic Breast Cancer. March 28 2013; 368:1199-1209.
A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist; it may also be analyzed chemically. When an entire lump or suspicious area is removed, the procedure is called an excisional biopsy. An incisional biopsy or core biopsy samples a portion of the abnormal tissue without attempting to remove the entire lesion or tumor. When a sample of tissue or fluid is removed with a needle in such a way that cells are removed without preserving the histological architecture of the tissue cells, the procedure is called a needle aspiration biopsy. Biopsies are most commonly performed for insight into possible cancerous or inflammatory conditions.
Joseph Frank Sambrook was a British molecular biologist known for his studies of DNA oncoviruses and the molecular biology of normal and cancerous cells.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in Melbourne, Victoria. The centre is named in honour of Sir Peter MacCallum. Since June 2016, the centre has been located within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) in Parkville.
Sir Peter MacCallum was a Scottish-born Australian oncologist and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
Ian Olver AM is an Australian medical oncologist, cancer researcher and bio-ethicist. He is a former chief executive officer of Cancer Council Australia and a noted authority and media commentator on cancer issues.
Jane Visvader is a scientist specialising in breast cancer research who works for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia. She is the joint head of the Breast Cancer Laboratory with Geoff Lindeman.
Michelle Haber is an Australian cancer researcher.
Judith Ann Clements is an Australian academic and educator, specializing in Kallikrein proteases in prostate and ovarian cancers. Clements is the Scientific Director at the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – Queensland and was head of the Cancer Research Program at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) of Queensland University of Technology at the Translational Research Institute (Australia) from 1997–2014.
Alicia Yinema Kate Nungarai Oshlack is an Australian bioinformatician and is Co-Head of Computational Biology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is best known for her work developing methods for the analysis of transcriptome data as a measure of gene expression. She has characterized the role of gene expression in human evolution by comparisons of humans, chimpanzees, orangutans, and rhesus macaques, and works collaboratively in data analysis to improve the use of clinical sequencing of RNA samples by RNAseq for human disease diagnosis.
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is tumor-derived fragmented DNA in the bloodstream that is not associated with cells. ctDNA should not be confused with cell-free DNA (cfDNA), a broader term which describes DNA that is freely circulating in the bloodstream, but is not necessarily of tumor origin. Because ctDNA may reflect the entire tumor genome, it has gained traction for its potential clinical utility; “liquid biopsies” in the form of blood draws may be taken at various time points to monitor tumor progression throughout the treatment regimen.
A liquid biopsy, also known as fluid biopsy or fluid phase biopsy, is the sampling and analysis of non-solid biological tissue, primarily blood. Like traditional biopsy, this type of technique is mainly used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool for diseases such as cancer, with the added benefit of being largely non-invasive. Liquid biopsies may also be used to validate the efficiency of a cancer treatment drug by taking multiple samples in the span of a few weeks. The technology may also prove beneficial for patients after treatment to monitor relapse.
Health Translation Queensland is the first Advanced Health Research Translation Centre in Queensland, Australia. The organisation’s purpose is to strengthen the linkages between healthcare, research and education in order to deliver better health outcomes for the community. By encouraging and supporting collaboration, BDHP assists the translation and integration of cutting-edge research and innovation into healthcare delivery.
Caroline Dive is a British cancer research scientist. Dive is Professor of Cancer Pharmacology at the University of Manchester, Deputy Director of the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Manchester Institute, Director of the CRUK Manchester Institute Cancer Biomarker Centre and co-director of the CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence. She is the current President of The European Association for Cancer Research (EACR).
Ruth Plummer FMedSci is a Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at Newcastle University and an oncologist specialising in treating patients with melanoma. Based in Newcastle, she directs the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, set up by the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to run early-stage clinical trials.v Plummer and the Newcastle team won a 2010 Translational Cancer Research Prize from Cancer Research UK for work using rucaparib to treat ovarian cancer.. Plummer was elected as a fellow of the UK's Academy of Medical Sciences in 2018.
Dr. Misty R. Jenkins is an Australian scientist known for her research into lymphocytes and cancer treatment.
Professor Susan J. Clark is an Australian biomedical researcher in epigenetics of development and cancer. She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2015, and is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Principal Research Fellow and Research Director and Head of Genomics and Epigenetics Division at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Clark developed the first method for bisulphite sequencing for DNA methylation analysis and used it to establish that the methylation machinery of mammalian cells is capable of both maintenance and de novo methylation at CpNpG sites and showed is inheritable. Clark's research has advanced understanding of the role of DNA methylation, non-coding RNA and microRNA in embryogenesis, reprogramming, stem cell development and cancer and has led to the identification of epigenomic biomarkers in cancer. Clark is a founding member of the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC) and President of the Australian Epigenetics Alliance (AEpiA).
Helmy Eltoukhy is an American scientist and entrepreneur, best known for his contributions to genomics, semiconductor DNA sequencing, and personalized medicine. The co-founder of startups Avantome and Guardant Health, Eltoukhy was named to Time Magazine’s inaugural 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare (2018) and Fortune’s 40 under 40 (2017). Acquired by Illumina in 2008, Avantome was founded to develop and commercialize semiconductor-based DNA sequencing, during the race for the $1,000 genome. Guardant Health was founded to pioneer non-invasive liquid biopsy approaches for cancer diagnosis, monitoring, personalized medicine treatment, and research.
Professor James D Brenton is a clinician scientist and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Professor of Ovarian Cancer Medicine in the Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge. He is an Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Ovarian Cancer Domain Lead for the 100,000 Genomes Project by Genomics England, and Co-Founder and Clinical Advisor to Inivata Ltd, a clinical cancer genomics company.
Sherene Loi is an Australian oncologist. She is the 2021 winner of the Australian Prime Ministers Prize for Science, in the category of Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. Loi is Head of Translational Breast Cancer Research, within the Peter Macallum Cancer Centre. Loi's research has advanced understanding into breast cancer, developing and implementing an immune system biomarker. This biomarker will enable improved management for people with advanced cancer. This biomarker is now part of routine pathology reporting across many countries and also is included in the World Health Organisation Classification of Tumours.
Carolyn Mary Sue is an Australian physician-scientist, professor and research director. She has been the Executive Director of the Kolling Institute of Medical Research since 2019 and is also Director of Neurogenetics at Royal North Shore Hospital, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, and Director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research. Sue specialises in complex neurogenetic conditions and runs tertiary referral clinics for patients with diseases such as Parkinson's, mitochondrial diseases, and other inherited movement disorders. Her research has identified several previously-unknown mutations that cause neurogenetic disease.