https://www.lowycancerseminar.org/home daily 1.0 2025-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/ddd9d093-e901-40d4-bd37-6e027b940ea4/logos_both.jpg Home - Next seminar: Dr. Jessamy Tiffen 11am, Tuesday 18th Nov, 2025 Location: Berg Seminar Room, L6 Kirby Institute, Wallace Wurth, UNSW In person and online (click speaker link for seminar and zoom details) * *We continue to run seminars in hybrid mode to accommodate remote work, but if you are on campus please join us in person if you can. Organised by: Brittney Harrington (UNSW, School of Clinical Medicine, Adult Cancer Program) Julie Thoms (UNSW, School of Biomedical Sciences, Adult Cancer Program) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/08edd795-e068-47d0-9c7b-413ee4f6fbda/Jessamy+tiffen.jpg Home - WhY SeXX matters in the survival from melanoma Head of the Melanoma Epigenetics Group Acting Deputy Director, Centre for Cancer Innovations, Centenary Institute In person: Kirby Institute Berg Seminar Room, Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, UNSW Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/a92d09f7-0a37-447e-a225-aac957c2acfb/026A6563.jpg Home - Dr. Karolin Heinze EDGE Research Lab, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia (CA) Profiling ovarian cancer histotypes by transcriptional and epigenomic signatures In person: AGSM Colonial Theatre (G06), UNSW Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/d396baf6-a9ac-4238-b8b5-e522e5b6651c/Dinny_Graham_008.png Home - Dr Dinny Graham Deputy Director of the Centre for Cancer Research at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research Breaking through: understanding how breast cancer develops and predicting its progression In person: Kirby Institute Berg Seminar Room Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building, UNSW Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/6849c468-d0a2-4057-8795-66e8576125f9/Roman+Polishchuk.png Home - Dr Roman Polishchuk Head of Membrane Sorting and Biogenesis Laboratory, and Advanced Microscopy and Imaging Core - Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Italy When Essential Turns Lethal: Copper-Induced Cell Damage and Cancer in Wilson Disease In person: Pioneer International Theatre, AGSM Building, UNSW Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/22f0cc26-146c-411b-945c-3252f554d958/bonifer.png Home - Professor Constanze Bonifer Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | Blood Development Group | Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine, reNEW Melbourne Gene Regulatory Network Dynamics and deregulated growth in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: AP-1 and RUNX1 at the centre In person: The Kirby Institute Berg Family Foundation Seminar Room Level 6, Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/be494e75-29aa-4588-ba01-a61c237fefe9/Prof+Shai+Izraeli+short+Bio+020225.jpg Home - Professor Shai Izraeli Pediatric Hematology Oncology Division at the Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel JAK as a reckless driver In person: John Beveridge Lecture Theatre, Level 1, Sydney Children’s Hospital Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/040d628d-b598-47ee-9101-0646fe84f780/J%26A_Mater_JohnHooper_022.jpg Home - Professor John Hooper Cancer Biology Research Group, Mater Research – University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia A novel antibody target for molecular imaging and treatment of cancers of the ovary, breast and pancreas In person: Patricia O'Shane, G04 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/cc6d8b65-e50a-41df-9884-6615a432e6a7/Steve_Lane-crop.jpg Home - Professor Steven Lane Gordon & Jessie Gilmour Leukaemia Research Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia Translation of genomic findings to improve outcomes in blood cancer In person: Kirby Seminar Room, WW level 6 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/ee9d82b3-c609-4395-8ba5-af650fd2ca42/BWilhelm_MG_3354_crop.jpg Home - A/Prof Brian Wilhelm Principal Investigator, High-Throughput Genomics Research Unit, IRIC. Genomics Core Facility Scientific Direction. Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Canada Large scale drug screens of human engineered acute leukemias and genetically matched patients In person: Kirby Seminar Room, WW level 6 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/6f7f325f-d23f-45d1-8caf-b3ca4096526f/pfaffel1.jpg Home - Prof Michael Pfaffl Animal Physiology & Immunology, TUM School of Life Science, Technische Universität München, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany 15 Years MIQE Guidelines – From RT-qPCR to RNA Sequencing for RNA Biomarker Discovery in Molecular Diagnostics In person: Kirby Seminar Room, WW level 6 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/0a60a6cc-49ae-4d2e-80d8-895dfcb31208/Foto-Ruud_Delwel_KL_crop.jpg Home - Prof Ruud Delwel Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Netherlands Evil genes in acute myeloid leukemia In person: Kirby Seminar Room, WW level 6 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/e469939a-35d4-4d4a-8701-95a8a9216223/David.jpg Home - Prof David Gallego Ortega University of Technology Sydney Next generation immunotherapy in breast cancer, targeting the innate immune system to prevent metastasis In person: Wallace Wurth LG02 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/76f961f5-2f4c-4668-b000-cdaaadc75b95/TremblayC_A23I1406_compressed.jpg Home - Dr Cedric Tremblay University of Manitoba (Canada) Translating discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies for pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia In person: Wallace Wurth LG03 Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/86aaadb7-0f24-4ac8-858d-610477310be8/Frank2.jpeg Home - Prof Frank Speleman Replication fork competence: a druggable vulnerability in neuroblastoma Ghent University, Belgium https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/b885c8a4-9469-46cc-a0e4-b5f7d2b2526e/Megan+Hitchins+Headshot.jpg Home - Prof Megan Hitchins Cedars Sinai, Los Angeles, USA Title: Application of a minimal panel of methylated circulating tumor DNAs for the detection and monitoring of colorectal cancer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/4431db97-0167-4233-9e1a-2f018849219a/TF+photo.jpg Home - Spark talk: Teagan Fisher UNSW Sydney Methylated cell-free DNA biomarkers for the detection of early-stage ovarian cancer Bio: Teagan Fisher is a research assistant in the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group (GCRG) at UNSW. She completed her Bachelor of Advanced Science (Pre-Medicine) at UTS in 2018 and undertook her Bachelor of Medical Science honours project in 2019, which involved developing a CRISPR-Cas9 model for the screening of drugs with therapeutic relevance to Parkinson’s disease. Since joining the GCRG in 2020, Teagan has worked on using methylated cell-free DNA as a biomarker for ovarian cancer diagnosis and has published on improving the recovery efficiency of cell-free DNA after bisulfite-conversion. She is involved with advocacy and fundraising for the CAMILLA AND MARC “Ovaries. Talk About Them.” campaign, which has raised over a million dollars dedicated to the GCRG’s ovarian cancer early detection research. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/b4eb0cb7-d043-4fac-bbec-170b489c0d36/Picture1%5B15%5D.png Home - Prof Robert Haile Cedars Sinai Cancer, Los Angeles, USA Title: Cancer Disparities Research at the Cancer Research Center for Health Equity, Cedars Sinai Cancer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/8e6fb309-cb7a-4431-b964-6f990e90248e/Photo.jpg Home - Nicolas Fossat University of Copenhagen Title: Exploring (and Conquering?) the RNA World https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/992c507e-8316-47d4-98f9-37a951be116e/TomTaghon.jpeg Home - Prof Tom Taghon Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University Title: Molecular mechanisms driving human T cell development https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/99c6427f-f43a-4ac8-857a-cbc9fefb6271/photo.jpg Home - Spark talk: Dr Cara Toscan Children’s Cancer Institute Therapeutic targeting of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using an AKR1C3-activated prodrug Bio: Cara Toscan is a post-doctoral researcher in the Leukaemia Biology group at the Children’s Cancer Institute. Cara completed her PhD in 2016 at the Children’s Cancer Institute which focused on developing glucocorticoid sensitisers for paediatric B-ALL. Her current research focuses on the preclinical development of AKR1C3-activated prodrugs for T-ALL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/ed3a1e25-ea3b-4a6e-9488-888d2cef23e4/DanielHo.jpg Home - Dr Daniel Ho Novartis, USA DRUG-seq: Discovering the possibilities of mechanism and drug discovery with high-throughput RNAseq https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/3deea7f1-0529-4020-862d-1897577864f1/Edwin_Cuppen.png Home - Prof Edwin Cuppen University Medical Center in Utrecht Routine whole genome sequencing-based cancer diagnostics for precision medicine and enabling research Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/309e04ac-58d2-4332-bd13-63cacfadeea7/MicrosoftTeams-image+%2812%29.png Home - Spark talk: Dr Patrick Connerty CCI Sydney Making a paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia patient derived xenograft panel for pre-clinical research Bio: Dr Patrick Connerty is an early career researcher with expertise in non-coding RNA biology, bioinformatics and xenograft models of paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Dr Connerty was awarded a PhD in RNA biology from the University of Technology Sydney in 2017 where he investigated the role of RNA binding proteins in non-coding RNA biogenesis. He then joined the Children’s Cancer Institute where he is currently a senior member of the Leukaemia Biology group. Dr Connerty is project leader of the group's AML research team and his main research focus is on the development of xenograft models of paediatric AML in humanised mice for preclinical research. He is also currently leading research efforts into investigating the roles and therapeutic potential of long non-coding RNAs in paediatric AML. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/3c1dcd4e-2e5a-4177-8163-1d6f5a050c05/2019-08-22_Headshots-for-BABS_Fatemeh-Vafaee-2.JPG Home - A/Prof Fatemeh Vafaee School of BABS, UNSW Sydney Big data and Artificial Intelligence: driving personalised medicine of the future Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/798b0b39-36b5-4615-97b7-de8b67d6b284/tmp_e3f4c66d-cf15-4f9d-8910-bbccb80e16a0.jpeg Home - Spark talk: Mehdi Rafeie UNSW Sydney Microfluidics—An Enabling Technology for Precision Oncology https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/021c5b8f-907a-424f-8fe0-e80a3c7ff067/Eisenstat%2C+Professor+David.jpg Home - Prof David Eisenstat Murdoch Children's Research Institute Can we link brain development and paediatric high grade gliomas? Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/41d5bf5a-dbf1-4f7a-b29d-9bfdc113e9c1/Holly+Holliday_reduced-size.jpg Home - Spark talk: Dr Holly Holliday Children’s Cancer Institute Bio: Holly Holliday is a post-doc in the Brain Tumour group at the Children’s Cancer Institute. Holly completed her PhD in 2018 at the Garvan Institute where she investigated regulation of mammary stem cells by HLH transcription factors. She then undertook a post-doc at the Garvan researching the therapeutic potential and mechanism of microRNAs in neuroblastoma. Her current research is focused on epigenetic targeted therapies in Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG), particularly the FACT inhibitor CBL0137. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/a32f9406-180c-4f50-81d5-b0d1ee88f33a/ASB2440-PROSTATE-HI-023.jpg Home - A/Prof Luke Selth Flinders University New insights into mechanisms of therapy resistance in lethal prostate cancer Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/e3dc2dfa-6312-45d0-878d-2edebec87138/IMG_9539.JPG Home - Spark talk: Dr Dongli Liu UNSW Sydney Title: Advanced patient-derived preclinical models for ovarian cancer Bio: Dr Dongli Liu is an early career researcher within the School of Women's and Children's Health at the Lowy Cancer Research Centre. After completing her PhD in 2018, Dongli joined the Gynaecological Cancer Research Group as a research officer working on novel Wnt targets for therapeutic potential in gynaecological cancer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/197524fd-5dd9-49dc-9976-9343d5971baf/JWP-0140.jpg Home - A/Prof Matt Dun University of Newcastle Systems biology to unlock the metabolic and therapeutic vulnerabilities of diffuse midline glioma Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/9a7e74a7-151d-4050-8cf6-5dbdf30d4ede/IMG_2077+copy.jpg Home - Spark talk: Dr Jackie Huang Children’s Cancer Institute Title: Understanding the epigenetic landscape and chemo-resistance of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia Bio: I am a post-doctoral researcher in the Functional Genomics of Leukaemia group at Children’s Cancer Institute. My research focuses on elucidating the epigenetic mechanism of drug resistance in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using molecular biology tools, next generation sequencing data, and animal models. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/7214c706-d091-4154-a0d6-f84fc5b18ec1/Wong%2C+Jason_Cropped+A.jpg Home - A/Prof Jason Wong University of Hong Kong Uncovering mutational processes and functional transposable elements from cancer genomics data Zoom link https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/7b90abbb-0337-494e-87a2-edeeb244b6bc/alex.jpg Home - A/Prof Alex Swarbrick Garvan Institute of Medical Research Exploring breast cancer ecosystems with Cellular Genomics https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/986bdff8-6cd2-4245-b6ad-c334158f71e1/kate.jpg Home - Spark talk: Dr Kate Guan Adult Cancer Program, UNSW Title: Developing a physiologically relevant cancer explant model for preclinical drug testing Bio: Kate Guan is a postdoctoral researcher from the Translational Cancer Metabolism Laboratory led by Prof. Jeff Holst. She was awarded her PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2017. Her current research focuses on the role of amino acid uptake by cancer cells and cancer metabolism in prostate cancer, breast cancer and melanoma to elucidate nutrient stress signalling pathways regulating cancer cell survival and ultimately develop novel strategies for cancer therapy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/1622f9ac-c2a6-4d79-9464-f4e349a281ae/_F0A0034_Square1.jpg Home - Dr. Heather Lee The University of Newcastle Treatment-induced epigenetic heterogeneity has implications for leukaemia cell growth https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/5ffd0356-d780-4e2d-8c43-ab9795d65f78/gp.jpeg Home - Spark talk: Dr. Givanna Putri School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Title: When computer science meets biomedical research, inside the life of interdisciplinary early-career researcher Bio: Givanna Putri is a postdoctoral researcher from the data-driven biomedicine research group led by Dr. Fabio Zanini and the stem cell research group led by Prof. John Pimanda. She has a keen interest in both single-cell multi-omics and machine learning. Her training includes a Bachelor in Computer Science (hons) and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Sydney, where she investigated the use of machine learning to better understand the temporal development of immune response. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/6f8701ba-7942-48df-9c86-61f1d93d6850/Tatyana_Chtanova.jpg Home - Dr. Tatyana Chtanova Garvan Institute of Medical Research Infection, cancer and wound repair through the lens of intravital imaging https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/11d081b2-7636-4d8f-b7c9-b3cc3ae68534/Marilisa_Cortesi.png Home - Spark talk: Dr. Marilisa Cortesi School of Women's and Children's Health, UNSW Title: Computational models in personalized medicine, opportunities and challenges Bio: Dr. Marilisa Cortesi is Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow working on the development of computational models that could help identify the most effective treatment for specific ovarian cancer patients. She holds a PhD in Bioengineering, awarded in 2017 from the University of Bologna (Italy) and has worked extensively at the interface between in-silico and in-vitro technologies, contributing to their integration in a unified platform for fundamental and preclinical research. https://www.lowycancerseminar.org/past-speakers daily 0.75 2026-01-27 https://www.lowycancerseminar.org/about-us daily 0.75 2025-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/1612494513160-TL94KFIAXPJKA2EG3Z3K/unsw_lowy-cancer-research-centre_4.png About us - About us The Lowy Cancer Seminar is an occasion to share in the amazing research endeavours of Australian and international cancer scientists. Each session is divided in two parts: Spark talk (3 mins + 2 mins Q&A) by a local early-career researcher (students and postdocs). Yarn talk (45 mins + 10 mins Q&A) by a mid-career or senior cancer researcher (group leaders up). If you are a young researcher at UNSW or CCI and would like to present a spark talk, please send a short email with a 5-line description of your project to one of: o DOT faridani AT unsw DOT edu DOT au brittney DOT harrington AT unsw DOT edu DOT au KIp AT ccia DOT org DOT au EDolman AT ccia DOT org DOT au https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/1612655212106-ADCZMVBM5ZLCTZ0O7X7A/TCRN+full+logo_transparent_hi-res.png About us - The Lowy Cancer Seminar Website is sponsored by the Translational Cancer Research Network (TCRN). The TCRN is a Cancer Institute NSW funded Translational Cancer Research Centre. www.tcrn.unsw.edu.au https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6017651960bac64bcb54e492/1618799065278-GPU9VPGLYN0PCQBMRJFW/logos_both.png About us The Lowy Cancer Seminars have been financially supported by UNSW / CCIA.