Join us for this exciting webinar where we will hear from three brilliant female cancer researchers as they share their journey (the good and the bad) to their current positions.
Professor Kaylene Simpson, Head, Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute
Prof Kaylene Simpson’s career journey spans over 30 years, starting as a research scientist in a plant biotechnology company post her honours, then undertaking a PhD in animal genetics focusing on lactation biology before a series of postdoc positions, with the majority of the time spent at Harvard Medical School, focusing on breast cancer. Her use of technology platforms at Harvard made it clear that facilities underpin academic research, and she decided to bring that model to Australia where she could contribute across a broad portfolio of research and contribute academic excellence. In 2008 she established the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, an academically engaged technology platform. The VCFG operates Australia-wide to enable researchers to perform unbiased target discovery using high-throughput screening approaches, high content imaging and sophisticated data analytics.
Through this role, Kaylene’s passion for collaboration, driving innovative technology applications and mentoring has been a real focus. She leads a highly experienced team that actively engage with researchers to help drive their research projects to fruition. She has a wealth of experience in assay development, data interpretation and analysis in the area of functional genomics and contributes intellectually to all projects and technology initiatives. She collaborates extensively with a national outlook, being a long-time recipient of funding from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) and the University of Melbourne Collaborative Research Infrastructure Program. She coordinates an annual national conference on Functional High Throughput Technologies (www.fhtta.com), is a founding member and past President of the Society of Biomolecular Imaging and Informatics (www.sbi2.org) based in the USA and is on the board and inaugural conference chair of the Academy of Collaborative Research Infrastructure, a national initiative to unite the third pillar of academia.
Professor Marina Pajic, Program Director, Translational Oncology / Laboratory Head – Personalised Cancer Therapeutics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Professor Marina Pajic completed her PhD in the laboratory of Professor Michelle Haber at the Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI), University of New South Wales, where she investigated chemoresistance mechanisms in childhood cancers, supported by a University Postgraduate Award and a CCI Postgraduate Scholarship. In 2006, Marina moved to work with Professor Piet Borst at the Netherlands Cancer Institute where she developed physiologically-relevant mouse models to study chemotherapy resistance and discovered new mechanisms which guide survival of therapy-resistant cancer-initiating cells during a process termed “transient dormancy”. Following her return to Australia in 2010 and collaborative efforts within the International Cancer Genome Consortium, Marina has established unique personalised medicine projects for pancreatic cancer, supported by three fellowships from Cancer Institute NSW. Since 2013 Marina has led the Personalised Cancer Therapeutics Lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Understanding the role of “-omic” alterations in cancer progression and treatment failure with a view to developing novel effective therapeutic approaches are the focus of her research.
Professor Tracey O’Brien AM, Chief Cancer Officer and CEO Cancer institute NSW
Professor Tracey O’Brien was appointed as the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW in July 2022. With a career spanning 25 years, Tracey has emerged as a globally recognised oncologist and researcher, actively engaged in the forefront of cancer care. Her consistent achievements in fostering collaboration and driving sector innovation have earned her immense respect. Before her current role, Tracey was Director of the Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Program. Tracey has held numerous high-profile national and international leadership positions, including Advisory Chair, Cancer Australia; V/Chair (Africa, Asia and Australasia) International Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and V/President of the Australian and New Zealand Children’s Oncology Group.
In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Tracey has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (AM) in the King’s Birthday Honours and was profiled in 2023 as one of the world’s foremost women in paediatric cancer by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology. In 2019 Tracey was named in the Australian Financial Review’s prestigious Top 100 Women of Influence, and won the Innovation category. In addition to her medical expertise, Tracey has a Master of Law (Health) and executive MBA and serves as a conjoint Professor in Clinical Medicine (UNSW) and Honorary Professor in at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Macquarie University and Honorary Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Western Sydney University. Tracey’s research prowess is evident through her extensive body of work, including over 140 scientific papers and six textbook chapters, with her research cited over 5000 times. Tracey remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician leaders and maintains an active clinical practice in cancer survivorship at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
