Biography

I am a medical oncologist and researcher with a focus on breast cancer research and treatment. I completed my medical and oncology training, and doctoral research in Melbourne. Findings from my PhD research under the mentorship of Geoffrey Lindeman and Jane Visvader at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, had a major impact on the identification of the culprit cells in carriers of the BRCA1 mutant gene, a hereditary breast cancer syndrome. I subsequently furthered my research and clinical training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School under the mentorship of Eric Winer and Myles Brown, both internationally acclaimed leaders in breast cancer research and clinical trials, through fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

I currently oversee the breast oncology services at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. I also head the Connie Johnson breast cancer research laboratory at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Our laboratory performs clinically focused laboratory research, including the establishment of patient-derived breast tumour xenografts in mice, the evaluation of novel therapies in these preclinical breast cancer models and the comparative study between normal and breast cancer tissue. Another major focus of my group is hormone receptors (such as the estrogen and androgen receptors) in breast tumours, specifically to identify ways to sensitize these cancer cells to endocrine therapies. Our research is funded through Cancer Australia, and the National Breast Cancer, Love Your Sister, Ramaciotti and Garvan foundations.

I also seek to improve healthcare more globally. At a local level, I volunteered as a physician to asylum seekers without access to Medicare. I currently work with the Asha Kiran Hospital in Orissa, India, on a longer-term strategy of expertise transfer and partnership with local doctors.