Head, Tumour Targeting Program
Head, Tumour Targeting Laboratory
Co-Director, Centre for Research Excellence in Brain Cancer
Director, Department Of Molecular Imaging And Therapy, Austin Health

Throughout my research career as a translational clinician-scientist, I have had an abiding interest in the mechanisms of tumour cell growth, as well as the development of innovative strategies to improve diagnosis and therapy for cancer patients.

My major research focus areas have been in defining and characterising antigen and receptor targets for cancer therapy, signaling and metabolic pathways in cancer cells, antibody-based therapy and immune regulation of tumours, and molecular imaging of cancer.

I have developed a program to translate our laboratory discoveries to use in the clinic, which has so far led to ten novel antibodies and recombinant proteins progressing successfully through first-in-human, Phase I and II cancer trials. This program has delivered 21 patents and the licensing of seven discoveries to Pharma and Biotech.

I have published more than 360 peer-reviewed papers and 22 book chapters, principally in the areas of oncology and molecular imaging. I have been invited to publish reviews in leading journals including Nature Reviews Cancer, Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology and Cancer Research.

I am actively involved in the training and mentoring of young scientists and clinicians, and am currently supervising several doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and nuclear medicine trainees.

Another focus of my work is strategic planning for training, health care policy, and molecular imaging and nuclear medicine therapy advocacy within the US, European, South American, Asia-Oceania, and African regions, as well as with the IAEA and WHO. I am former president of the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology, the peak global nuclear medicine organisation.

My national leadership roles include being a founding board member and the current chair of Cancer Trials Australia, as well as a board member of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) since 2007. I also participate in policy and governance activities with the Australian Government.