Head, Cancer and Inflammation Laboratory

After completing his PhD at the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland, Prof Matthias Ernst received postdoctoral training at the Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories in Pennsylvania in the area of bone biology.

With the aim of extending his studies into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the growth of cancer cells, Prof Ernst joined Prof Ashley Dunn’s laboratory at the Melbourne-Parkville Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR).

In 1996, he returned to Switzerland to join Novartis as the Deputy Head for Bone Biology Research Department. He was invited back to LICR in 1998 as Group Leader and was appointed Acting Director in 2009.

In 2012, Prof Ernst moved to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), where he continued to explore state-of-the-art molecular biology and genetic tools to understand mechanisms that corrupt the normal renewal of the lining of the bowel and stomach, resulting in tumour formation.

He joined ONJCRI in late 2014, where his laboratory explores novel strategies to target mechanisms by which tumour cells and normal cells communicate and develop new treatments for gastrointestinal cancers. Prof Ernst’s view is that conducting research in such close proximity to clinicians provides his group with an opportunity to use their scientific curiosity to address the most urgent needs of cancer patients.