Thomas R. Cox, Aug 2019

It’s with great excitement that we welcome our newest PostDoc to the team, Amelia Parker.

Amelia joins us having returned from a PostDoctoral position at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA. Prior to this she completed her Ph.D. in the laboratories of Professor Maria Kavallaris and A/Prof Joshua McCarroll at The Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) in Sydney.

As a biomedical engineer and cancer biologist, Amelia is interested in the importance of the tumour microenvironment, and in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM) in driving tumour progression.

Amelia’s work will focus on the importance of the ECM in Lung Cancer onset and progression.

Thomas R. Cox, Jan 2019

We are looking forward to the imminent arrival of our newest member, Gretel Major who is joining the group this week.

Gretel is joining us a new Research Assistant (RA) in the Matrix and Metastasis team having recently completed her Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) degree at the University of Wollongong under the mentorship of Prof. Marie Ranson.

Gretel joins us to work on our different projects underway looking at the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in cancer progression, and is particularly interested in developing her translational research skills.

Thomas R. Cox, Oct 2018

We’re pleased to welcome our newest Animal Technician Michelle Yam to the team. Michelle is returning home to Australia having worked at West Virginia University in the US.

Michelle joins us and will take care of the welfare and maintenance of the animals used in our cancer research program to ensure we conform to the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes and the New South Wales Animal Research Regulations.

Thomas R. Cox, Sep 2018

The lab is excited to be welcoming our first Ph.D. student Michael Papanicoloau who has just started in the lab. Michael joins us after completing his Honours degree in Biomedical Science at UTS and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.

Having been awarded a prestigious UTS Research Excellence Scholarship, Michael’s Ph.D. will focus on understanding how the extracellular matrix changes over time in solid tumours, in particular breast cancer, and how these changes feed into the pathological progression of the disease at both primary and secondary sites.

Thomas R. Cox, Dec 2017

I’m delighted to announce that Jessica Chitty will shortly be joining the lab as a postdoctoral research fellow. Jessica has just completed her Ph.D at the University of Queensland and is making the move south to join our team.

Having completed a degree in Biochemistry in the UK, and her Ph.D in Australia, Jessica brings experience in investigating the translational repurposing of key anti-cancer/antimycotic targets, along with significant expertise in enzyme biochemistry and molecular biology in the context of rational drug design, focusing towards translational research.

Jessica will focus her work on our ongoing interest into the lysyl oxidase family of enzymes and their role in pancreatic cancer.

Thomas R. Cox, Jan 2017

We are delighted to welcome our newest member, Joanna Skhinas, to the Matrix and Metastasis lab here at the Kinghorn Cancer Centre and Garvan Institute.

Joanna joins us as a research assistant having recently completed her Honours degree at the University of New South Wales. Joanna will work on our recently awarded NHMRC grant to understand more about how the stiffness of the extracellular matrix affects cancer progression and response to therapy.

Through joining our team, Joanna can pursue her “interest in cancer biology, in particular the interactions between cancer cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix, and the ECMs role in metastasis”