LIVER CANCER BIOMARKERS, RISK PREDICTION & PROGRESSION
With
Dr Rodrigo Carlessi
Senior Research Fellow & Lead of Cancer Genomics Group,
Curtin Medical Research Institute,
Curtin University,
Perth, Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Australia | August 2025
Dr. Rodrigo Carlessi is an expert in Cancer Genomics and Molecular Biology, with an extensive track record in liver cancer research. He leads the Cancer Genomics Group within the Liver Disease and Regeneration Laboratory at the Curtin Medical Research Institute. He has an impressive publication record, with 43 manuscripts that have collectively garnered over 2,680 citations. His research leverages cutting-edge genomics and transcriptomics technologies, as well as long-read DNA sequencing, to explore mechanisms, identify biomarkers, and develop therapeutic targets in liver disease and cancer.
Dr Carlessi graduated from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil, with a B.Sc. in Cellular and Molecular Biology in 2007, then joined the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, where he obtained a M.Sc. from the Department of Molecular Genetics in 2011. He further obtained a PhD in Molecular Endocrinology from UFRGS in 2016, prior to joining Curtin University in Western Australia as a postdoc in 2016. He undertook postdoctoral training in pancreatic beta cell biology and received awards from the Australian Diabetes Society and the Heart Foundation. In 2019 he was recruited to start and lead the Cancer Genomics group in the Liver Disease & Regeneration Laboratory. With nine years of postdoctoral experience, Dr Carlessi has held a prestigious Cancer Council of Western Australia Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from 2021 to 2024.
His recent work led to a groundbreaking discovery in liver cancer risk prediction, earning him national and international recognition, following publications in top tier journals including Cell Genomics, Science Advances and Nature between 2023-2025. This achievement has been highlighted by invitations to present at prominent events, including Oz Single Cell, the Australian Liver Cancer Experts Gallipoli Meeting, WYMM Melbourne 2025, the First International Conference of Liver Pathobiology: From Bench to Bedside in Crete (2023), and the Thomas Ashworth Symposium 2025. His work has also catalysed collaborations with prestigious global institutions, such as The University of Edinburgh, the University of California San Diego, Monash University, and the University of New South Wales.
Currently, Dr. Carlessi focuses on discovering novel biomarkers and developing innovative approaches to assess risk and monitor disease progression in liver cancer patients. Additionally, he is pioneering RNA therapy technologies to target oncogenic pathways, paving the way for the next generation of liver cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0038-7391
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Genetics of the choroid and impact on eye health
Dr Samantha Lee is a Senior Research Fellow at Lions Eye Institute and the University of Western Australia. Dr Lee obtained her PhD in 2017 and the Queensland University of Technology and has since been working on the genetics and environmental causes of various eye diseases, with a focus on glaucoma and myopia. She has published 57 full-length scientific papers and her work has been cited over 1,000 times. She serves on the Editorial Board for the journal BMC Ophthalmology and Scientific Reports, and on the Research Advisory Committee for the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia.
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Stem cells used for age-related macular degeneration
Dr. Jenna Hall is a passionate and accomplished biologist with expertise in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) culture, disease modelling, and high-throughput automated systems. She recently earned her PhD from the University of Melbourne, where her research focused on using iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells to study age-related macular degeneration. Dr Hall’s technical skillset spans manual and automated cell reprogramming and differentiation, quantitative microscopy-based phenotyping, and large scale -omics analysis.
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Genetic disease research imitating function and architecture of organs
Professor Wolvetang was among the first to bring the first human embryonic stem cells to Queensland, with his Wolvetang Group at the AIBN now renowned for its work with organoids: growing them, studying them, and using them to try and understand diseases and human development.
Using cutting edge technology, Professor Wolvetang designs and grows organoids both for their own work and for labs across the country, coaxing pluripotent stem cells or tissue samples into 3D structures that mimic the function and architecture of real brains, livers, kidneys, spinal cords, and intestines.
