ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO FUNCTION OF LUNG EPITHELIAL STEM CELL BIOLOGY
Dr Clare Weeden
Laboratory Head
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
Melbourne, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | March 2025
Dr Clare Weeden has recently commenced as a Laboratory Head at WEHI in 2025, supported by the CSL Centenary Fellowship.
Dr Weeden specialises in lung epithelial cell biology in the context of homeostasis, inflammation, and lung cancer, particularly in people who don’t smoke. Her work endeavours to understand how past environmental exposures shape the responses of lung cells and the molecular mechanisms underlying this cellular recall, with the aim to develop novel early detection strategies for lung disease.
Dr Weeden completed her PhD studying lung squamous cell carcinoma initiation and treatment with Professor Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat at WEHI, where she discovered distinct DNA repair abilities in lung stem cells that enabled their susceptibility to cancer, published in PLOS Biology.
Dr Weeden conducted postdoctoral research at WEHI and found that the pre-existing lung immune microenvironment had lasting effects on tumour immunogenicity and response to immunotherapy, published in Cancer Cell. She then continued her research on early tumour biology in Professor Charles Swanton’s laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, London, where she was part of a team discovery that air pollution triggers inflammatory signalling in the lung that awakens previously dormant cells to initiate lung cancers in people who don’t smoke, published in Nature.
Dr Weeden is the past recipient of prestigious fellowships (Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, Lung Foundation Australia Deep Manchanda Early Career Fellowship), research grants (Cancer Research UK, Mark Foundation, Cure Cancer/Cancer Australia) and has published 36 research publications with over 1000 citations.
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Development of novel analytical and diagnostic tools using nanotechnology and microfluidics
Dr Alain Wuethrich is an NHMRC Emerging Leader fellow and ARC DECRA awardee at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.
Hailing from Switzerland, research focuses on the development of novel analytical and diagnostic tools that harness nanotechnology and microfluidics; two rapidly growing fields with high potential to provide diagnostic solutions needed for precision medicine.
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Therapy to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in people with liver cirrhosis
Professor John Olynyk is a Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist with over 30 years’ experience, primarily at The Fiona Stanley & Fremantle Hospital Group. He planned the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service for the Fiona Stanley Hospital and was Head Department from 2010 until 2020.
Professor John Olynyk was appointed as Associate Dean and Head of the Medical Discipline at Curtin University in 2023 until 2025 and is now Associate Director, Clinical Engagement, Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University.
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Investigating new approaches to target plaque inflammation in atherosclerosis
Associate Professor Peter Psaltis is an Academic Interventional Cardiologist who holds Level 2 NHMRC Career Development and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowships. He has Faculty positions within the University of Adelaide, Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). Within SAHMRI, he is the Co-Theme Leader of the Lifelong Health, Program Leader of Heart and Vascular Health and Co-director of the Vascular Research Centre in the Lifelong Health Theme.
