SUPPORTIVE CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH OR BEYOND CANCER TREATMENT
Dr Hannah Wardill, Hospital Research Foundation Fellow, University of Adelaide & Head of Supportive Oncology Group (Precision Cancer Medicine)
SAHMRI (South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute)
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Adelaide, South Australia | January 2025
Dr Hannah Wardill is a Hospital Research Foundation Fellow and lead of the Supportive Oncology Research Group (SORG), in the School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide and Precision Cancer Medicine Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). She is an Executive Board Member of the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer / International Society for Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) and Chair of both MASCC/ISOO Patient Partnership Committee & the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC) Cancer Symptom Trials (Gut Dysfunction Node; supported by Cancer Australia).
While her research started in understanding how chemotherapy damages gut health, Dr Wardill’s research program has now expanded to include a range of symptoms and side effects including neuropathy, cognitive impairment, infection and malnutrition.
A fierce advocate for supportive cancer care, Dr Wardill is working to improve the visibility of this research area and remind people that optimal cancer control can (and should) involve high quality, evidence-based supportive care to ensure people living with or beyond cancer can live happy and fulfilling lives.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6613-3661
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Targeting chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients
Dr Alex Cole, from the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Biomedical AI, is now leading the research focused on developing a new treatment to counteract a protein called follistatin (FST), known for making ovarian cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy.
By employing cutting-edge molecular biology and directed evolution techniques, the project aims to create nanobodies—small, precise molecules—that can block FST. If successful, these nanobodies could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy and improve ovarian cancer treatment rates.
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Elite athlete physical and mental health impact performance
Understanding the interaction between genes and lifestyle factors in response to stress can lead to potential therapeutic interventions for stress-related disorders. This research is crucial for promoting health and well-being.
Professor Mehta has recently commenced research into elite athlete physical and mental health impact performance, with research at the intersection of statistics, genomics, and mental health. This research is ahead of, and in anticipation of, the Summer Olympics in Brisbane in 2032.
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Environmental exposure to function of lung epithelial stem cell biology
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.
