Sarah-Jane Dawson is an Australian clinician-scientist. She is a consultant medical

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

and head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory at the

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Her current research interests are focused on the development of noninvasive blood-based biomarkers ('

liquid biopsies A liquid biopsy, also known as fluid biopsy or fluid phase biopsy, is the sampling and analysis of non-solid biological tissue, primarily blood. Like traditional biopsy, this type of technique is mainly used as a diagnostic and monitoring tool for ...

') for clinical application, including early detection, risk stratification and disease monitoring in cancer management.

Education

Dawson obtained her medical degree from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1998, and trained as a medical oncologist in Melbourne, Australia. She completed her PhD at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and performed postdoctoral studies at the Cambridge Research Institute, UK. She returned to Melbourne in 2014 to lead a research laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Dawson was elected Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences is an academy to promote health and medical sciences in Australia. It was established in June 2014. It cites "The Academy will serve the three purposes identified as of high priority in the 2 ...

in 2020.

Scientific profile

Dawson has international recognition for her contributions to translational cancer research. A major focus of her current research involves the study of cell-free circulating tumour DNA in patients with cancer. Many cancers shed small amounts of DNA (called circulating tumour DNA) into the patient's bloodstream which can be measured for clinical applications in cancer management. Dawson's recent research has shown the application of circulating tumour DNA testing for disease monitoring in various cancer types. She has received ongoing support from high-profile Australian organisations including the

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...

(NHMRC), National Breast Cancer Foundation, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society and

Australian Cancer Research Foundation The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation which funds research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. It provides multimillion-dollar grants for high-end research equ ...

. Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson works with her husband Professor Mark Dawson and the clinician team to develop a simple blood test which is a liquid biopsy to monitor blood cancers and it is the alternative way to the traditional biopsies which can be invasive bone marrow or lymph node tissue biopsies. Sarah-Jane with her husband Prof. Dawson and the clinician team have also identified the evidence that the cancer stem cells develops resistance to therapies which helps the development of the effectiveness of new drugs.

Awards

# Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson was awarded AAHMS Jian Zhou Medal in 2020. # Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Dawson has won 2018 CSL Centenary Fellow.

Selected publications

2013 Dawson SJ, Tsui D, Murtaza M, Biggs, H, Rueda OM, Chin, SF, Dunning MJ, Gale, D, Forshew T, Mahler-Araujo B, Rajan S, Humphray S, Becq J, Halshall D, Wallis M, Bentley D, Caldas C, Rosenfeld N. Analysis of Circulating Tumor DNA to Monitor Metastatic Breast Cancer. March 28, 2013; 368:1199-1209

References

External links

Selected Publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Sarah-Jane Living people Australian medical researchers University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences