Cancer Council SA Research Fellowships

Dr Jacqueline Noll from The University of Adelaide and SAHMRI, is a 2025 recipient of our Mid-Career Fellowship (Basic Science) for her work which hopes to find new tests and treatments for the incurable blood cancer, multiple myeloma.

Dr Noll completed her PhD in 2011 through her research into the p53 family of proteins and tumour suppressor genes. Her research is driven by her passion for understanding the complex nature of cancer biology, and Dr Noll ultimately aims to translate that knowledge into improving clinical outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer. Since attaining her PhD, Dr Noll has worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Myeloma Research Laboratory with a focus on the interactions between tumour cells and the bone marrow microenvironment.

Dr Noll’s Cancer Council SA funded research explores multiple myeloma—an incurable blood cancer — and its relationship to an asymptomatic condition known as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). MGUS is an early, symptom-free condition that sometimes progresses to multiple myeloma. While most people with MGUS never develop cancer, around 10 per cent do go onto develop into multiple myeloma, and there is no current method to identify which people are most likely to progress.

Dr Noll’s research team has identified an enzyme which is essential for myeloma tumour development in preclinical models of the disease. Through investigating the function of this enzyme in tumour development, Dr Noll aims to identify and test a new way to stop or prevent MGUS from transitioning to myeloma, and to develop a blood test which can identify which people diagnosed with MGUS are most likely to develop multiple myeloma.

Dr Chloe Thompson-Peach from The University of Adelaide and SAHMRI, is a 2025 recipient of our Early-Career Fellowship (Clinical Medicine/Science Research) and with this funding hopes to develop new treatments for a rare blood cancer called myelofibrosis. In particular, a specific mutation of myelofibrosis called CALR, which currently has no effective treatments.

Dr Thompson-Peach was awarded a PhD in 2020 following her research into the identification of breast cancer susceptibility mutations in people who tested negative to having BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations. The research addressed gaps in understanding the genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer and identified new mutations in individuals which were previously undiagnosed. Dr Thompson-Peach’s research has since focussed on advancing precision medicine approaches for blood cancers at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), while also working as an academic at Flinders University to mentor future scientists.

Currently, Dr Thompson-Peach is researching new treatments for CALR-driven myelofibrosis—a rare blood cancer with limited effective treatment options. Her Cancer Council SA funded research aims to better understand why certain CALR mutations result in more severe symptoms and to create therapies which specifically target mutated cells while preserving the healthy ones. By tailoring treatments to different CALR mutations, Dr Thompson-Peach hopes to improve care and enhance outcomes for people with myelofibrosis.

Dr Tenaw Tiruye from the University of South Australia, is a 2025 recipient of our Early-Career Fellowship (Public Health/Health Services) for his research which explores the gap between the high survival rates of people diagnosed with prostate cancer and the significant impact of treatment on a patient’s quality of life.

Dr Tiruye completed a PhD in gender and health at the University of Newcastle in 2021. Prior to this, he was a lecturer and researcher at Debre Markos University in Ethiopia, where he also led the Public Health Department. Since obtaining his PhD, Dr Tiruye has focused on prostate cancer-related research as part of the University of South Australia’s Cancer Epidemiology and Population Health Research Group.

Through his Cancer Council SA funded research, Dr Tiruye wants to examine the drivers of psychological distress in individuals with prostate cancer to identify more effective strategies for improving their mental wellbeing. Dr Tiruye aims to use these results to inform a co-design workshop aimed at developing evidence-based practice and policy recommendations for improving mental health services for people with prostate cancer, ultimately leading to improved treatment outcomes.

Dr Carly Whyte from the University of South Australia, is a 2025 recipient of our Early-Career Fellowship (Basic Science) and her research aims to understand how the body’s immune system can potentially lead to new and better treatments for head and neck cancers.

Dr Whyte was awarded a PhD in immunology from the University of Adelaide in 2018. She was then appointed a postdoctoral scientist at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, where she worked to understand how immune cells are regulated through a cytokine—a small protein in cell signalling—called IL-2. After discovering new mechanisms of action for this protein and identifying new regulatory networks, which explained some of the common side-effects of IL-2’s therapeutic use, Dr Whyte returned to Adelaide and joined the Centre for Cancer Biology at University of South Australia.

Dr Whyte’s current Cancer Council SA funded research focuses on head and neck cancers, one of the most common cancers in Australia. Current treatment options are often ineffective and heavily impact a person’s ability to eat, speak and breathe. Dr Whyte aims to discover ways to enhance the ability of immune cells to target and destroy cancers of the head and neck. In particular, she wants to better understand the role of immune cells called eosinophils, which are more common in head and neck tumours than in healthy tissue. Through this research into eosinophils, Dr Whyte hopes to boost the body’s natural immune response to cancer and improve health outcomes.

Dr Jean Winter from Flinders University, is a 2025 recipient of our Mid-Career Fellowship (Clinical Medicine/Science Research) with her research that is developing a simple blood test to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages.

Dr Winter completed a PhD in colorectal cancer at Flinders University in 2015 and was then awarded an international postdoctoral fellowship at The National Institutes of Health in the United States. There she identified genetic biomarkers associated with increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, before she returned to Australia to now lead the Biomarker Discovery and Application program within the Flinders University Bowel Health Service.

Most pancreatic cancers are diagnosed when symptoms have developed and the cancer has already spread, which means treatment options become limited. Dr Winter’s Cancer Council SA funded project aims to find a way to identify the unique genetic signature of pancreatic cancer through examining blood samples of people with and without pancreatic cancer. By diagnosing pancreatic cancer early, before symptoms develop, Dr Winter hopes to reduce late-stage diagnoses, leading to improved treatment and survival outcomes.