experience during cancer treatment, via their mobile devices. Tali also coordinates patient tumour samples for use in translational research as part of a larger collaboration between Cabrini Health and researchers within Professor Helen Abud’s group at Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. This collaboration aims to generate a living breast cancer organoid bioresource, the first of its kind in Australia. The use of patientderived breast cancer organoids in pre-clinical research will transform our understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in breast cancer development, and provide insight into genomic and proteomic alterations that lead to drug resistance, increased susceptibility of recurrence and progression to metastatic disease. Future impact Recently Tali was awarded funding to create a Cabrini lung cancer registry that will provide crucial data to meet the challenges of lung cancer management and research. The development of a lung cancer registry will facilitate collection of data on symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatments, quality of life indicators and overall health outcomes for patients at Cabrini. The clinical data will also contribute to greater research efforts
in the community as data will be linked to the Victorian Lung Cancer Registry as part of a newly formed collaborative partnership. The creation of a lung cancer registry will be a substantial resource of information on lung tumours for clinicians, as well as support translational research. Tali is optimistic that the development of a lung cancer registry, in combination with ongoing clinical studies at Cabrini, will contribute to improved outcomes for patients living with lung cancer, and provide information resources for clinicians. Over the past two years working alongside nurses, oncologists, surgeons and researchers at Cabrini, Tali has undertaken a huge learning curve changing fields from basic laboratory research in Immunology, to clinical and translational projects which address current challenges in cancer care. Tali is passionate about being involved and contributing to meaningful research, and is excited with the opportunities she has been given to develop new clinical and translational projects to improve patient care, health outcomes and survival of cancer patients.
Above: Microscopic image of a patient-derived breast tumour organoid labelled with fluorescent dyes to visualise live (Hoescht,blue) versus dead cells (PI, red).
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