Sarah-Jane Dawson is a clinician-scientist who works in the field of translational cancer research. She is internationally recognised for her work, pioneering new areas of study into the area of DNA cancer research. Sarah-Jane brings dedication and excellence into her work, hoping to help future patients and their families with her sincerity and commitment to making a difference through medicine.
Sarah-Jane graduated from Loreto Toorak in 1991 and then commenced her medical studies at The University of Melbourne, where she completed her MBBS in 1998. After working as a junior doctor, she decided to specialise in medical oncology, drawn to the clinical challenges of caring for patients with cancer and the research opportunities available.
Following completion of her oncology training in Melbourne (2006), she undertook her PhD and postdoctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, UK (2007-2013). Her training and research experience during this time provided her with a diverse range of skills in genomics and cancer biology, as well as in the conduct of large translational research studies. These qualifications and skills have helped her forge a career in cancer biomarker research and she returned to Melbourne in 2014 to work as a consultant medical oncologist and establish her own cancer research group at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Professor Dawson is currently co-lead of the Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Program and head of the Molecular Biomarkers and Translational Genomics Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. She also holds a joint appointment with the Collaborative Centre of Cancer Genomic Medicine at The University of Melbourne. She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and was recipient of the Jian Zhou Medal in recognition of translational medical science in 2020.
She is internationally recognised as a leading clinician-scientist in the field of circulating tumour DNA research. Her research program centres on the ongoing development of blood-based biomarkers for clinical application, including early detection, risk stratification and disease monitoring in cancer management to improve patient outcomes.
