Our cancer and musculoskeletal expertise has been strengthened with the appointment of two senior researchers and their teams to the Kolling Institute.
Professor Marina Pajic has been appointed the Paul and Katherine Gobits (Koh) Chair of Pancreatic Cancer Research following a remarkable $11 million gift.
It is the largest individual philanthropic gift to pancreatic cancer research in Australia.
Professor Pajic is a Snow Fellow who has worked at the Garvan Institute since 2013 after returning from a successful postdoctoral position at the Netherlands Cancer Institute.
Marina has developed a wealth of integrated human cancer genomic and gene product expression profiles, patient-derived models, and new technologies to reveal insights into the growth and resistance of pancreatic cancer. This knowledge is helping to inform new tailored treatment options for patients.
With more than 100 high-quality and highly cited publications, Marina’s research is supported by the Snow Medical Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, Cancer Council NSW and Pankind.
Professor Jane Butler has been appointed as a Senior Principal Research Fellow and Spinal Cure Fellow at the Kolling Institute.
Professor Butler is internationally known for her research into spinal cord injury, specifically the neural control of respiration and neurorehabilitation after injury.
Jane co-founded and leads the Spinal Cord Injury Research Collaborative, a team of researchers examining both fundamental and translational outcomes in the neural control of movement after spinal cord injury. Her team is working to develop novel clinical methods to improve limb, trunk and respiratory motor function.
Jane has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and has successfully attracted more than $27 million in funding over her career for both basic neurophysiology studies and clinical trials.
Academic Director Professor James Elliott welcomed Marina and Jane to the Kolling saying they would bring a wealth of experience to the institute, while extending our expertise in these crucial research disciplines.
“I am thrilled that they will now be part of our research community, and I look forward to the exciting research advancements and the tangible improvements in patient care.”
