Spotlight on Emerging Leaders Fellowship (ELF) Program 2024
Dr Yu Yu
Dr Yu Yu has15 years’ experience in developing molecular and cellular therapeutics for cancer.
She is focused on chemoresistant and recurrent cancers, with interests in biomarker and therapeutics development.
Dr Yu Yu completed her PhD at Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney in experimental therapeutics for cancer. She then pursued postdoctoral training at the Richard W. TeLinde Gynecologic Pathology Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA with a focus on understanding the treatment for recurrent ovarian tumour.
Dr Yu Yu leads the Oncology Therapeutics and Gynaecology Cancer Research Program at Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and co-leads the Cancer domain at the same institute. Dr Yu is also a senior research fellow at Curtin Medical School and an adjunct Senior Lecturer at UWA Medical School, Division of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Dr Yu Yu has15 years’ experience in developing molecular and cellular therapeutics for cancer. She is a former NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellow and Raine/Robson Fellow. Her research program has been supported by Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation, Raine Medical Research Foundation WA, Endometriosis Foundation of America, Cancer Research Trust Single Cancer Cell Initiative, St John of God Foundation Equipment Fund and WA Department of Health. Her studies focused on chemoresistant and recurrent cancers, with interests in biomarker and therapeutics development.
A/Prof Helena Frawley
A/Prof Frawley is a physiotherapy researcher in the areas of female pelvic pain, endometriosis and pelvic floor disorders (incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse) throughout the life-stages and in various health conditions, such as gynaecological and breast cancer, pre- and postnatal women, exercising women.
Helena Frawley is a physiotherapy researcher, and Associate Professor in the Melbourne School of Health Sciences, the University of Melbourne, Australia, Director of Allied Health Research at the Royal Women’s Hospital and Mercy Hospital for Women Melbourne and Principal Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Newborn Health, Royal Women’s Hospital/Mercy. She is also a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, Clinical Specialist in pelvic and Women’s Health Physiotherapy and provides mentorship and training to Fellows in the training program.
Helena leads the University of Melbourne women’s health physiotherapy graduate research program, and provides PhD co-supervision to external students. She is an active researcher in the areas of female pelvic pain, endometriosis and pelvic floor disorders (incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse) throughout the life-stages and in various health conditions, such as gynaecological and breast cancer, pre- and postnatal women, exercising women. Helena’s research program is supported by state and national research funding.
A/Prof Megan Best
Bioethics and Health Ethics, University of Notre Dame Australia.
Leads a research program in existential wellbeing in healthcare, along with research into the bioethical implications of antenatal genetic screening for women in view of the rapid expansion of genetic screening of both prospective parents and their offspring.
A/Prof Megn Best graduated from medicine with the University Medal and pursued a clinical career in palliative care, working as a clinician researcher. Realising the need to improve the existential support of palliative care patients, she undertook my PhD in psycho-oncology within the Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group at the University of Sydney. She was awarded my PhD in 2016, after which she was awarded a prestigious Cancer Institute Early Career Fellowship which involved leading a large research team investigating ethical and psychological impact of genomic testing for cancer.
A/Prof has a career total of 121 journal articles, 7 book chapters and 3 books, with over 2,200 citations and a H-index of 21
Dr Xenia Dolja-Gore
Xenia’s research focuses on the application of statistical methods to big health data linked to complex survey studies to assess treatment effects.
Xenia is a biostatistician with experience in health and medical research examining health service utilisation with the application of causal modelling on large scale health-based data sets to understand the analytic approaches required where data limitations exist, and in the development of use of linkage techniques to analyse data not only longitudinally but over multiple platforms.
Xenia’s work includes the evaluation of the Australian Government’s Medicare health care initiatives, health service use to people aged 85 years and over as well as end-of-life care, the evaluation of the relationship between target-medicine exposure and outcomes of interest (such as hospitalisation/ death for specified conditions) and studies involving health service utilisation and equity of access for women.
Dr Cathy O’Callaghan
Dr O’Callaghan is focused on addressing health inequities and understanding the social and cultural determinants of health. She has over 20 years’ experience in health promotion, public health research and evaluation focusing on culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and priority populations. She has conducted research in the community and in health care services, and have expertise in qualitative health research, co-design and culturally competent service delivery.
Dr O’Callaghan commenced working as Research Fellow at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, UNSW in 2019. Her role has involved leading a range of research, evaluation, integrated care and health equity projects in Local Health District and state government.
She completed her PhD Recognising Cultural Diversity in Children’s Hospitals in 2013. It used a qualitative methodology to investigate the impact of systemic constraints, policies and cultures on staff practice when working with children and families from CALD backgrounds. Dr O’Callaghan Master of Public Health (Hons) researched the lived experiences of elderly immigrant patients in relation to their health literacy and managing medicines.
I also completed a Master of Arts and Development Studies in which I analysed the impact of socio-cultural factors on migrant patients experiences in a dialysis ward. Some of the highlights of my career include hearing about the actual changes made as a direct result of my research.
