DRUG DELIVERY OF TARGETED THERAPIES FOR PANCREATIC CANCER, MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE
Associate Professor Kara Vine-Perrow,
Deputy Director Community Partnerships and Impact,
Molecular Horizons Research Institute, University of Wollongong &
Group Leader, Targeted Cancer Therapeutics Research Laboratory
University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | October 2026
Associate Professor Kara Vine-Perrow is a cancer researcher, educator and research leader in the Faculty of Science, Medicine & Health at the University of Wollongong, where she serves as Deputy Director (Community Partnership and Impact) of the Molecular Horizons Research Institute and leads the Targeted Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory. Her research focuses on developing innovative drug delivery technologies, implantable medical devices and RNA-based therapeutics for difficult-to-treat diseases, with a particular emphasis on pancreatic cancer and motor neurone disease.
Assoc Prof Vine-Perrow is internationally recognised for her work in translational therapeutics, advancing discoveries from the laboratory towards clinical application through partnerships with clinicians, industry, government and patient advocacy organisations. She leads multidisciplinary programs that combine nanomedicine, biomaterials and localised drug delivery to improve treatment outcomes for patients with limited therapeutic options.
A key focus of her research is ResectAssist™, an implantable drug delivery platform designed to deliver therapeutics directly to pancreatic tumours. Supported by funding from the NHMRC, Cancer Institute NSW, Australian Economic Accelerator, FightMND, and Tour de Cure, her research aims to accelerate the translation of innovative therapeutics and medical technologies from the laboratory to patient care. She also works closely with industry partners to accelerate commercialisation and real-world patient impact.
Beyond research, Assoc Prof Vine-Perrow is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists and has supervised numerous PhD and Honours students into successful careers across academia, healthcare and industry. She is committed to ensuring that research outcomes translate into meaningful improvements patients and the broader community.
Source and images: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6871-1149
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Professor Alex Fornito
PROFESSOR ALEX FORNITO
HEAD OF THE BRAIN MAPPING AND MODELLING RESEARCH PROGRAM
TURNER INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN AND MENTAL HEALTH, MONASH UNIVERSITY
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA -
Pancreatic and lung cancers driven by mutations in the cancer gene KRAS
Dr Mara Zeissig is a recently appointed Lab Head within the Tumour Inflammation and Immunotherapy Program at the South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI).
Her research focuses on studying immune evasion mechanisms in lung and pancreatic cancers to identify novel ways to increase response to immunotherapy. Her expertise is in genetically engineered mouse models of lung cancer, CRISPR-Cas9 screening technologies and T cell based immunotherapies (e.g Checkpoint inhibitors). -
Big data research in maternal, perinatal and renal health epidemiology
Dr Erandi Hewawasam is a Research Fellow at the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit within the Centre for Big Data Research in Health at University of New South Wales (UNSW). Her work focuses on maternal and reproductive health, chronic diseases (e.g., kidney disease, endometriosis), and early-life outcomes. She is the Program Manager for the Fertility Medicine Data Asset for Australia (FM-DATA), an MRFF-funded national infrastructure project linking fertility, hospital, Medicare, pharmaceutical, and perinatal datasets covering more than 40 million individuals. She also coordinates the Early Life Course Platform, integrating around 20 New South Wales and Australian federal administrative datasets to support population health research.
