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Maria Kavallaris

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Maria Kavallaris is an Australian scientist, based at the University of New South Wales' Children’s Cancer Institute, where she is best known for her contributions to the field of cancer research. On 25 January 2019, Kavallaris was appointed a member of the Order of Australia.

Early life and education

Kavallaris was born in Australia, and is of Greek and Cypriot descent.[1] She returned to Morphou, Cyprus, with her family while still in primary school.[2] Soon after, Cyprus was invaded by Turkey, forcing her family to flee for safety to Kavallaris' maternal grandparents' house in the mountains.[2] Four weeks later, Kavallaris' family headed to a British base, were airlifted to the UK, and then returned to Australia again (1974).[2]

In grade 10, Kavallaris left high school to complete a pathology technician course.[2] She then pursued a Bachelor of Applied Science at the University of Sydney, where she was also working in the laboratory of Alan Mackay-Sim.[2] In 1983, when she was 21, Kavallaris was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer.[2][3] While undergoing chemotherapy, she decided to complete her undergraduate degree and pursue a PhD in cancer research.[2]

During the first year of her PhD at the University of New South Wales, Kavallaris's 30-year old brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed within six weeks.[2][3]

Research Career

Following her PhD, Kavallaris worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, U.S.A., where she made significant contributions towards understanding the role of cytoskeleton proteins in tumour growth and cancer cell survival.[2][4][5] She then returned to Australia to work at the newly opened University of New South Wales' Children’s Cancer Institute in 1984, where her research focuses on childhood cancer.[2][6] This has involved using nanotechnology to develop cancer therapies, and to determine mechanisms which lead to anti-cancer drug resistance.[7][8]

Kavallaris is the founding director of the Australian Centre for Nanomedicine in 2011.[1][7][9] She is also the head of the Tumour Biology and Targeting Program at the University of New South Wales' Children’s Cancer Institute.[2][10] She is a board member at the Australian Institute for Policy and Science, and formerly served as the president of the Australian Society for Medical Research.[6]

Kavallaris has received over $20 million in research funding, and has trained over 50 students.[6] She has an h-index and i10-index of 49 and 103 respectively, and has been cited over 8,000 times.[11]

On 25 January 2019, Kavallaris was appointed a member of the Order of Australia.[1][12][13]

Awards

Selected Bibliography

  • Maria Kavallaris, Dennis Y-S Kuo, Catherine A Burkhart, Donna Lee Regl, Murray D Norris, Michelle Haber and Susan Band Horwitz. Taxol-resistant epithelial ovarian tumors are associated with altered expression of specific beta-tubulin isotypes. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1997.
  • KM Murphy, V Ranganathan, ML Farnsworth, M Kavallaris and Richard B Lock. Bcl-2 inhibits Bax translocation from cytosol to mitochondria during drug-induced apoptosis of human tumor cells. Cell Death and Differentiation. 2000.
  • Pei Pei Gan, Eddy Pasquier and Maria Kavallaris. Class III β-tubulin mediates sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs in non–small cell lung cancer. Cancer Research. 2007.
  • Eddy Pasquier, Maria Kavallaris and Nicolas André. Metronomic chemotherapy: new rationale for new directions. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology. 2010.
  • Maria Kavallaris. Microtubules and resistance to tubulin-binding agents. Nature Reviews Cancer. 2010.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Tsirtsakis, Anastasia (2019-01-25). "Highly respected Greeks on Australia's Honours list | Neos Kosmos". English Edition. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Stamocostas, Con (2018-03-29). "After fleeing bombs as a child, and surviving cancer in her early 20's, Professor Maria Kavallaris' breakthrough research in nanotechnology is helping to fight childhood cancer | Neos Kosmos". English Edition. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  3. ^ a b Alexander, Matt Burgess and Harriet (2015-02-14). "Surviving cancer: four tales of beating the odds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  4. ^ a b "Childhood cancer leader's star on the rise at NSW Premier's Science and Engineering Prizes". Children's Cancer Institute. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  5. ^ Administrator, LPSC. "Professor Maria Kavallaris named as Liverpool Plains Shire Australia Day Ambassador 2018". www.lpsc.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  6. ^ a b c "Prof Maria Kavallaris". Cure Cancer. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  7. ^ a b Amanda Hoh (2017-03-31). "Meet three scientists finding cures for childhood cancer". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  8. ^ "Professor Maria Kavallaris". CBNS. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  9. ^ a b "Professor Maria Kavallaris one of The Australian Financial Review and Westpac's 100 Women of Influence 2015". Children's Cancer Institute. 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  10. ^ "Professor Maria Kavallaris". Children's Cancer Institute. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  11. ^ "Maria Kavallaris - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.ca. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  12. ^ a b "Maria Kavallaris receives Order of Australia". Children's Cancer Institute. 2019-01-26. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  13. ^ a b "Eastern pride: Oz Day honours list". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  14. ^ "Professor Maria Kavallaris one of 'The Knowledge Nation 100'". Children's Cancer Institute. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
  15. ^ "Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellows List" (PDF). Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Retrieved 26 Jan 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  16. ^ "The life-long effects for childhood cancer survivors". SBS News. Retrieved 2019-01-26.
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