Professor Marina Pajic

Professor Marina Pajic is a leader in pancreatic cancer research. Since returning from a successful postdoctoral position at the Netherlands Cancer Institute and establishing her lab at the Garvan in 2013, Professor Pajic has developed an innovative program that builds on the unique infrastructure she has generated, a wealth of integrated human cancer genomic and gene product expression profiles, complex 3D and patient-derived mouse models, rapidly evolving technologies and close clinical links, to reveal new insights into the deregulation of molecules commonly hijacked in pancreatic cancer, which drive tumour heterogeneity, metastasis and chemoresistance. Her team is using this knowledge to inform the rational design of novel, tailored treatment options for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Her research is supported by the Snow Medical Fellowship, NHMRC, Cancer Council NSW, Pankind, ACRF, Cancer Institute NSW (CINSW), Ms Jane Hemstritch, the Girgensohn Foundation and Paul Ainsworth Foundation. As a Snow Medical Fellow, Professor Pajic has established a translational research program, which includes establishment of two new trials for pancreatic cancer, based on precision-medicine principles and her discovery work, during the fellowship. With more than 100 high-quality and highly cited publications in the field (more than 30,500 citations), Professor Pajic’s contributions have been recognised by several prestigious awards including the Australian Academy of Science 2020 Ruth Stephens Gani Medal for achievements in the field of applied cancer genomics and precision medicine for pancreatic cancer and the NSW Premier’s Outstanding Cancer Research Fellow Award. She takes an active role in training emerging scientists (Honours and PhD projects). Marina engages and communicates regularly with the public through Garvan’s public events and collaborative work with major pancreatic cancer foundations.