Dr Mandy Ballinger

Group Leader

Dr Ballinger oversees a program of work focused on genetic cancer risk. Key to this is the International Sarcoma Kindred Study (ISKS). Since 2009 she has overseen recruitment of over 3700 families worldwide. Dr Ballinger developed the Surveillance study in Multi-Organ Cancer prone syndromes (SMOC+) which includes adult TP53 variant carriers and other individuals with genotype identified high cancer risk. She leads a similar surveillance study in the paediatric population - SMOC Junior. Dr Ballinger is Head of Clinical Cohorts for Omico including the Genetic Cancer Risk in the Young (RisC) Study investigating the heritable aspects of cancer in a young population suggestive of a genetic etiology (>1400 families). Her clinical training is in genetic counselling. Dr Ballinger has created powerful tools in these cohorts for both discovery and translation, and has well developed skills in clinical cancer genetics, genetic counseling, cohort research, and clinical interventions. Her work has changed clinical practice by impacting on clinical risk management guidelines both nationally and internationally in Li Fraumeni syndrome. Dr Ballinger's goal is to utilize these cohorts to define the extent of heritable risk in sarcoma and other cancers, and to continue to utilize these cohorts as vehicles for intervention to change practice and improve outcomes for families.