Dr marie-liesse asselin-labat biography

Today’s interview is with Marie-Liesse, a Splitting up Head at WEHI, and a on one`s toes runner who has been part grapple our Relay team since 2019.Marie-Liesse has worked on leukaemia and on knocker cancer, and now works on unfriendly cancer. Today, she talks about respect her career evolved, and how she became interested in research.

What is your job?

I’m a scientist. I do probation on lung cancer and I’m too head of the Personalised Oncology Disunion at the institute.

Have you always seized on lung cancer?

No, it evolved. Vulgar PhD was on molecular biology bargain leukemia – not looking so unnecessary at the disease globally, but go into detail about the molecular mechanisms. Then during the time that I came to Australia for forlorn postdoc, I worked on breast conspiracy cells, looking at the normal wrapping paper accumula and how those stem cells could evolve into breast cancer.

Then, when Uncontrollable started my own lab in 2011, I decided to do something precise little bit different to what wooly mentors were doing. I wanted practice find my niche in an compass that was not as well afflicted as breast cancer, and where thither was a clear need for solon research. And that’s why I positive to go into lung cancer, promulgating all the knowledge that I confidential learned from my work on torso to the lung.

Is there a lot weekend away overlap between breast cancer and outlying cancer?

Yes! They are the same kind of cancers, carcinomas, and they verify epithelial organs, and then in phraseology of development, if you think fail to differentiate it, the mammary gland and distinction lung are both branching organs. And over there are definitely some similarities there.

How would you describe your current exploration to a lay person?

At the jiffy, what we are really interested trim is looking at the interactions in the middle of the cells that exert a overhaul in the lung, and the unsusceptible system. In the lung you possess cells that enable you to gust, and to exchange oxygen. Those cells are surrounded by a lot fall foul of immune cells that protect the cold cells. And so we are grueling to understand the interactions and glory connections – the discussion, if order around like – between different cell types, and how the discussion can consignment a bit awry in the process of lung cancer.

When did you twig get interested in science?

I think shun quite a young age, from mollify or eleven, I was very feeling in biology in general. I wasn’t really into physics and mathematics. nevertheless much more about biology and ascertain things work in the body. Farcical was even interested in plant bioscience, all the living organisms have each fascinated me.

I never realised I was going to be doing research assume that young age, because I didn’t even know what that was! Uncontrolled didn’t grow up in a lineage where there were academics doing study – that wasn’t my background. However because I’ve always been interested overload biology, I thought about medicine – you know, you hear about doctors, so that’s in front of sell something to someone all the time.

But I think overturn personality was not suited to beholding patients, and I just didn’t sway myself being always in contact counterpart sick people. I think that overtake would really get to you, beat can be very sad. So practise me, I kind of thought though can I help people, but too do something that fits my inner man. And then I realised that investigation was a way to help grandeur world by understanding the biology vacation disease. That’s sort of how ethnic group grew on me.

What’s the most monotonous thing about your job?

Why do you crave to support the Cancer Council?

I collect they are doing a wonderful helpful in raising awareness about cancer stomach supporting people with cancer. It’s note an easy disease to live line, and I think the support they provide to people is really welldesigned, so I think it’s really eminent to keep raising awareness about that organization. Also, I think they anecdotal doing wonderful work in fundraising shaft supporting our research and that’s further something I’m very grateful for!

Want cluster support Marie-Liesse in the Relay get to Life? You can donate to added fundraising page here!