Making a difference: Celebrating the women of The Kids’ Cancer Project
2025-03-08
On International Women’s Day – and every day – The Kids’ Cancer Project is proud to celebrate the array of talented women who continue to contribute in meaningful ways to help us achieve our dream of no child dying from cancer.
Each and every woman involved within The Kids’ Cancer Project, from our researchers, board and Research Advisory Committee members, as well as staff members and volunteers, play a key role in making the biggest possible impact for children with cancer.
“The Kids’ Cancer Project prides itself on empowering women to make a difference for children living with cancer,” says The Kids’ Cancer Project CEO, Owen Finegan.
“I’m extremely thankful for all that they bring to our team in all components of our charity, and I would like to thank each of our female researchers, Board and Research Advisory Committee members, staff, volunteers, donors, patients and their mothers for their tireless efforts in making a difference.”
To learn more about our board members, click here.
To learn more about our Research Advisory Committee, click here.
Our Col Reynolds Fellows
Named in honour of our founder Col Reynolds OAM, the creation of the Col Reynolds Fellowships will future proof childhood cancer research by encouraging new researchers and retaining talented scientists in the field of childhood cancer research.
Of the 23 researchers currently being funded by The Kids’ Cancer Project as part of the Col Reynolds Fellowships, 17 are women with work being done across clinical research fellowships, career development fellowships and PhD top-up scholarships.
Dr. Evangeline Jackson, University of Newcastle
Dedicated to finding a solution for the currently incurable diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), Dr. Evangeline Jackson is working tirelessly to find new treatments for DIPG by harnessing cellular and molecular biology techniques on patient-derived cell lines in vitro and their establishment in vivo.
Dr. Michelle Tennant, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
In addition to her work as a clinical psychologist at The Royal Children’s Hospital’s Children Cancer Centre, Dr. Michelle Tennant has dedicated the past 10 years to reducing patient distress and improving quality of life through digital health innovation, including using virtual reality to deliver therapeutic interventions.
Dr. Emmy Fleuren, Children’s Cancer Institute
Leading the only Australian research laboratory that focuses on sarcoma in young people, Dr. Emmy Fleuren and her team are utilising innovative techniques – including phosphoproteomics – to find novel drug targets, discover new and better treatments, and to create robust laboratory data to make new drugs a treatment reality for young sarcoma patients.
Dr. Noemi Fuentes-Bolanos, Children’s Cancer Institute
Dr. Fuentes-Bolanos’ research focuses on understanding the genetic causes of tumorigenesis and integrating germline findings in diagnosing, managing and better treating children, adolescents and young adults with cancer.
Rachel Edwards, Institute: Queensland University of Technology
With nearly three decades’ worth of nursing experience to supplement her, Rachel Edwards’ research focuses on patient care – working to ensure that care and support for child cancer patients is of the highest standard, particularly those undergoing bone marrow transplants.
Dr. Lorna McLeman, Institute: St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research
Dr. Lorna McLeman is undertaking a PhD at the University of Melbourne, investigating novel gene editing techniques for Fanconi Anaemia patients – the most common inherited bone marrow failure syndrome who are predisposed to developing leukemia.
Chelsea Valentin, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network
Chelsea Valentin is a PhD scholar at the University of NSW’s Behavioural Sciences Unit, aiming to understand the impact of cancer on a child’s development, and the role occupational therapy has in supporting participation and quality of life for kids and their families.
Dr. Aaminah Khan, Children’s Cancer Institute
Dr. Aaminah Khan’s research revolves around developing novel therapeutic strategic for paediatric brain tumour by leveraging metabolic and epigenetic inhibitors. She is devoted to translational research – bridging the gap between the lab and clinical trials.
Dr. Karin Plummer, Griffith University
An emerging leader in paediatric pain management, Dr. Karin Plummer is focused on reducing pain and distress during medical treatments for children with cancer and improving psychological health outcomes related to pain for children undergoing rigorous cancer treatments.
Dr. Katherine Pillman, University of South Australia
The major focus of Dr. Katherine Pillman’s research is neuroblastoma, a devastating cancer that affects very young children. Her group uses bioinformatics, which use mathematical modelling and high-performance computing to uncover how genes control the properties of tumours – including differences in cancer subtypes and responses to treatments.
Dr. Teresa Sadras, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
A molecular biologist with extensive experience in studying deregulated signalling networks in blood cancers, Dr. Teresa Sadras’ research aims to understand why, within a group of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients, some children relapse while others don’t despite their leukaemia similar genetic features.
Dr. Noa Lamm-Shalem, Children’s Medical Research Institute
Having previously identifying new disease-related mutations and revealing a novel disease-causing mechanism in dyskeratosis congenita, Dr. Noa Lamm-Shalem’s current research investigates the impact of DNA replication stress on genome integrity and its implications for cancer development.
Dr. Rachael Lawson, Children’s Heath Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Dr. Rachael Lawson is at the forefront of precision medicine, with her research project comparing the effectiveness of genome testing in children undergoing haematopoietic stem cell transplant, in achieving individualised exposure target and effect on patient outcomes.
Dr. Marion Mateos, Children’s Cancer Institute
Dr. Marion Mateos’ research focuses on improving outcomes in childhood cancer, clinical trial development for high-risk childhood cancers, biomarker development and the application of liquid biopsy, as well as research aimed at reducing treatment-related toxicities.
Jacqueline Hunter, University of Melbourne
Jacqueline Hunter is dedicated to advancing cancer care, which includes ethical implications and patient experiences, with her focus on psychosocial research related to genetic cancer predisposition and the use of whole genome sequencing technologies in childhood cancer.
Megumi Lim, Queensland University of Technology
An aspiring cancer health economist with a clinical background in radiation therapy, Megumi Lim’s PhD is exploring the financial impacts of childhood cancer on families, having previously undertaken a Master of Business Administration while working as a radiation therapist.
Dr. Hannah Walker, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Dr. Hannah Walker’s current research focuses on improving our understanding of pulmonary complications that occur post-haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), while also working on a prospective single-centre pilot study in children undergoing allogeneic transplantation.