Every year, nearly 150,000 Australians will be diagnosed with cancer. My research is focused on investigating the impact of embryonic signalling pathways on cancers such as paediatric solid tumours, brain tumours and lung cancer, with the aim of developing novel therapies and reducing side-effects.

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A/ProfJason Cain from the Developmental and Cancer Biology Research Group at Hudson Institute

Areas of interest

Childhood cancer Lung cancer

Research group

Developmental and Cancer Biology

Biography

Associate Professor Jason Cain is Head of the Developmental and Cancer Biology research group in Hudson Institute’s Centre for Cancer Research, and head of the Sarcoma program.

A/Prof Jason Cain is the inaugural My Room Children’s Cancer Charity Fellow and heads up a dedicated My Room Children’s Cancer Charity Research Laboratory at Hudson Institute.

A developmental and cancer biologist, A/Prof Cain is driving cutting-edge research to understand the role of critical embryonic signalling pathways and epigenetic mechanisms in normal and abnormal development and disease, including paediatric connective tissue (sarcomas), paediatric brain cancers (including atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumours and diffuse midline gliomas), and lung adenocarcinoma.

After completing his PhD studies at Monash University in 2006, A/Prof Cain moved to The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada to complete postdoctoral training with Dr Norman Rosenblum in the Program of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology. Here, he focused on the role of the Hedgehog signalling pathway in renal development and disease, developing specialised skills in developmental biology, mouse models of human disease, and congenital and paediatric disease.

On his return to Australia in late 2010, he joined Hudson Institute of Medical Research as a Research Fellow under Professor Neil Watkins. In 2014, A/Prof Cain was appointed Head of the Developmental and Cancer Biology laboratory, continuing his work in developmental biology and paediatric brain and solid cancers. A/Prof Cain was appointed as a Director to the Board of the Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association (ANZSA) in July 2023.

View video | A/Prof Jason Cain’s fascinating TEDx Talk looks at one of the biggest challenges in treating Childhood Cancer

WATCH ‘Making Waves’ – Robert Connor Dawes Foundation Founder and CEO Liz Dawes, interviews A/Prof Jason Cain about the latest developments in paediatric brain cancer research.

MORE My Room Children’s Cancer Research Laboratory

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