Dr Amy Sarker is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Translational Oncology Group (TOG) at the School of Life Science (SoLS), Faculty of Science. Her research, spearheaded by Professor Deborah Marsh, focuses on unveiling therapeutic solutions for aggressive ovarian cancers with an emphasis on precision medicine approaches and modelling the unique tumour microenvironment. The latter aspect involves novel and innovative technologies such as 3D cell bio-printing in collaboration with biotechnology company Inventia Life Science.

Amy completed a Bachelor of Medical Science majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Sydney, followed by Honours in Anatomy and Histology in 2017. Her Honours studies were conducted at the Children’s Hospital Westmead (CHW) within the Children’s Cancer Research Unit (CCRU). Under the supervision of Professor Geraldine O’Neill, she investigated the relationship between tissue mechanics and treatment resistance in the paediatric brain cancer Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG), receiving First Class Honours and the Discipline of Anatomy and Histology “Dreher’s Prize” for Outstanding Performance in Research. She remained at the CCRU as a Research Assistant before commencing her PhD studies which she completed in 2023. Her doctoral research involved a combination of the latest advancements in cell biology, tissue engineering and drug development with a goal to reduce the burden of aggressive brain cancers. Specifically, she investigated the effects of a novel polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolite on the invasion behaviours of high-grade gliomas using 3D culture models and stem cell-derived brain organoid technology. During her PhD candidature, she was also the recipient of the NanoString™ Technology Access Program Grant worth $7000 USD, featured as a “Rising Star” at the Westmead Precision Medicine Symposium and awarded various presentation prizes including the Sydney Cancer Research Network (CRN) Post Graduate & Early Career Research Symposium’s Best Presentation Award (2021), and recently, the First Place Poster Prize at the Childhood Brain Cancer Conference (2023) in Brisbane, Queensland.

Ultimately, Amy is a passionate cancer biologist with a broad research interest in recapitulating and modelling the unique microenvironments that drive malignancies. She is equally passionate about collaboration with like-minded researchers, translational research, science communication and improving women’s health outcomes.