Dr Jessica Da Gama Duarte obtained a PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 2015, where she developed a novel protein microarray-based tumour antigen array. Her aims were to use this technology to identify novel diagnostic, prognostic and predictive cancer biomarkers. She was recruited as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow by the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Australia in the Cancer Immunobiology Program. This Institute provided a direct link between research and clinical practice, and access to a suite of patient samples that enable her to investigate the full translational capacity of the array. She has recently been recruited to the Department of Cancer Medicine at Monash University as a Senior Research Fellow and Laboratory Head.
She is currently working on research projects that are aiming towards early detection of cancer onset and recurrence, prediction of immunotherapy benefit and/or toxicity, and understanding the role of B cells in anti-tumour immunity.