PROFESSOR SHERENE LOI: BRIDGING RESEARCH AND CLINICAL CARE IN BREAST CANCER

About Professor Loi

Professor Sherene Loi MMBS, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS is a medical oncologist specialised in breast cancer treatment as well as a clinician scientist with expertise in genomics, immunology and drug development at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

She is recognised internationally as a leading clinician scientist whose work has led to new insights into the breast cancer immunology field as well as leading international clinical trials in breast cancer immunotherapy. Her world-leading research spans the breadth from basic discovery science to translational medicine and clinical trials. Her research has provided evidence for the development of immune-based cancer therapies.

Professor Loi is the study chair of the Breast Cancer Trials (BCT) Neo-N, DIAmOND and the TUGETHER clinical trials.

Neo-N is investigating if using an immunotherapy drug together with chemotherapy, is safe and effective in treating breast cancer before surgery in women and men with early triple-negative breast cancer. Primary results for the Neo-N clinical trial have been presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, showing that over half of early-stage triple negative breast cancer patients involved in the immunotherapy study, had no evidence of cancer in the breast and lymph nodes at surgery following treatment.

DIAmOND is investigating if the addition of two immunotherapy drugs to Herceptin will improve treatments and outcomes for women and men who have HER2-posititive metastatic breast cancer.

TUGETHER aims to find out if adding tucatinib and pembrolizumab to the usual treatment given to people with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer slows down the growth of the cancer.

Biography

Professor Loi is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. She is a medical oncologist and clinician scientist with expertise in genomics, immunology, and drug development in breast cancer.

She has won numerous international awards including:

• American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research
• European Society of Clinical Oncology’s Breast Cancer Award
• Prime Minister’s Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year (Australia)
• Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Jian Zhou Medal

She is the Board Director at Breast Cancer Trials, Executive Director of the Breast International Group (BIG), and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Kathleen Cuningham Foundation Consortium for Research into Familial Aspects of Breast Cancer.

To date, she has published over 300 peer-reviewed research articles with a lifetime H-index of more than 100. Her recent work has been highly influential: she is ranked in the top 1% of highly cited researchers globally by the Web of Science.

Qualifications and Professional Experience

Professor Loi’s research has brought clinical trials to Australian and New Zealand women, and improved survival for women with advanced breast cancer. She changed treatment paradigms utilising cancer genetics and immunology across a range of tumour types.

After completing Medical Oncology specialist clinical training in 2003 she undertook a PhD and postdoctoral studies at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels, Belgium (2003-2012).

In 2013, she returned to head the newly created Translational Breast Cancer Genomics and Therapeutics laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, as well as Consultant Medical Oncologist in the Breast Service and head of the Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Unit.

In 2022 she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in recognition of her remarkable leadership and excellence in her field.