What is Translational Research?
Translational research encompasses the systematic application of scientific discoveries to clinical practice, bridging fundamental biological insights and technological innovation with measurable improvements in diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes. In short, translational research connects laboratory discovery with patient care. When embedded within prospective clinical trials, translational research creates a unique opportunity to interrogate features of response to treatment and the tumour microenvironment, ultimately strengthening the usefulness of a clinical trial.
Translational research can help answer questions such as:
- why did this treatment work for one patient but not another?
- what causes resistance to emerge?
- can a blood test help guide treatment decisions?
- which biomarkers could identify patients most likely to benefit?
- how can we design better trials for future patients?
Why is Translational Research Important to TOGA?
Fundamentally, every medical advance begins in laboratory research and discovery science. In thoracic cancer, translational research can provide deeper understanding of the origins of cancer, screening, precision medicine, biomarker-driven treatment, liquid biopsy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies and emerging diagnostic technologies.
TOGA supports early and meaningful collaboration between scientists, clinicians and consumer representatives through working group review and endorsement of research concepts. This helps ensure discovery science is informed by clinical need, patient relevance and future implementation opportunities from the outset.
By embedding translational research and sample collection into clinical trial design, TOGA-supported studies can provide access to well-characterised patient cohorts, biological samples, and accompanying clinical and demographic data. These resources create opportunities to investigate biomarkers, treatment response, resistance mechanisms and future therapeutic targets.
Through these collaborations, TOGA helps strengthen the pathway from discovery science to clinical implementation, ensuring research is positioned to answer not only today’s questions, but the questions that will matter most to patients in the future.
Sample Collection: The Foundation of Translational Discovery
The collection of blood, tumour tissue, and other biological samples across the treatment continuum enables interrogation of:
- Origins of cancer
- Treatment resistance
- Tumour and host molecular and genomic changes over time
- Predictive biomarkers for response and progression
By integrating translational endpoints into trial architecture from the outset, researchers can maximise the scientific value of each sample collected and accelerate the pathway from discovery to clinical impact.
Not sure what samples are needed or when to collect them?
Our Translational Research Sample Cheat Sheet is a practical guide for researchers and clinicians working together to advance cancer research.
Connect with Laboratory and Translational Researchers
A/Prof Marian Burr
Burr Laboratory
Area(s) of expertise:
- Small cell lung cancer
- NSCLC
- Immunotherapy
- Epigenetics
- Pathology
Dr Amelia Parker
Garvan Institute
Area(s) of expertise:
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Tumour Microenvironment
- Extracellular Matrix
- Treatment Response
- Multiomics
A/Prof Anthony Linton
Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma
- Biobanking
- Microbiome
- Clinical trials
- Dust related disease
Dr Huaikai (Peter) Shi
Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Animal modelling
- Immunotherapy
- Microbiome research
- Mesothelioma
A/Prof Malinda Itchins
University of Sydney
Area(s) of expertise:
- NSCLC
- Oncogenes
- Drug resistance
- Liquid biopsy
- SCLC
A/Prof Steven Kao
University of Sydney
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma biomarkers
- Microbiome
- Drug screening
A/Prof Venessa Chin
Garvan Institute
Area(s) of expertise:
- Cellular genomics
- Single cell sequencing
- Biobanking, biomarkers
- Clinical trials
A/Prof Yuen Yee Cheng
University of Technology Sydney
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma
- MicroRNA
- Circular RNA
- Early detection and treatment development
A/Prof Arutha Kulasinghe
The University of Queensland (UQ)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Tumour microenvironment
- Spatial biology
- Biomarkers
Profile & Bio
Wesley Research Institute
LinkedIn
Dr Mark Adams
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Microbiome
- Liquid biopsy
- DNA damage and cell cycle progression
- Development of novel targeted therapies
- Cell biology and preclinical analyses
Dr Mara Zeissig
T cell Immunotherapy Laboratory, SAiGENCI
Area(s) of expertise:
- Preclinical mouse models of EGFR and KRAS mutant NSCLC
- Novel immunotherapies
- Resistance to targeted therapy
- Large-scale functional screening of candidate genes using CRISPR-Cas9
Dr Kimberley Clark
SAiGENCI (South Australian Immunogenomics Institute)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Treatment resistance
- Cancer cell biology
- Preclinical models
- Cell stress
AURORA
Prof Ben Solomon & A/Prof Marliese Alexander
AURORA
Email: AURORA@petermac.org
A/Prof Daniel J. Gough
Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Area(s) of expertise:
- Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Lung adenocarcinoma
- Mesothelioma
- Innate immunity
- Tumour microenvironment
A/Prof Jason Cain
Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Area(s) of expertise:
- Lung adenocarcinoma
- Epigenetics
- Hedgehog signalling
- Therapy resistance
Prof Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Immune surveillance
- Immune evasion
- Immune-oncology
Dr Sagun Parakh
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCR)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Theranostics
- Drug discovery and development
- Biobanking
- Translational research
Dr Stephen Wong
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Translational Research Centre
Area(s) of expertise:
- Thoracic oncology translational research
- Liquid biopsy and ctDNA
- Cancer genomics and Precision oncology
- Biomarker development and molecular diagnostics
Research Centre & Lab
Profile & Bio
A/Prof Surein Arulananda
Monash University
Area(s) of expertise:
- Lung cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Clinical trials
- Translational research
Dr Tracy Leong
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCR)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Lung cancer biobank
- Liquid biopsy
- Bronchoscopic tissue sampling
- Immunotherapy resistance
- Immunotherapy toxicity
Dr Alistair Cook
National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma
- Immunotherapy
- Immune biomarkers
- Radiotherapy
- Cancer immunology
Research Repository
Profile & Bio
Prof Jenette Creaney
National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma
- Lung cancer
- Biomarker discovery and validation
- Neoantigen-targeted immunotherapy
- Cancer genomics
Research Repository
Profile & Bio
Dr Jonathan Chee
National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases (NCARD)
Area(s) of expertise:
- Mesothelioma,
- Cancer immunology
- T cell repertoire
- Epigenetics
- Immunotherapy toxicity
Translational research thrives at the intersection of disciplines. Below you’ll find researchers and clinician-scientists who are open to collaboration; whether you’re looking to embed translational work into an existing trial, share expertise, or build a new research partnership from the ground up.
How to Get Involved
Getting added to the collaboration list
If you are working in discovery science or translational laboratory research in thoracic cancers and would like to be listed on this page, please contact us at info@thoraciconcology.org.au
Collaborate with the Translational Research Working Group
Reach out to info@thoraciconcology.org.au if you’d like to collaborate with our Translational Research Working Group as you design your study.
Discover the Inspirational Research Grant
TOGA’s Inspirational Research Grant creates opportunities for researchers to get a start on research projects that will advance prevention, treatment, or improve the lives of those living with thoracic cancers.
