UNSW Research Web and Researcher Profiles are undergoing scheduled maintenance between 9:00 am on 9th October 2024 and 5:00 pm on 9th October 2024.
Content changes made during this period will be lost. This maintenance does not impact InfoEd or other applications.

Researcher

Associate Professor Mandy Ballinger

Biography

Associate Professor Mandy Ballinger is Deputy Director of the UNSW Centre for Molecular Oncology, Leader of the Genetic Cancer Risk Group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Head of Cohorts for the Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Centre (Omico).  Her clinical training includes a Masters in Genetic Counselling. A/Prof Ballinger’s research focus is to define heritable cancer risk and inform future clinical risk management...view more

Associate Professor Mandy Ballinger is Deputy Director of the UNSW Centre for Molecular Oncology, Leader of the Genetic Cancer Risk Group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Head of Cohorts for the Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Centre (Omico).  Her clinical training includes a Masters in Genetic Counselling. A/Prof Ballinger’s research focus is to define heritable cancer risk and inform future clinical risk management through large patient cohort studies.  These include the International Sarcoma Kindred Study, the Genetic Cancer Risk in the Young Study and the Surveillance studies in Multi-Organ Cancer prone syndromes (adult and paediatric). A/Prof Ballinger’s work has identified novel sarcoma predisposition pathways.  Her research into the risk management of Li Fraumeni syndrome, a rare, multi-organ high cancer risk disorder, has changed clinical practice nationally and internationally and has recently led to an Australian Medicare item number for whole body MRI for early cancer detection.  A/Prof Ballinger has overseen patient recruitment to the Molecular Screening and Therapeutics study and the Cancer Screening Program of the Precision Oncology Screening Platform Enabling Clinical Trials study, facilitating tumour comprehensive genomic profiling for >23,000 Australian cancer patients. A/Prof Ballinger has created powerful tools in these cohorts for both discovery and translation, and has well developed skills in clinical cancer genetics, cohort research, and clinical interventions.  Her work has been internationally recognised with the 2023 Liddy Shriver Early Career Research Award. A/Prof Ballinger's goal is to utilize these large cohorts as vehicles for intervention to change practice and improve outcomes for families.


My Grants

2022-2024       Petersen Family Foundation: Surveillance study in Multi-Organ Cancer predisposition syndromes in pediatrics (SMOC Junior) $75,000

2022-2026       MRFF: LUMOS: Low and Anaplastic Grade Glioma Umbrella Study of Molecular Guided Therapies $1,982,681 H Gan (CIA), ML Ballinger (AI)

2022-2026       MRFF: P-OMICS-flow Integrating precision oncology into clinical programs $5,868,917 N Taylor (CIA), ML Ballinger (CI)

2022-2024       Australian Government (Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources): Precision Oncology Screening Platform enabling Clinical Trials (PrOSPeCT) Project Number MMIMCS000002, $185,400,000

2020-2025       Australian Department of Health MRFF Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative: ASPiRATION: assessing the impact of genomic profiling in lung cancer $12,135,000

2019-2023       Australian Government (Department of Health): Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Program $50M

2019-2023      NSW Office of Health and Medical Research: Genomic Cancer Medicine Program $12,052,872M

 

 


My Qualifications

B App Sc, Monash University, Australia

B Sc (Hons), Monash University, Australia

PhD, Monash University, Australia

MSc, University of Sydney, Australia


My Awards

2023 Liddy Shriver Early Career Research Award

2018-2020  Cancer Institute NSW Career Development Fellowship

2002-2005  Australian Post Graduate Award

2002-2005  Baker Foundation Award

2003 National Heart Foundation Travel Grant

2003 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Travel Grant to present at 18th International Diabetes Federation Congress

2003  Australian Diabetes Society Travel Grant to present at 18th International Diabetes Federation Congress

2002  Australian Vascular Biology Society Student Award


My Research Activities

Head of Cohorts - Australian Genomic Cancer Medicine Program (Omico)

Deputy Director - UNSW Centre for Molecular Oncology

Group Leader - Genetic Cancer Risk, Garvan Institute of Medical Research

Conjoint Senior Lecturer - St Vincent's Clinical School, UNSW

Global Study Co-Ordinator - International Sarcoma Kindred Study

 


My Research Supervision


Currently supervising

Milita Zaheed                                    

View less

Location

Wallace Wurth Building, C27,
University of New South Wales,
cnr High St and Botany St,
Kensington, 2052.