About
Dr Jacinta Simmons received her PhD on breast cancer oncogenes from the University of Queensland in 2013. Following this, Jacinta studied melanoma metastasis and treatment response in Professor Glen Boyle’s laboratory at QIMR Berghofer from 2013 - 2022. During this time she was involved in a project identifying novel drivers of resistance to a type of cell death known as anoikis. Following a brief stint in Associate Professor Pascal Duijf’s team at Queensland University of Technology, Jacinta joined the Molecular Oncology group in 2023. Dr Simmons’ research is focused on understanding how tumour cells become resistant to treatments and finding innovative ways to overcome this resistance. She is further interested in utilising and developing 3D cell culture methods to study metastasis and therapy resistance.
Research Skills
Area of Interest
- Precision Oncology
Professional Associations
- 2014-present: member, Society for Melanoma Research
- 2018-present: member, Australasian Metastasis Research Society (OzMRS)
- 2019-2023: committee member, Australasian Metastasis Research Society (OzMRS)
- 2021-2022: committee member, QIMR Berghofer Animal Scientific sub-committee
- 2017-2021: chair, Postdoctoral Association of QIMR Berghofer (PAQ)
- 2016-2018: co-treasurer, QIMR Berghofer Staff Association Inc
- 2016-2017: committee member, Postdoctoral Association of QIMR Berghofer (PAQ)
- 2010: sub-committee member, ASMR Medical Research Week Student Conference organising committee
Research Projects
Current Research Projects
Overcoming PARP inhibitor resistance in ovarian and breast cancer
Publications
Pierce, JP. et al. "BRN2 expression increases anoikis resistance in melanoma." Oncogenesis (2020).
Neuendorf, HM. et al. "Therapeutic targeting of anoikis resistance in cutaneous melanoma metastasis." Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (2023).