Medical oncologist and postdoctoral researcher Dr Liz Ahern is a perfect example of Monash Health’s commitment to both clinical care and research – she spends half her week treating patients and the other half investigating immunotherapy in a laboratory.
In fact, the co-location of the clinical trials unit and laboratories in the Monash Health Translation Precinct in Clayton was one of the drawcards when Dr Ahern joined Monash Health two years ago.
“After my oncology training and full-time PhD in cancer and the immune system (in Queensland), I wanted to find somewhere that explicitly encourages clinicians to be active in research,” she said. “I have found that at Monash Health, where we make the concept of bench to bedside and back again into a reality.”
Dr Ahern leads the neuro-oncology research stream at Monash Health and cares for patients with a range of serious cancers, including cancer of the central nervous system and lung. She runs early-phase clinical trials with new treatments for all types of cancer, such as head and neck, bowel and melanoma. She is also a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University studying cancer immunology.
“Immunotherapy treatments are totally different to traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy because they harness the power of our immune system to treat the cancer,” she said.
“In cases such as melanoma, the new immune treatments have changed the outlook for many patients, transforming them from having advanced disease that was untreatable to being similar to a chronic condition that they can live with. I see patients getting these treatments not only living longer but living better, with fewer side effects.”
“I work in a team with three other medical oncologists in the early phase trials unit, and a team of eight medical oncologists at Monash Health who do cancer research at Monash University. I also work with incredible nurse consultants and clinical trials coordinators who are very experienced and care deeply about the patient journey.”
Part of that journey in the past year involved investigating how Monash Health cancer patients responded to COVID-19 vaccinations. The Australian-first clinical trial, SerOzNET, funded by Cancer Australia, is helping to build global evidence about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in people with cancer. It is based on a study protocol from the US National Cancer Institute Serological Sciences Network for COVID-19 (SeroNet).
“Essentially, our results showed that in most patients with cancer, at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccines work to create antibodies against COVID-19, which is great news as we were worried there might be a higher proportion who wouldn’t benefit,” Dr Ahern said.
“Through this research, we hope to contribute to policy in the future about how many vaccines people with cancer should receive, and when is the best time for vaccination during treatment.”
Dr Ahern helps supervise Dr Amy Body (medical oncologist, Monash Health) and Dr Amy Davies (medical oncology trainee, Monash Health) in their cancer research and PhD studies. Together, they walk the cancer road with their patients and their caregivers. “When a patient is diagnosed with a brain or lung tumour or cancer, it is a very difficult time,” she said. “We are regularly amazed at the strength and bravery of our patients, who are often keen to participate in our research projects, even though it might not help their own outcome. It’s a very generous gift.”
Dr Ahern feels fortunate to be at Monash Health at an exciting time in cancer research. “I say to other clinicians and scientists, Monash Health is a place where there are always fresh ideas coming through and you will be supported in research. ” “And to patients, I say that we will continue to look for advances, and our vision is that they will have access to cutting-edge treatments that could have been developed in the labs from their own blood and tissue samples.”
“It’s exciting work, and we continue to look for advances and drive to find something new – that might be better treatments with fewer side effects, or it might be the holy grail of a cure. We will keep looking.”
The full Monash Health 2021-22 Annual Report can be found here monashhealth.org.
Watch our Research and Academic Excellence video series here.