Dr Jessamy Tiffen, Centenary Institute
Centenary Institute
Senior research Officer
A high-achieving science aficionado who’s raging war against cancer, Dr Jessamy Tiffen centres her research on fundamental cell biology, examining what happens when normal cells turn into cancer and how they respond to various treatments. Tiffen holds a senior role at the Melanoma Immunology and Oncology Program. Under the leadership of Professor Peter Hersey, she and her team members do transitional research, with emphasis to better understand why melanoma or certain types of cancer resist currently available treatment options. She particularly seeks to determine why melanoma is the most common cancer in young Australians between ages 15 and 39 — making up 20% of all their cancer cases — and mainly responsible for the death of Australians between ages 20 to 39. Tiffen, whose curiosity for science had come from her microbiologist grandfather who worked on a charming disease called foot rot, also takes on the role of safety officer on the gender equity program and graduate students committee at Centenary Institute.